How wee things make a big difference
We invite you to reflect on, and celebrate, our substantial achievements and learning to support the social services workforce to deliver better outcomes for people. The year has brought some change and challenge, but the team has continued to demonstrate its strengths of partnership working, creativity, supporting use of evidence and knowledge sharing. We are proud of our work which is undertaken by a team of dedicated staff and partners. Thanks to those who have supported our programme of work over the past year. We look forward to a future of strengthened energy and opportunity.
This activity review details the progress taken forward by the talented Iriss team over the last 12 months. It presents the work the team has completed across the breadth of social services activities in Scotland. I would like to thank them for their excellent work, and partners for their valuable support.
2016/17 at a glance
Across 2016/17, we worked with…
In the last year we…
Just writing to say thank you for taking part in Holyrood’s Evidence-based Policy and Practice seminar … the evaluations and the feedback for your session has been really positive.
Thank you for your time, energy and expertise today in running a very stimulating, interesting and fruitful session on ‘Failshare’ around the neighbourhood clinic.
In 2016 we refreshed our website to better express our voice, values and work, which people tell us is creative, dynamic and inspiring. Over the past year it's had:
In the last year we've published:
Our most popular episode to date is: Attachment focused therapy for children and young people
The difference we’ve made
Our work supports Partnerships for the future: Iriss strategy 2015–2018 and the delivery of the Social services in Scotland: a shared vision and strategy 2015–2020.
What follows is a detailed look at some of our favourite projects from the last year…
A project to explore new kinds of collaborative relationships between people who live and work within a community (Falkirk - Maddiston and Rumford).
Modelling a place-based approach is difficult. The principles and values of co-production and partnership that underpin this way of working are crucial, but it takes time and sustained commitment from those involved. In saying that, when it works and people come together to produce something tangible and valuable, it is extremely rewarding.
From the initial development of the project ideas, to identification of methods and development of questions, Iriss has proven to be professional, driven and experienced. They have enabled the progress of the project from day one, providing a strategic overview which has perfectly matched with the local knowledge and outlooks of the working group.
A project delivered in partnership with a team of inspectors at Care Inspectorate to improve engagement, focusing on the intersection between service delivery and service inspection.
Inspectors and services had a shared vision for improvement which didn't focus on performance, but rather on the improved experience and outcomes of the people supported by services across Scotland.
Action programme to co-design relational tools to support female offenders and service delivery across women's justice services.
Relationships aren't always service-focused. Women knew each other through a series of complex interpersonal webs, and had online and in-person relationships that had the potential to be positive or negative.
Before I thought… I’m not doing something like that, but I enjoyed it
(woman in the group)
I like the sense of validation… this is our group even though we were made to come here at the beginning... It’s our group and our thoughts and opinions matter
(woman in the group)
A meeting of the Future Systems Leadership community of practice to further explore and develop systems leadership.
The group are in demanding roles and are, therefore, time poor, so it’s quite challenging to organise face-to-face meetings.
I can’t put a value on the experience I gain from being in the same room and engaging in discussions with this group.
I will question my own self-limiting beliefs a bit more.
A project to support cross-organisational teams to collaboratively address and act on an issue that they have identified (using Community of Enquiry approach).
Still to achieve:
The cross-organisational teams loved the opportunity to think, talk and explore together in a safe space. After this has happened, the key is now to see those voices being heard and actions being taken.
I think it’s now about bringing policies, procedures and structures up to date with this type of conversation and to see what we can do to encourage this.
Partner comment:
I found the [Community of Enquiry] process really helpful, all joking aside about it being a Friday and a heavy day, this has given me a lift for the end of the week. I’ve enjoyed it and it’s been helpful to reflect on why we come in and do what we do. I’ve really valued being here.
A project for practitioners to share experiences, evidence, discoveries and successes (SEEDS).
There is still a need for creating spaces and frameworks within which people from across the sector and beyond can network, share knowledge and inspire each other. However, you need a topic to generate real interest; a hook to hang it all on.
What inspired participants:
Hearing about the (effort and) strategies people have developed to get around obstacles, and secure improvement.
The willingness of people to become involved in discussion (even in areas they are not familiar with), the openness of differing professionals. Also not afraid to say what’s working and what’s not.
A project that co-designed seven pathways to self-directed support. Pathways over 2016/17 focused on living well and substance misuse recovery.
Mapping and sharing knowledge and information about community assets is essential for strengths based approaches to self-directed support conversations and planning.
I already knew a fair bit about it [self-directed support] but what it did do was explode some of the myths and it ties it all in together. Before, at times, there's a thing where the patient is who I need to focus on, and the carer can get left behind. The team is more aware of self-directed support. We're trying to increase people's awareness.
I now know much more about health and social care teams and their roles.
It's given us the carers' assessment, the new appointment letters and a dementia toolkit. It's taken on board what carers and patients have said.
An online course for students of social work that promotes use of the web and social media to improve use of information and evidence.
Students of social work are under pressure to complete coursework/placement and so it’s important to get their buy-in to the programme and to time it correctly to achieve participation.
I can guarantee that without this gentle push into the social media world I would not have considered it…. This will be invaluable for my further development and education in the years to come as a social work student.
At the start of this course I was rather against any participation which involved social media. This was mainly because I have only had negative experiences with regards to Facebook in the past. However as the weeks have progressed I have seen the benefits from this process. I have started to follow a select category of other social media users on Twitter that are specific to the needs and topics that I find relevant…
Partner comment:
It was great to work with Iriss around Personal Learning Networks to help encourage new social work undergraduate students to begin to explore the potential of the web, including social media, in aiding and contributing to their professional development.
(Graham McPheat, University of Strathclyde)
Sharing the experiences of the social services workforce.
Creative activities can be cathartic for practitioners and inform and support their practice.
Magical experience to be in an environment where you feel safe with your own vulnerabilities and to be personally able to express stuff that you don’t think of from day to day. It’s been terrific!
…foster care population and children engaging in life story will benefit from ‘refreshed’ thinking.
We will continue to support and develop the knowledge, skills and capacity of the social services workforce in Scotland. We are always learning from the work we do, and strive to try out new ways of working, reflect on what works and what doesn’t, and share our learning.