case study:
Nottinghamshire County Council

telling you about a micro enterprise support agency

Nottinghamshire Adult Services and the Nottinghamshire Partnership developed good links with Angela Catley the then NAAPS Head of Projects who was a keynote speaker at two Putting People First Provider events in 2009. Feedback from delegates about the work and ideas arising from the NAAPS micro market pilot projects in Oldham and Kent was extremely positive. The Authority wanted to capitalise on the enthusiasm and energy arising from the two conferences and develop the provider market to encourage micro providers. Nottinghamshire formalised their work with NAAPS/Community Catalysts through a 2 year project running along the same lines as the pilot projects and with funding from the Transforming Social Care Reform Grant. This involved the appointment of a dedicated Micro Provider Coordinator from July 2010.

The work to date has included:
• Mapping existing micro providers and making contact with them
• Promotion of the micro provider project across the County at a wide range of events
• Establishment of a Steering Group to support the project and provide advice and guidance to the Coordinator.
• The development of an outline strategic plan identifying target areas/priorities for micro provider development (including rural areas, day opportunities, mental health, black and minority ethnic services)
• The development of an initial enquiry form
• Programme of visits to emerging micro providers – over 44 have made contact.
• Micro providers offered advice, information and signposting to other agencies.
• The development and implementation of a simple accreditation process

The chance to be part of the steering group supporting the Nottinghamshire Micro Provider Project has helped me to address the enterprise development goals of the County Council’s Economic Development Service through a completely new route and to combine with the endeavours of another service area to maximise the positive impact for Nottinghamshire communities’ Economic Development Officer

As a result of the project Nottinghamshire County Council have definitely achieved a better understanding of the local micro market and have been able to engage with micro providers. We have been delighted with the types of services /supports that people are offering, sometimes as a result of not finding a service for their own relative. Potential providers have also come forward as a result of hearing about the project from many different sources and there have been 48 enquiries made so far.

A total of 9 micro providers are currently operating and the services they offer include:
• A flexible support service offering help with cleaning, shopping and errand running
• Short breaks and supported holidays
• Day opportunities for adults with learning disabilities.
• Yoga classes for people with learning disabilities and/or mental ill health
• Support at home and in the community for older people and people with a disability
• A Direct Payment support service

It is still early days but micro providers are starting to offer services to people with personal budgets and we are expecting this to increase. There has been a great demand for alternatives to traditional service delivery from operational staff, service users and carers. This has emerged from training events held in last 18 months of implementing self directed support. We have received the following feedback from a Team Manager about a micro provider offering flexible day opportunities to young people in Transitions ‘This is just what we have been needing.’

We are currently undertaking an exercise to identify the training needs of micro providers through a simple training needs analysis which will identify for the first time the requirements of this part of the workforce. Other benefits of this project for the County Council have included greater engagement with other sections such as participatory arts, sports and leisure, libraries and economic regeneration.

We believe that there will be cost benefits to this project particularly in rural parts of the County where we pay a premium rate for contracted agencies to deliver services. The rates that micro providers are charging are more in line with Direct Payment rates than contracted agency rates.

The project and micro providers still face a number of challenges including how they can be purchased by the Council on behalf of an individual. For micro providers to be successful in procurement and get onto accredited lists will still be a challenge due to the processes and paperwork. This is an area for future consideration and work.

Being part of this project has enabled us to make a positive statement about what we are doing to offer alternatives to traditional services Having the experience and knowledge of Angela, Helen and Tracy from Community Catalysts to guide us though what we need to do as a Local Authority has been excellent and has felt very reassuring that we are on the right track.

“The development of micro providers in Nottinghamshire is like a breath of fresh air. The help, support and expertise Rebecca is able to provide individuals is excellent. Her knowledge of the sector is valuable to emerging enterprises where at present there are lots of opportunities to be creative, innovative and responsive to individuals needs.” Development Officer, User Led Organisation, Nottinghamshire .
Helen Turner Commissioning Manager, Putting People First

For more information contact us on 01423 790126.