Change Model Stage 4: Taking informed action

How you take informed action

There can be pressure to move quickly to the action stage, but considering a range of potential options helps to avoid investing time and resources on activities which may not then have an impact.

Good project management is crucial to turn inspiring plans into practical actions. Other stages of the change model can also help identify actions and why people think these would work – sharing these assumptions helps those involved to understand others’ viewpoints and discuss which should be chosen.

There are often tensions between what is ideally hoped for in a change and what is feasible within the time and resources available – being realistic from the start helps to prevent people becoming disillusioned later. There are many reasons why people may be unwilling to engage with a change, including previous experiences and anxiety about what it means for their lives or work.

Regularly reviewing actions and the assumptions behind these enables plans to be adapted as and when needed.

Examples within IMPACT

Gwynedd introduced a radical new model to organise home care support in 2022 but there was a disconnect between different teams and parts of the system, with unclear boundaries and a lack of resource to embed change.

The new home care Demonstrator project aimed to accelerate practice changes from the new arrangements, enhance workforce experience through supporting practitioners and leaders, and encourage joint working between commissioners and providers.

The IMPACT Coach introduced a range of change-related activities. These included a strategic event designed to accelerate change; multiple workshops focused on the principles of the new home care model and its value for different groups of staff; service improvement workshops focused on managing workloads, person-centred care and process improvement; training sessions and one-to-one coaching with senior leaders; and acting as a critical friend, for example, supporting an internal audit of project spend and assisting with a review of training.

Peer learning was also embedded through the initiation of Communities of Practice for home care supervisors and the Care Leaders’ Forum, both designed to foster mutual learning and collaboration, and to identify solutions to address barriers to change.

The Social Care in Rural Areas Network focused on the many barriers related to geographic distance, staff recruitment and limited choice. An evidence review formed the basis of discussion materials which then supported the Network meetings. The Networks met regularly over six months to discuss common challenges, experiences and learning. A range of different mechanisms and activities were then undertaken by the Networks to best achieve their aims within their local contexts.

For example, Self-Directed Futures used video libraries, a roundtable for commissioners and a briefing paper for evidence provision. Mencap Northern Ireland used a survey and focus group to identify needs and issues, in addition to liaising with community transport and developing a programme of learning disability awareness training for transport providers.

Carers Northern Ireland also used a briefing paper, stakeholder roundtable, experiential film and piloted an information and support hub for carers in rural areas. Hywel Dda UHB Wales mapped local needs, through collating existing reports and documents through the Network, a survey and individual and group conversations. They also utilised a roundtable to communicate the importance of transport to adult social care colleagues.

The Demonstrator project in Walsall was exploring how social workers could more readily provide the support valued by older people and their carers.

A steering group was created to guide the project which included people with lived experience, social work practitioners, senior leaders and managers, and voluntary sector representatives. This group helped to decide what the project would focus on, and to provide support and challenge to pilot projects.

The Senior Strategic Improvement Coach initially met with each member of the Steering Group to co-produce a list of improvement ideas based on the learning from the original Research Project. This generated 11 ideas in total. They were then asked to complete an online survey and vote for the three ideas most important to them. This was followed up by a second survey involving a broader group of social workers to gain their views of what should be priority activities.

A theory for change workshop was then held to map out activities to take forward these areas and these were explored through a series of pilots.

The Men in social care Facilitator project wanted to understand how the gender imbalance in the social care workforce could be addressed. The Facilitator spoke with men currently working in social care, men who had left, men who had never worked in the sector, young men in further education, people drawing on services, family members and staff across different providers.

These conversations confirmed many of the messages from the literature but also brought them to life: men described feeling judged for doing “women’s work”, hiding their job from friends and family, and struggling with the low status and insecurity often attached to care roles.

At the same time, the project highlighted the rewards of the work and the importance of visible role models and better information about the range of jobs and career paths available. From this, a clear thread emerged: if the sector is serious about recruiting more men, it needs to start earlier, engaging directly with young people to challenge stereotypes and present adult social care as a credible, meaningful career option.