The Cooperative Difference in Care

The Co-operative Councils’ Innovation Network (CCIN) took the decision in 2020 to use their innovation funding differently. The health and social care crisis brought the need to develop creative co-operative solutions to the forefront. Member councils were offered the opportunity across 2020/21 to bid for funding to deliver Policy Prototypes. The aim is to demonstrate how the principles set out by the CCIN can support the development of solutions to local challenges across social care (both children and adults), as well as the wider well-being of communities.

Policy Prototypes are smaller projects delivered in a locality and are eligible for up to 1,500 of funding. Members are encouraged to suggest projects where they can explore co-operative solutions to the challenges facing local government. Policy Prototypes can be submitted by a Member Council or an Associate Member and can also involve partner organisations in the locality.

The Policy Prototypes did not seek to answer the entirety of the health and social care crisis facing Local Authorities. They were an opportunity to think creatively about specific areas where using the co-operative principles can provide a framework for innovative solutions that could be developed in response.

A key area is prevention. In recent years many of the funding cuts that have plagued social care have occurred in preventative services. Ever-growing demand to manage crisis and provide support for complex needs has meant that budgets have been squeezed with preventative and well-being services reduced to make up the budgetary shortfalls. The Policy Prototypes offer a look at how Councils can support the well-being of communities through creative approaches to prevention.

The original bidding for the Policy Prototype funding began prior to the COVID19 pandemic, as a result, there was a need to modify some of the proposals to work within the constraints of COVID. Whilst the devastating effects of the pandemic have been felt across the members, the changes it brought about provided the opportunity for the development of creative solutions that will continue to create the building blocks for recovery post the pandemic.