SSRG Noticeboard

Send any items for the Notice Board to webmaster@scie.org.uk. Please include an expiry date of when you want the item removed.

NIHR Health Services Research (HSR) programme and INVOLVE joint funding call: Public involvement in research
This is a joint funding call about public involvement in research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through INVOLVE and delivered by the NIHR Health Services Research (HSR) programme managed by NIHR Evaluations, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC). We anticipate funding a range of studies in both size and duration using different approaches and within a variety of areas of NHS, public health and social care research.
The closing date for submission of outline proposals is before 1pm on Thursday 6 May 2010.

Please visit the HSR website HSR Joint involved call site
for further information and to download the following :
- commissioning brief
- background information
- guidance notes
Vacancy - Research Officer, City of Westminster, Greater London
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Salary: £31263 – £35343 Per Annum

Location: SW1P 3BT, City of Westminster, Greater London, London

Closing Date: 28 January 2010

Interviews start: 18 February 2010

Seniority: Middle management

Pay frequency: Monthly Permanent

Working Arrangement: Full time & Part time available

Travel required: Sometimes

Brief Description

In this national organisation, you will take a high profile leadership role in:
- Developing a knowledge based approach to practice
- Providing training & consultation in the application of research evidence to practice and service delivery
- Promoting relevant internal and external research
- Promoting and supporting the evaluation of Cafcass services
- Developing Cafcass as a learning organisation
Vacancy description

You will be an inspirational and motivated leader with high levels of stamina and resilience and able to work effectively under pressure. You will have a commitment to a high–quality cost–effective service, to social justice, equality and meeting the needs of children. You will be experienced at leading, organising and delivering research knowledge in a medium to large organisation. You will understand the research field relating to the family justice system and areas of relevance to children involved in family proceedings. You will possess influencing, persuasion, advocacy and negotiation skills and effective written and verbal communication and presentational skills.
In turn, we can offer you a high profile national role as the Research Officer in Cafcass the purpose of which is to safeguard and promote the interests of children involved in family court proceedings.
Part–time and full–time opportunities available.

Language Skills
- Influencing, persuasive, advocacy and negotiating skills evidenced in written and verbal communication and presentational skills
Skills
- Ability and experience of conducting research.
- Ability to use IT including Excel, power point and web based resources
- Ability and experience of delivering training
- Knowledge of social work issues and of the social care sector
- The ability to evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data
- Understanding of service delivery roles within Cafcass and the organisation’s primary roles in safeguarding and promoting the needs of children
Qualifications

None Specified.

Experience
- Experience of practice and management in a social care organisation including the ability to motivate staff at all levels without direct line management responsibility
- Understanding of the research field relating to the family justice system and areas of relevance to children involved in family proceedings
- Experience of leading on, organising and delivering research knowledge in a medium to large organisation
- In depth knowledge of diversity within society and an understanding of how evidence based practice contributes to better outcomes for children who suffer disadvantage through social exclusion
- Understanding of the children’s rights strategy and work plan for Cafcass and the need for the development of services to be supported by evidence
Further information

CRB check required – Yes

How to apply

To apply for this vacancy please visit the recruitment section of the Cafcass website, and dowload an application pack for you specific vacancy. Please email your completed application form to Recruitment by 12.00pm on the closing date.
If you experience any difficulties accessing information from the website please contact us by email at Cafcass recruitment.
Vacancy – Performance Analyst (Temporary 12 months) Coventry

Directorate: Community Services
Salary: £23,708 – £29,236 pa
Closing date: 22/01/2010
Reference: CC010

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Performance Review Unit in providing a timely and high quality performance management function to inform decision making, service design and to deliver statutory and local reporting requirements. You should have excellent analytical skills, communication and report writing skills.

Click here for more information.
Exploring Impact: public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research

A new INVOLVE report was launched on November 6th 2009 by Professor Dame Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development at the Department of Health. The full report 116 pages is available to download on the publications section of the INVOLVE website. A 16 page summary is also available
Calling all Research Governance Leads! Developing the Research Register for Social Care

Calling all local Councils' Research Governance Leads! A six–month project begins October 2009 to promote the use of the Research Register for Social Care. You are invited to share your experiences and ideas – contact Chris Russell chris@barn.abelgratis.co.uk

Download article (20kb PDF)
Research Evaluation – strategy for older people

Edinburgh has a 10 year shared plan for older people which aims to create A City for All Ages. Strategic objectives were set with older people, and two five year action plans have also been set participatively and the first one was externally evaluated. We are now looking to evaluate the second 5 year period and the overall impact, and look forward to see if a new strategy is needed and if so how different it should be from the current one. We still want to do this participatively – and we'd like to benchmark this work, and if possible get the benefit of design and research experience from other authorities or partnerships on strategy evaluations.

If you have done or are designing or carrying out parallel work, we'd be pleased to hear from you.

Please contact:

Paul Hambleton (SSRG Scotland Chair)
or
Susan Shippey,
Tel +44 (131) 469 3874
Email: susan.shippey@edinburgh.gov.uk
Research Evaluation – strategy for older people

Edinburgh has a 10 year shared plan for older people which aims to create A City for All Ages. Strategic objectives were set with older people, and two five year action plans have also been set participatively and the first one was externally evaluated. We are now looking to evaluate the second 5 year period and the overall impact, and look forward to see if a new strategy is needed and if so how different it should be from the current one. We still want to do this participatively – and we'd like to benchmark this work, and if possible get the benefit of design and research experience from other authorities or partnerships on strategy evaluations.

If you have done or are designing or carrying out parallel work, we'd be pleased to hear from you.

