How can we prepare the UK for an increasing demand for care services whilst growing local economies?

Join Community Catalysts, Wrexham County Borough Council and the Social Value Engine to discover how local authorities can build community wealth for better social care. We'll learn more about Community Catalysts' ‘Doing It Right’ standards, which provide guidelines and best practices to empower local people to develop community micro-enterprises. It’s a model that helps to drive up the numbers of people taking up self-directed support/direct payments - they can commission services and support directly from local people in their community who are running safe, legal, and sustainable enterprises. We’ll also hear about a community micro-enterprise project in Wales.

The webinar will focus on the critical role that local people and communities play in delivering a choice of creative, personalised and community-led supports. We'll delve into Social Return on Investment (SROI), an effective measure of the social value generated by a project and can help evaluate and enhance efforts to improve social care. By better understanding and measuring social value, local authorities can make better investments in social care, and can create social care services that are sustainable and closely aligned with the community's needs and values.

Who is this webinar for?

Commissioning, economic development and policy teams at local authorities
Social work teams
Regulatory care bodies
Social care practitioners

Takeaways:

Discover how local authorities successfully implement strategies and approaches to foster community wealth in social care through practical, real-world examples.
Understand the importance of Social Return on Investment in evaluating the social value of community investments
Learn ways to leverage local assets and provide social care that is creative, personalised, sustainable and community led.

Speakers:

Helen Allen, Director of Community Enterprise, Community Catalysts

Helen began her career in the social care field in Oldham within supported housing for adults with a learning disability. She then moved to Shared Lives where she stayed for a number of years managing the scheme and developing it into a generic service. In 2007 Helen was seconded to Shared Lives Plus to co-ordinate the DH Small Community Services project in Oldham, where she first gained significant experience on community enterprise development in response to the personalisation agenda and also managed a second DH project, supporting entrepreneurs with a disability to develop their own community enterprise.

In 2010, Helen joined the newly created Community Catalysts to take that knowledge and learning to other areas. She now enjoys managing a team of Project Managers and Catalysts working in a variety of councils and health authorities to stimulate and sustain community enterprises for people in those areas. Helen has a particular passion working on programmes that support people with a disability to use their gifts and talents to develop their own activity or enterprise.

Steve Latham-White, Interim Lead Commissioning Officer, Commissioning & Contracts Team / Swyddog Comisiynu Arweiniol Dros Dro, Tîm Contractau a Chomisiynu, Wrexham County Borough Council

Steve started his career with Shropshire Council in 2001 and spent 17 years working in the operational adults’ team, before moving into community development. He then moved to Wrexham Council (Social Care) and is currently managing the commissioning and planning team. Steve is passionate and positive about his work and is interested to embrace innovative approaches that include the voices of partners and citizens.

Ivan Annibal, Director, Social Value Engine

Ivan is nationally recognised for his contributions to economic and community development, with a focus on coastal and rural challenges. He adopts a practical, “hands-on” approach to the implementation of programmes and projects. Currently, Ivan is assisting local authorities with levelling up initiatives, collaborating with fire and rescue services to evaluate measures that enhance community safety, and aiding a social prescribing scheme in measuring its impact.

Beyond his professional commitments, Ivan plays a pivotal role in governance within the community sector. He presides as the chair of trustees at Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire (RCAN) and serves on the board of ACRE. His academic engagements include a Senior Visiting Fellowship at Lincoln International Business School and a Fellowship at the Institute of Economic Development. Ivan also fulfils the role of Operations Director at the National Centre for Rural Health and Care (NCRHC).

Ivan is chair of trustees at Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire (RCAN) and on the board of ACRE. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at Lincoln International Business School and a Fellow of the Institute of Economic Development. Ivan is the Operations Director at the National Centre for Rural Health and Care (NCRHC).

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About Community Catalysts:

Community Catalysts is a social enterprise that helps local people help other local people. Established in 2009, it works in partnership to make sure that people are part of strong, inclusive communities with real opportunities to connect, create and contribute. It does this by :

Supporting people to set up community micro-enterprises in their local area.
Providing Local Area Coordination - helping people in local communities to have choice and control over their support, and recognise their own skills, talents and resources.
Encouraging and supporting people and organisations to be innovative about how they provide social care.

The company has worked in over 75 areas across the UK to help local people deliver social care and health services for other local people. In areas where community micro-enterprises have been set up, it has supported 34,188 people, created or sustained 5,662 jobs, and nearly 3,000 volunteering opportunities.

About Wrexham County Borough Council:

Wrexham County Borough Council is the local authority responsible for governing the Wrexham County Borough, a principal area with city status located in North Wales. The council plays a vital role in local planning and development, ensuring sustainable growth and conservation of the area’s unique heritage. Wrexham County Borough Council operates with transparency and aims to engage with the community through various channels.

About the Social Value Engine:

The Social Value Engine (SVE) is a tool designed to measure, track, and evidence the social value generated by projects and investments. It employs established methodologies to convert social outcomes into financial values, assisting organisations in measuring and communicating the impact of their activities on the community. The SVE was co-founded by Rose Regeneration and East Riding of Yorkshire Council.