Agencia - News

Agencia wins Northern Ireland Government Contract

Dawn Naylor — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:11:33 +0000

Commenting on Agencia’s successful appointment, Agencia’s Managing Director, Andrew Gibson said: “we are delighted to have been appointed to undertake this review on behalf of DSD. I am particularly pleased to have been awarded this contract, since it constitutes Agencia’s first piece of work in Ireland, and is therefore of strategic significance to the company’s continuing growth and development.”

The review will examine the current commissioning process in order to ensure that it remains the most effective process for assessing and providing supporting people services.

The Department for Social Development was established in December 1999 as part of the Northern Ireland Executive. It has strategic responsibility for urban regeneration, community and voluntary sector development, social legislation, housing, social security benefits, pensions and child support.

Agencia Consultant Prepares for Kilimanjaro Challenge

Dawn Naylor — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:45:17 +0000

Compassion is an international Christian child development and child advocacy ministry, currently working in 26 countries for the development of children living in extreme poverty. The leadership development programme is an extension of that work, aiming to identify children with exceptional academic and leadership skills and support them through their university studies, with support from a Leadership Development Programme specialist. The aim is to help them to develop their potential and to equip them to take on crucial leadership roles in their communities.

Commenting on the challenge, Ian said “We live in Cherry Burton, near Beverley in East Yorkshire and have three wonderful daughters (Joanne, Laura and Elaine), who have all gone through university and are now working in good jobs. We enjoy walking our dog every day and get out on longer walks whenever we can, so the Kilmanjaro trek seemed a natural progression. Liz and I are both convinced that the development of leadership within communities is an important step in helping others towards development and improvement. We are keen to support the growth of the students supported by Compassion, to enable them to act as leaders and role models in their own communities.”

Fundraising Target: £4,000 (Jointly)

The fundraising target for the challenge is £4,000. Ian said “in taking part in the challenge, we will gain the satisfaction of climbing one of the world's most amazing mountains and working with the other team members to achieve something of lasting benefit through the money raised for the Compassion leadership development programme. Through supporting us with sponsorship, you can help us to achieve even more for the students involved in the programme and the communities in which they are involved. We will be very grateful for any support you feel able to give and it will help to drive us on our way on the trek in March.

If you would like to find out more about this important work, please go to: http://www.compassionuk.org/blood-sweat-compassion-march12

If you or your organisation would like to support this work, any contributions made will go directly towards sponsoring the 4 LDP students we are supporting through this trip. There is a link direct from that page to any of us participating, or you can access our own web page direct at:
http://www.compassionuk.org/blood-sweat-compassion-mar12-Ian-Liz-Hargreaves

If it is more convenient, you can also sponsor us by texting our ‘just giving’ site on 70070 – text KILI96 and the amount you wish to donate. We will be grateful for any support you feel able to provide. If you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Agencia sponsors Annual Policing and Justice Conference 2012: Special delegate rate available

Dawn Naylor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:37:00 +0000

About the Police and Criminal Justice Conference

With the Police and Social Responsibility Bill gaining Royal Assent in September 2011, this conference will provide delegates with one of the first opportunities to assess the implementation of key reforms outlined within the Bill, including moving towards elected police and crime commissioners, which aims to improve police accountability.

Speakers include Crispin Blunt MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice and topics include - Driving efficiency in the justice sector, integrated offender management, payment by results scheme and the progress of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill; The adoption of new technologies in policing and justice for a more streamlined and efficient service; Joining up prisons and probation for better sharing of information to ensure that fewer people reoffend; The new role of Police and Crime Commissioners and how they will work with Chief Constables and police forces across the country; Taking a local approach to policing and justice – understanding different local issues and providing local police, justice; Tackling gang culture in the UK; Providing offenders with pathways into sustained employment; Reshaping justice to have more focus on victims of crime; How to strike a balance between effective punishment and reform.

This link has more details: http://govknow.com/event-detail.html?id=81&info=overview

Agencia is hosting a “Commissioning in the justice sector: addressing the challenges” workshop at this conference

The introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners this autumn is likely to lead to a reshaping of the arrangements under which some policing and community safety services are delivered. Whilst ‘outsourcing’ of some crime and policing functions is not new, the transition from Police Authorities to Police and Crime Commissioners will require the development of new governance, procurement and performance measures for Police Forces and Local Authorities.

‘Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders’ set out Government plans for the introduction of commissioning models for the delivery of offender management services. This represents a significant departure from the way in which services have been delivered through Probation Trusts and reflects the recent reshaping of services in parts of the health and social care sectors. This workshop will provide an active learning opportunity to debate and explore the practical challenges and potential solutions for the sector, touching on:

What are we trying to achieve through commissioning?
The importance of specifying what we are commissioning
Separating commissioning from provision; structural change
Commissioning for efficiency, cost reductions and outcomes
Achieving quality improvement : securing cost reduction
Shaping the provider market
Migrating to payment by results
Governance issues; lessons learned from the NHS
Achieving financial incentives for commissioning organisations
Working with boards and senior teams in leading change

About Agencia’s Commissioning Expertise

Agencia has played a key role in supporting a number of organisations to develop commissioning frameworks, new governance structures and payment by results models. We can offer specific expertise in:

Defining new commissioning intentions within revised budgets;
Assisting in interpreting the public procurement legislative framework and understanding the commercial sensitivities relating to engagement with the market;
Engaging with service users, the public and stakeholders to define the quality agenda; undertaking formal consultations on disinvestment /reinvestment proposals;
Facilitating improved levels of understanding and trust across participating public, private and voluntary sector organisations;
Designing evidence-based joint or integrated commissioning models and approaches across local government and the NHS.
Developing new delivery models in public services, including shared service arrangements and social and commercial enterprises.
Assisting in translating outcomes into specifications;
Implementing remodelled commissioning requirements;
Achieving significant and cashable budget savings;
Ensuring corporate, governance and risk management both throughout transition and in procurement;
Ensuring contracting processes are transparent and fair; facilitating the involvement of the broadest range of suppliers where appropriate;
Supporting potential provider organisations (including those from the third sector) in advance of new services being commissioned so that they are equipped to compete;
Performance monitoring of quality and financial benefits achieved;
Obtaining feedback from service users, communities and providers in order to review the effectiveness of the commissioning process in meeting local needs.

If you would like to discuss attending the conference or you would like to know more about the services we offer and our expertise please contact Steve Pitts at Agencia on 01482 649900 or stevepitts@agenciaconsulting.com

Avoid Judicial Reviews by Undertaking Robust Independent Public Consultation

Dawn Naylor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:40:33 +0000

Following Royal Brompton and NHS Harefield Foundation Trust’s successful judicial review of the national consultation into the reconfiguration of paediatric cardiac services, the NHS is likely to see a significant increase in judicial reviews. Similarly, in local government, more than 20 judicial reviews have resulted from service users challenging proposals to change the eligibility to access services. This is due in part to the fact that new legislation strengthens the need to consult with a wider range of groups before reaching any decision.

The Agencia approach to consultation has been identified as an appropriate response to a judicial review

Agencia Consulting has undertaken consultation on changes to services for organisations across the country. These consultations are often of a sensitive and controversial nature, including the closure of residential homes and remodelling of healthcare provision. Clients include Derby City Council, North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus, Gloucestershire County Council, Staffordshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Leicester LINk and their NHS partners.

Agencia has a 14 year history of enabling organisations to consult with their service users, stakeholders and the general public

The Agencia team can work with you to:

Undertake formal public consultation on disinvestment /reinvestment proposals.
Design and independently chair/facilitate engagement events.
Digest the implications of the consultation results for service change.
Develop a comprehensive evidence base for service redesign.
Provide training in facilitation techniques.

Benefits of working with Agencia to undertake consultation

Our approach to such sensitive exercises has been identified as an appropriate response to a judicial review.
We are known for reassuring those being consulted that we faithfully record and report only what we are told. Our independence and impartiality is guaranteed.
We can offer a wide variety of consultation techniques including facilitated public meetings, dedicated phonelines, surveys and interviews to ensure that the consultation is widely accessible and robust.
We are a team with expertise in public sector finance, change management and strategic planning and our facilitators have backgrounds in nursing, social services and specialist mental health services.

Get in touch today by emailing grahambarnett@agenciaconsulting.com or calling us on 01482 649900 to take up our invitation to a free initial consultation.

Do you need help to transform adult social care through personalisation and community-based support?

Dawn Naylor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:01:16 +0000

We can help you make personalisation and community-based support real by:

Undertaking independent and robust quality audits; providing you with credible evidence to mark your progress against the Think Local, Act Personal criteria. This might include implementing practical ways for you to measure the results of personal budgets with your local communities.
Analysing the results from quality audits, in order to offer practical insights about the key obstacles and challenges to making personalisation work well for people in your area.
Implementing the practical changes that might be required, in order to address issues identified by the quality audit. For example, we can help you to make sure that people who use social care (and their families) are well informed about personalisation, simplify the process and bureaucracy, and ensure that people benefit equally from the personalisation agenda, including groups such as people with dementia.
Building and maintaining community capacity and increasing social capital, which is a critical part of making personalisation real e.g. Health and Well Being boards pulling together individual approaches to personalisation and broader community initiatives.

We deliver expert strategic planning and change management consultancy throughout the UK and overseas, and have developed an excellent reputation for high quality, flexible responses to our clients’ needs, based on over fourteen years of experience.

As a team of focussed experts, we have established a strong track record in achieving radical and successful solutions; the sort of solutions that Social Care and NHS organisations need in the new economic and personalised environment.

Using a combination of commissioning, financial, analytical and change management skills, some of our most recent projects include working across the 12 North East Local Authorities (and their NHS partners) to evaluate existing provision, develop a comprehensive evidence base for effective commissioning and support the implementation of Personalisation changes, including training. Agencia has also supported Social Care service change across the country and our clients include Derby City Council, North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus, Gloucestershire County Council, Staffordshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Leicester LINk.

So, if you think you could use our help, we would be happy to discuss a range of flexible commercial options and may be prepared to consider adjusting some of our normal terms and conditions if that helps makes your life easier.

On a final note, you will be pleased to know that we have teams which are available now and can start immediately, so give us a call today on 01482 649900.