Social Care Innovation & the Accelerating Reform Fund: Uniting for a Brighter Future in Care 🌟
Big news in the world of care – It’s been a while coming but the UK Government is putting a £42.6 million pot of money called the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) into making adult social care services better. 🚀 We at Bridgit Care, Looking Local, and CAN Digital are super excited to work together and help Local Authorities and their Integrated Care Systems, make the most of this golden chance. ✨
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is launching the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF), which provides a total of £42.6 million in grant funding over 2023 to 2024 (£20 million) and 2024 to 2025 (£22.6 million), to support innovation in adult social care.
What’s the Big Idea with ARF? 🤔
Simply put, ARF is all about bringing fresh, clever ideas into adult social care. The plan is to knock down old hurdles and make care something that really fits around you, your family, and your community. And guess what? Local authorities can grab a slice of this fund to test out cool new ways to care for people. The hope is that once ideas are tested, and proven to be sustainable that they can be funded longer term to help.
The ARF sets out 12 priorities for innovation and as a carer support organisation we’re excited to see that 5 of the priorities specifically relate to supporting our unpaid carer community.
- Community-based models to age well in place.
- Digital empowerment for self-management of care.
- Local networks promoting preventative care and wellbeing.
- Tailored breaks for unpaid carers.
- Digital innovation in workforce recruitment and retention.
- Volunteer-supported care pathways.
- Effective carer’s assessments focusing on outcomes and collaboration.
- Inclusive services involving unpaid carers in the discharge process.
- Digital tools for workforce development and market shaping.
- Social prescribing to link individuals to community resources.
- Improved identification of unpaid carers in communities.
- Encouraging self-identification among carers and promoting service access.
Our Friendly Trio is Here to Help! 🤝
Bridgit Care, Looking Local, and CAN Digital have extensive experience of working in the public sector and have jointly worked with over 50% of all UK Local Authorities.
Our joint passion is on innovating how we deliver social care, through digital and marketing solutions.
We use technology to help both carers and clients within social care, we free up time within social care teams, and we help councils to deliver the change needed through both internal and external communication campaigns.
Looking Local, Streamlining Social Care: Looking Local is the go-to for digital solutions to support clients within Social Care. They’re digital solutions turn tasks like applying for benefits or scanning documents into a smoother process. Including explainer videos for clients, and simplified workflows for council teams. This innovation is a game-changer for the ARF priorities, from boosting giving clients greater control (Priority 2) to helping with social prescribing in the community (Priority 10).
Bridgit Care, Scaling Carer Support: Bridgit Care is all about wrapping a warm, digital arm around carers and those they care for. They’ve got the tech to help carers access self help, provide 24 / 7 online support, and tools like contingency plans and carer ID cards. Bridgit’s approach is totally in tune with the ARF’s priorities, focusing on identifying carers (Priority 11 & 12) empowering carers with digital tools (Priority 2 & 8) and creating a more effective way to handle carer’s assessments (Priority 7).
CAN Digital, The Digital Megaphone for Councils: CAN Digital is like the town crier for the digital age, helping councils sing about their services far and wide. By transforming council websites into ad space superstars, they generate income and communication channels that amplify the reach of important campaigns (Priority 9). They also ensure the message of social care innovation hits the mark with targeted digital campaigns, resonating with local needs and priorities (Priority 3 & 10).
Part of a Larger Social Care Innovation System
We know we can’t do everything ourselves so we’ve got the backing of the TEC Services Association (TSA), where Bridgit Care is a proud TSA member representing the voice of carers 🎖️. With the TSA we can link in other support as well based on the priorities.
We’ve also been supporting by the centre for Social Care Information Excellence (SCIE), who are taking the lead role in co-ordinating the activities for the ARF. You can check out our recent webinar with SCIE as part of an innovation showcase on how we’re innovating support for Carers Assessments here.
Let’s Make it Happen – Together! 🙌
If you’re part of a local authority or ICS, now’s the time to jump on board with us. Our mix of techy know-how and caring hearts can turn your projects into something that really makes a difference with ARF’s vision.
Ready for a chat? 🗣️ Want to know more about how we can work magic together? Just drop us a line. We’re here to make the future of adult social care bright, personalised, and super supportive – for everyone.
📩 Get in Touch Today
For more information on how to become part of this vital initiative, contact us directly or book a meeting with the team, or sign up for one of the webinars.
