Care and support is something all of us will receive at some point in our lives. However, our experiences of that care are likely to vary. Some of them will be good and perhaps even excellent, and some might be dissatisfactory and disappointing. Opportunities to express opinions about these good and bad experiences are not always available. Services often have complaints procedures in place but people may not wish to formally complain: rather they might prefer to suggest a change to improve a service, or comment on very good or bad care. And that's where Care Opinion comes in.

Imagining the Future has hit the Herald headlines today in an article published by Stephen Naysmith, Social Affairs Correspondent.

Opening with the line 'It isn't often that I get to combine my role here at the paper with my interest in science-fiction', he offers his views on the four world scenarios, which to him, have a distinct sci-fi feel.

He writes, '

Social services in Scotland will not exist in 2025, according to a scenario published today at a special launch event at the Scottish Parliament.

Face-to-face meetings can be hard on resources. Often there's just not the time or the money to bring people together. This is especially true for those working in rural areas or those who need to communicate with others in regional offices. Therefore, people need to be more creative about how they communicate with each other. Online social networks, such as Yammer, LinkedIn and Facebook help to fill these communication gaps, offering spaces to share information and to engage in conversations with others.

We're delighted that Creative Care and Support has funded six wonderful projects in Pitlochry from its funding pot. As part of the project, we made a seed fund of £10,000 available to help people who use services, carers and the wider community of Pitlochry, with ideas for a new business start up, or existing small businesses develop new innovative ideas.

The six projects that have received funding include:

Pilotlight is working with co-design teams of people who use and deliver services across Scotland to design four pathways to self-directed support for seldom heard groups.

Many disabled people want to work but face barriers to employment. Self-directed support has the potential to enable disabled people to work through small business start ups.

My Home Life (MHL) was originally a project set up in 2006 by the National Care Forum (an organisation that represents not-for-profit care homes) and Help the Aged. It was established to promote quality of life for those living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people through relationship-centred and evidence based practice. MHL has evolved into a collaborative movement of people across the UK.

As part of Self Management Week (29th September to 3rd October), the ALLIANCE hosted the Self Management Awards at the Garden Lobby at Scottish Parliament on 2 October. One of the key aims of Self Management Week 2014 is to improve understanding of how volunteering can be used as a tool for self management - provoking increased skills, self-esteem and well-being.

Iriss's Innovation and Improvement Team is leading an exciting new project entitled, Relationships Matter, to develop ideas that support young people who are leaving care to maintain positive, nurturing relationships with the people in their lives.

The term 'Enterprise Social Network' is getting bandied about quite a lot of late. It sounds a bit techie, but it's really not. Enterprise Social Network (ESN) is a term that emcompasses social networking tools and software, some of which are used internally in organisations such as Sharepoint. However, ESNs also include the new wave of public social networking websites that allow people to connect, collaborate and share information on subjects of interest. Yammer and Socialcast are two popular examples. These websites can facilitate groups both within and outwith organisations.