Helping front-line staff embrace innovation in health & social care partnerships

The Lens

The NHS, local government, and social care providers are facing unprecedented challenges, and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) need to develop new ideas that help people live better at home for longer. Inefficiencies in health and social care are often a symptom of top-down processes where decision-makers have little visibility of on-the-ground challenges. Supporting front-line staff within these organisations to develop and effectively communicate new solutions to solve the problems their clients face is becoming a priority – those closest to the problem are often best placed to respond to it.

This project aims to empower front-line staff with skills to identify challenges and play an active role in designing solutions. It seeks to equip them with the necessary vocational skills to effect scalable change from the bottom up.

A digital platform called PRISM (a web app optimised for mobile, tablet, desktop) will guide learners through a process that helps them develop the skills needed to play an active role in designing solutions to the problems they face in the workplace. The project will develop collaborative ‘safe spaces’ to learn with peers as well as open ‘showcase’ spaces where learners will be encouraged to share ideas with a wider group of impact investors and support/service organisations.

Front-line staff from a pilot of three HSCPs in Scotland will be guided along a skills development journey. The goal is for all cohort members to possess the skills and confidence needed to spark change in the workplace from the bottom up, turning their first-hand experiences into actionable proposals.