Please contact:

Paul Hambleton (SSRG Scotland Chair)
or
Susan Shippey,
Tel +44 (131) 469 3874
Email: susan.shippey@edinburgh.gov.uk
Vacancy – Programme Manager: Capacity Building

£41,118 (within scale £39,920 – £49,096) + pension
Dartington, Devon

research in practice, a department of the Dartington Hall Trust, is a Core Partner in this exciting new initiative established by central government – the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services (C4EO). This is a major opportunity to support the development of excellence in children’s services. You will be at the heart of delivering an innovative and enabling programme of sector–led improvement. You will also lead our enthusiastic and well–functioning team of events staff.

As Programme Manager: Capacity Building, you will be a key member of the C4EO Wider Management Group – responsible for the successful delivery of our events programme; making a major contribution to the recruitment, development and deployment of peer advisers across the country; and contributing to the overall strategic and operational delivery of C4EO. This post would suit someone with a good working understanding of local authority children’s services and children’s trusts, excellent skills in project, staff and budget management, and who is willing to travel within England on a regular basis.

In return, we offer an environment where you will enjoy the freedom, cooperation and support to achieve your goals and make a real difference to the success of C4EO and to outcomes for children and young people.

The post is for a fixed period (until 31 March 2011), with a possibility of extension subject to funding. Secondments can be considered.

To apply, please visit www.dartington.org/jobs Closing date: Noon on Friday 6 February 2009. Interviews will be held: Wednesday 18 February 2009.

The Dartington Hall Trust is a registered charity no.279756
Practice and experience of international social care workers

Are you a citizen of a country other than the UK?
AND
Are you working in a care home, for a home care agency, or as a support worker, social worker or care manager?

If your answer is yes to both of these questions, we would very much like to hear about your experiences of working in the UK, whether you were recruited when you were living in another country or after you had arrived in the UK. Your views are very valuable to our research and we would appreciate if you can take part by completing an online survey. This is easy to do and there is a prize draw with 6 prizes! The survey does not ask you to provide any personal information, it is anonymous and your views will be only used for research purposes. If you would like to contribute your views, please e-mail Shereen Hussein, [shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk] and she will send you a unique link to the online survey. No personal details (such as name, place of work or address) will be collected and your views will be only used in aggregate, in combination with other people’s, for research purposes. Please email Shereen, if you have any questions. The survey is being carried out by The Social Care Workforce Research Unit (www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/interdisciplinary/scwru/index.html), an independent research unit based at King’s College London. The study has gained ethical approval [Ref: (GGS)/08/09-21] from the university:

Everyone who completes our survey will be entered into a prize draw with the first prize of FIFITY POUNDS (in high street vouchers) with another 5 runners up getting TEN POUND vouchers each. Winners will be drawn by random after the closing date of the survey (end of April 2009) and winners will be notified by e-mail and asked to provide a postal address to receive their prize. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!.
Adult Social Services: Self Funders

Mike Summerskill at the London Borough of Bexley is in the process of drawing up a formal “self funders policy” for adults who do not qualify financially for social services or who do not meet the eligibility criteria. Currently, Bexley is in the early days of researching options and good practice for those deemed to be self funders, after assessment, and would welcome any advice or guidance that others could offer.

In particular, Bexley is trying to find out how and where other authorities send or signpost self funders, and whether there is any mechanism for following up what happens to these people after they have been referred elsewhere. Do any local authorities have a self funders policy or protocol that they would be willing to share with Bexley?

Mike’s contact details are:

Mike Summerskill,
London Borough of Bexley,
Performance and Service Development,
Room 156,
Hill View Drive,
Welling,
Kent
DA16 3RY

(e-mail: michael.summerskill@bexley.gov.uk;
Tel: 020 8836 8103, Fax: 020 8836 8148)
Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA): proposals for assessing local authority services for children and young people (CSN)

21/10/2008
Author: Simon Bird

Download the document (43kb MSWord)
National Indicator Set (NIS) Developments: Your Advice and experience wanted!

The Department of Health (DH) has initiated a project to develop a new suite of performance indicators that aim to be more outcome-focused

SSRG is contributing to this work

This will not be a short-term process, which is why this work is starting well in advance of the next planned iteration of the NIS.

One of the key early tasks is to review the eight PIs that form the adult social care ‘set’ in the current NIS - to consider the pros and cons of each PI, whether they relate to or support our priorities, and whether they show a real outcome focus.

SSRG invites your help in reviewing the current 8 NIS measures by completing the proforma/template for each PI outlined below.

Please return your completed form(s) to David Henderson
Dhender421@aol.com

NIS Critique NI 125 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 127a (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 128a (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 130a (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 132a (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 133a (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 135a (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 136a (MS Word doc)

We also welcome your commentary on the other NIS measures to which adult social care contributes. We know that many of the PIs beyond the core set are of direct relevance to social care, and would be grateful for your comments on these.

NIS Critique NI 119 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 124 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 129 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 131 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 134 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 137 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 138 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 139 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 140 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 141 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 142 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 145 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 146 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 149 (MS Word doc)
NIS Critique NI 150 (MS Word doc)

Thank you for your help!
‘HELP WANTED, PLEASE! LINE MANAGERS of SOCIAL WORK GRADUATES

If you have direct manager responsibility for one or more newly qualified graduates from the new degree programme introduced in England in 2003, Sharpe Research would like to hear from you!

We plan to set up a series of informal and confidential face-to-face interviews with line managers in either Adult or Children’s services, to explore expectations of the skills and abilities of newly qualified social work graduates, and find out how well prepared you have found them for the workplace.

Interviews would be arranged at your convenience. If you are interested in taking part, please email Endellion Sharpe at:

sharpe.research@btinternet.com

These interviews will contribute to our 3-year project ‘Into the Workforce: Social Work Graduates’, part of the Department of Health funded Social Care Workforce Research Initiative.

Site search

SSRG Noticeboard