Measuring outcomes in social care for sensory impaired people
Partnership between London South Bank University (LSBU) and the Royal National Institutes of the Deaf (RNID) and the Blind (RNIB)
Impact highlights: KTP has fully met expectations by providing a new model for measuring social and personal impact of services, and exceeded it by producing work that can be rolled out across the partner organisation as it continues to be developed.
Objectives: To develop a system to provide metrics and KPIs to measure outcomes and impacts and deliver improvements in social care services provided to sensory-impaired people.
Results for the Company Partners
- This was a collaborative project between the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) now known as Action on Hearing Loss, and The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). A strategic priority for both RNID and RNIB was to gain better understanding of outcomes and impacts of their core social enterprise activities, which they were unable to measure and evaluate with respect to social and economic benefits arising from services provided.
- A systematic outcomes framework which can be aggregated from an individual to a UK wide level was devised and implemented for RNID Care & Support Services and for RNIB Evidence and Service Impact. This is being implemented in 55 services at RNID, with over 300 staff trained.
- Data generated will be used to improve social care services and realign resources, enabling both RNID and RNIB to more clearly articulate to commissioners, funders, individuals, families and carers the value of the specialist services offered and the outcomes of such services. The KTP has helped both organisations to strengthen their approach and progress in responding to the personalisation agenda focused on the needs, aspirations and outcomes of individuals, through the promotion of independence and choice and in some cases the allocation of individual budgets.
- New knowledge and capabilities acquired include:
o Knowledge of different outcome measures that can be applied in different ways
o The capability to design a robust and flexible IT system to allow the organisations to collect, analyse and present data and information intelligently
o Working with care service beneficiaries to develop impact monitoring systems.
o Potential to strengthen marketing capabilities
o Knowledge how to reinforce the personalisation agenda by measuring individual outcomes of person-centred tools, focusing on the needs, aspirations and outcomes of individuals.
o RNID now values outcome measurement as an organisation and is building capacity and capability through its policy and research team by recruiting a senior evaluation and research officer.
o Both organisations now have the framework set up to start measuring and evaluating across their activities.
o It has developed the capabilities of RNID and RNIB project and service managers to monitor the impact of their work and will help both organisations make better decisions on managing and financing their services to order to maximise effectiveness and impact. - Change in the Company's competitive position resulting from the KTP - impact on Company's performance has not been immediate, although impact on the Company's future performance is expected to be high:
o Projected change in annual sales turnover in three years' time: £500,000. It is anticipated that once the final KTP outcomes programme tool is completely embedded, each Care & Support regional area will be able to follow through to be in a much stronger position to market new service models because they will be able to evidence individual, area and organisational wide outcomes against themes, increasing turnover by up to £500,000 after 3 years.
o Profit is difficult to predict in the current economic climate but could increase by £200,000 after 3 years as a result of the KTP and its implementation. - Other impacts on company operation/culture: on Heads of Service and Managers in Action on Hearing Loss (RNID) Care & Support and across the wider organisation who have incorporated this approach within their everyday practice by placing outcomes measurement at the centre of their objectives/appraisal processes and supporting staff to do the same. Managers have also been able to incorporate outcomes to derive workforce planning and reappraise service provisions.
- Wider impacts on: Health and well-being of the community (physical and mental); Educational (extending the knowledge, skills and expertise of individuals within the community); Social inclusion (disadvantaged, marginalized and at-risk groups)
- Future company investments due to KTP: RNID - Design of IT system to capture data 2011/12 (£35,000) Future IT hardware investment for remote capture - 2012/15 (£200,000). Total plant and machinery investment: £235,000 Staff: RNID - Senior Research & Evaluation Officer in Research & Policy Team (£40,000) RNID - Outcomes Implementation Manager (in Care & Support) (£45,000)
Results for the Associate
- Continuing employment with the Company Partner: Outcomes Implementation Manager – a role devised to deliver a specific programme of work within the Care & Support Directorate, ensuring a workable outcomes model is implemented across all Care & Support services.
Results for the Knowledge Base Partner
- High impact through providing the team with greater understanding of social enterprise, useful input for PhD research, also helping to develop new academic supervisory and teamwork skills, and opportunities for similar projects at other Third Sector organisations. Useful insights into the challenges faced by practitioners when seeking to design, develop, test and implement new management systems.
- Several joint academic papers providing practical insights into needs of the disabled, and how systematic person-centred healthcare can improve their wellbeing across a range of soft measures, in addition to essential hard measures. Insights will be used in teaching in both Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses. The Academic Supervisor has acquired useful experience and teaching material for a new Postgraduate Social Enterprise course.
- The KTP has benefitted research at LSBU through conferences papers (four), participation in panels, networking and generally raising the LSBU profile.
