Third Sector Organisations: Unique or simply other qualified providers?

The Third Sector has been promoted by progressive English governments as a provider of health and social care services for people with mental health difficulties. This article considers the assumptions that lie behind these polices and reviews the evidence that Third Sector Organisations can be said to have a ‘unique’ role and approach. The challenges and opportunities of the current market based reforms on the Third Sector are discussed. \ud The article is based on literature reviews of the Third Sector’s role in mental health care and commissioning of Third Sector Organisations. \ud The Third Sector delivers a range of mental health services in England, in particular those related to accommodation, advice, advocacy and employment. Its activity extends into other roles such as campaigning and development of new approaches to care and support. Evidence of the distinctiveness of the sector as a whole is limited, but there are examples of such organisations providing innovative and user-led services. Market based reforms are seen as posing a threat to smaller organisations in particular but personalised approaches (including allocation of individual budgets), outcome based payments and the need for large scale service redesign are seen as offering considerable opportunity for expansion.\ud For the new market to include a strong Third Sector will require leadership within organisations, a collaborative approach within the sector, and commissioners that understand and engage positively with the sector in all its diversity. \ud This article draws together the research literature on the Third Sector’s engagement in mental health and the impact of market based reforms and in doing so provides original value in the fields of mental health and third sector studies

Personalisation: The Beginning Of A New Dawn Or The End Of The Road For Third Sector Support For Carers?

Personalisation has become a key aspiration of adult social care policy in England. Perspectives vary though as its meaning and the extent to which it signals a new paradigm in care. It is being seen as not only relevant to those directly accessing care but also for their carers. Carers’ support is an area in which third sector organisations (TSOs) have traditionally played a significant role, and changes to funding and the expected model of care will therefore potentially have an impact on the third sector. This study explores the issues that arise for TSOs who work with carers from the introduction of personalisation, through interviews with TSOs and public sector commissioners and policy makers

Jumped or pushed: what motivates NHS staff to set up a social enterprise?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the motivations behind public sector spin outs, focusing on the Right to Request policy, which enabled NHS staff to set up their own social enterprises to deliver healthcare services.\ud \ud Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on empirical data gathered from 16 in-depth interviews with individuals who had led a Right to Request proposal.\ud \ud Findings – Motivations to spin out of the NHS into a social enterprise were often “empathetic” in nature, built around the good of the service for staff and users. Alongside this, some felt “pushed” out of the NHS as a result of government restructuring policy, with social enterprise offering the only hope to survive as an organisation.\ud \ud Research limitations/implications – The study captures a particular point in time and there may be other perspectives that have not been included.\ud \ud Social implications – The paper is of use to academics, policy makers and practitioners. It provides an important contribution in thinking about how to motivate public sector staff, especially those from a health profession, to consider spinning out into social enterprises.\ud \ud Originality/value – The paper is the first to look at the motivations of healthcare spin outs through the Right to Request programme. The findings are related to previous literature on social entrepreneurship within public sector settings.\u

Is Personalized Learning Meeting Its Productivity Promise? Early Lessons From Pioneering Schools

Blending computer-based and teacher-led instruction promises to help schools meet students' individual needs by organizing and prioritizing staff and technology in more productive ways. However, this fiscal analysis of eight new charter schools that implemented personalized learning this year finds that early difficulty in forecasting enrollment and revenue can undermine implementation of the model.As a result of missed enrollment and revenue projections:The schools spent less on technology and more on personnel than planned: instead of a combined $1.7 million on technology in the early stages, they spent just$650,000Student-to-computer ratios were higher and schools spent less than planned on instructional and performance reporting software.Projected budget deficits in five of the schools threaten their ability to sustain on public funding.Among the brief's recommendations for those hoping to implement personalized-learning models in the future:Invest in student recruitment efforts up front to ensure enrollment targets are met.Develop a 'worst-case scenario' budget where fundraising and enrollment estimates fall 20 -- 25 percent below target.Manage contracts proactively: be explicit about needs, establish performance requirements, and negotiate trial periods to make sure products meet the school's needs.The eight personalized-learning schools included in this analysis were chosen to receive Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) competitive start-up grants. CRPE is midway through a study of twenty personalized-learning schools that received NGLC grants. The study examines how the schools allocate their resources, how they manage the new costs of technology, and whether they can become financially sustainable on public revenues. CRPE will continue to track spending in all twenty schools this year and publish its findings next spring.This study is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Listening from a distance: A survey of University of Illinois distance learners and its implications for meaningful instruction.

In Spring 2009, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library conducted a significant new survey of distance learners enrolled in off-campus or online graduate programs. Exploring distance learners’ perceptions about and use of library services, the survey of 146 students reveals opportunities to better meet the research needs of distance learners whose graduate work may demand extensive use of library resources. The survey affords insights into distance learners’ communication preferences, and their particular research needs. Findings from this survey have informed one academic library’s strategy to begin addressing important questions in library instruction for distance learners.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Whose outcomes are they anyway? Report of the pilot evaluation of a joint service\ud

Health and social care partnership working is often predicated on the notion that it improves outcomes for service users. Yet there is a lack of evidence linking partnerships to changes in outcomes. Against this background, the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham designed the Partnership Outcomes Evaluation Toolkit (POET) specifically to evaluate health and social care partnerships in terms of service user outcomes. This paper reports on the field testing of POET with Sandwell Integrated Support Service. This research provided a number of interesting insights into this service, and indicated some dissonance between staff and service user and carer expectations

A liberated NHS – but will it lead Health and Social Care together or force them apart?

This article is based on a leadership seminar held by the National Skills Academy (Social Care) in July 2010 at which delegates representing local authorities, the independent social care sector, voluntary organisations, central government and academia considered the impact of integrated working on social care leadership. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the authors

Shareholder Advocacy In Corporate Elections: Case Studies In Proxy Voting Websites For Retail Investors

One of the key rights shareholders retain is the right to vote on issues affecting the companies in which they invest. This voting right is seen as one of the primary means of exercising diligent corporate governance (Cole 2003, Fairfax 2009). Only 28 percent of individual investors vote in corporate elections compared with 91 percent of institutional investors. Informed voting decisions at corporate elections can be very information intensive, and theories of rational apathy and the free rider problem may explain a lack of participation from individual investors. Many shareholders cannot attend annual corporate meetings, so they can use the proxy voting process. Several proxy voting websites have been launched to increase engagement among individual investors in the voting process, but most have failed. Through case study analysis of Moxy Vote, the United States Proxy Exchange and ProxyDemocracy, this research identified major hurdles in regulatory constraints and funding models and opportunities to engage progressive institutional investors and millennials. This research also explores the link between shareholder voting and corporate disclosure on climate change and sustainability