Iriss review of the year 2012
January
'TWAS ALL ABOUT OUTCOMES!
Possibly the coldest and darkest month of the year, we got off to a bright start. Our first Insight (evidence review) of 2012 was released — Measuring personal outcomes: challenges and strategies — which considered some of the challenges of measuring outcomes and emerging responses to them. A creative visual storyboard version of this Insight was also created.
February
SELF-DIRECTED SUPPORT BUILDS MOMENTUM
The Self-directed Support Bill for Scotland was introduced and during this month Pam Duncan, Independent Living Scotland (ILS) came in to speak to us about her personal journey through, and experiences of, self-directed support in Scotland.
March
EVIDENCE ON INTEGRATION
Two pieces of work around the topic of integration were produced. Alison Petch, Director at IRISS, produced research on the subject on behalf of ADSW, culminating in a report — An evidence base for the delivery of adult services. This was followed by an IRISS Insight on the subject of integration in health and social care.
April
WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
In April, two key resources related to children and families were completed: Leading for outcomes: children and young people, a guide to provide support and training materials to help lead the social services workforce to focus on the outcomes important to people; and the Child Care and Protection Research Collection, a series of videos and audio recordings about recent research on child care and protection related issues.
May
ASSET-TASTIC!
Using an assets approach for positive mental health and wellbeing was the focus of some of our work over the year. An asset mapping project with East Dunbartonshire Council to discover both the community assets in Kirkintilloch that were useful and available for positive mental health and well-being, was undertaken, and subsequently, a report was written. An Insight on strengths-based approaches was also published.
June
IRISS.FM LAUNCH
Iriss.fm, internet radio for Scotland’s social services, was launched as a development of our long established and popular podcast.
July
THE ROAD FROM CRIME
It was a month of Olympic feats, but IRISS was busy with its own partnership project to share knowledge and improve understanding about why people desist from offending. Outputs included a film on desistance from crime, a blog, and an Insight.
August
REST ASSURED?
In-depth research resulted in the Rest Assured? report — a study into unpaid carers’ experiences of short breaks from caring. The research involved a Scotland-wide survey, focus groups and interviews.
September
PARTNERSHIP WORKING
It was a month of international ventures for IRISS. We were invited to Canada, as well as Bulgaria to share our expertise around the use of evidence and knowledge in practice, and also took part in Social Media Week 2012, hosting an event on ‘who’s leading’ on access to social media in the social services workplace.
October
CHANGING CULTURES
Due to its ever-growing importance and popularity, an Insight was produced on the topic of culture change, specifically in relation to the public sector. It examined the definitions and approaches to organisational culture and how they relate to the public sector.
November
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SCRS IN SCOTLAND
A first for Scotland! Alison Petch, Director at IRISS, co-authored an audit and analysis of Significant Case Reviews (SCRs) which presented findings from an audit and analysis of 56 SCRs and 43 Initial Case Reviews (ICRs) conducted in Scotland since 2007.
December
'TIS THE SEASON… TO BE GRITTING
The harsh winter drawing in coincided in the launch of a platform for delivering data about Glasgow gritter activity. It was developed in partnership with Glasgow City Council.
