On 23^rd September, Amy, Ella, Jayne, Joseph, and Helen hosted a vibrant speed networking event at the Blackbourne Community Centre in Elmswell. The gathering brought together more than 50 attendees, including a wide range of professionals from Suffolk County Council including social workers, direct payments and brokerage teams, link workers, and commissioners – all eager to connect with the micro-enterprise leaders shaping care in Suffolk.

The event was opened by Ed Abbott, Suffolk County Council’s Head of Service for Homecare and Brokerage, who spoke passionately about the importance of the self-directed support marketplace and the vital role that community micro-enterprises play in offering flexible, person-centred care.

Later in the day, Clement Mawoyo, Director for Integrated Care and Health for West Suffolk, delivered a powerful closing speech. He praised the innovative spirit of the enterprise leaders and highlighted the value of their tailored, person-centred, and community-rooted services.

Our speed networking events are a great opportunity to connect, learn, think about the support that community micro-enterprises can offer to local people, and help change wider systems and culture. They help build bridges between practitioners and providers, spark new ideas, and strengthen the local care ecosystem. In Suffolk, the impact was immediate: connections were made, information flowed, and practitioners discovered new solutions to meet the needs of those they support.

We had some great feedback from the practitioners that attended:

• “A great opportunity to hear of the good work happening in Suffolk.”
• “So useful to see the vastness and variability of support available.”
• “Really informative and insightful.”
• “Very interesting with the broadness of enterprises that were present.”
• “A very engaging session – great to meet the enterprises and hear about the great work they do.”

And here’s what some of the enterprise leaders had to say:

• “Very helpful meeting all of the practitioners in a variety of different fields – the direct payment information was very useful.”
• “Informative and wonderful networking opportunity.”
• “It was lovely meeting and speaking to different people – informative and interactive.”