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9 12, 2021

Every day’s a learning day – honest reflections on personal development

By |2021-12-09T10:51:41+00:00December 9th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , , , |

In her third blog for us, Bev Hardman reflects on how far she has come since working on the Birmingham Changing Futures Together Programme. This is a follow on from her first and second blogs.

Recipe to aid achievement: three scoops of self-belief, two large handfuls of confidence and a generous helping of determination – no pinches, drizzles or dashes here, just good old-fashioned dollops of all the above! (More scoops can be added if desired).

Following on from my two previous blogs, I thought I’d talk about where I am today in terms of my development.

Looking back at my journey whilst working on the Birmingham Changing Futures Together Programme and the Inreach Outreach work stream, it’s sometimes hard for me to […]

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6 09, 2021

Save the date: Fulfilling Lives conference 2022

By |2021-09-06T13:29:16+00:00September 6th, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

We are excited to announce that we have set a date for the final Fulfilling Lives conference. This will be held on Thursday 16th June 2022 and there will be the option to join in person or online.

We will share further details in due course but for the time being, we ask that you save the date. To make sure you receive the booking details when they are available, we recommend one of two options:

We hope that you can join us and we look forward to seeing you in 2022.

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2 09, 2021

Turning the tide in Blackpool

By |2021-09-02T12:45:05+00:00September 2nd, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |

Ian Treasure is the Programme Lead at Blackpool Fulfilling Lives. In this blog he reflects on the work of the programme over the last 7 years and how the system has, and still is, changing.

Blackpool is famous for illusions. Similar to the visual and kinaesthetic feast of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, System Change relies on redesigning those first few seconds, the moment of truth, when a customer comes into contact with a service. ‘System Change’ is the latest Baader-Meinhof frequency illusion, seldom heard but now thankfully ubiquitous. In order for system change to occur, it’s a back office job. That customer shouldn’t be troubled by how it is a good experience, just be happy that they are being treated well, regardless of […]

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4 08, 2021

Changing Futures programme announcement

By |2021-08-04T13:23:01+00:00August 4th, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: , , , |

At the 2019 Spending Review, the government announced a new Shared Outcomes Fund to test innovative ways of bringing together the public sector to address cross-cutting issues and drive the modernisation of public services. £46m of the fund was committed to the Changing Futures programme to improve the way that systems and services work to support individuals experiencing multiple disadvantage. In the context of the programme, this is defined as combination of homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill-health, domestic abuse, or contact with the criminal justice system.

The work of Fulfilling Lives and Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) were cited in the prospectus and members of the Fulfilling Lives National Expert Citizen Group were involved in the planning of the programme. The Fund demonstrates a […]

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22 07, 2021

Learnings from Help through Crisis: Crisis support during COVID-19

By |2021-07-22T14:12:17+00:00July 22nd, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , |

The Help through Crisis (HtC) Learning, Support and Evaluation (LSE) team have produced a series of reports exploring the HtC response to Covid-19. In this blog, the LSE team share key learning from their work.

HtC is a £33 million, five-year programme funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. Across England, 69 local partnerships have been supported by HtC. Each partnership helps people who are experiencing or at risk of crisis to overcome difficulties and plan for the future.  While the HtC and Fulfilling Lives programmes each have a distinct focus (HtC partnerships support people facing crisis for different reasons, whereas Fulfilling Lives focuses on those experiencing multiple disadvantage), some HtC beneficiaries do experience multiple disadvantage and supporting people to overcome difficulties is at […]

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8 07, 2021

‘Planting a seed of hope’: Prison release webinar reflections

By |2021-07-08T12:58:35+00:00July 8th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , |

Dr Jo Welford, Research Manager at CFE Research, presented last month at our Improving service transitions for people experiencing multiple disadvantage: Prison release webinar. In this blog, she reflects on key messages from the session.

A large virtual audience from as far away as Australia tuned in to our recent national evaluation webinar on the experience of prison release for people affected by multiple disadvantage. The national evaluation team were joined by Fulfilling Lives partnership staff, including three with lived experience of multiple disadvantage, as well as the Ministry of Justice. Over 200 people attended on the day, with many from statutory and charity organisations who work with this client group, which made it our best attended webinar so far.

I opened the session with an overview […]

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30 06, 2021

An open letter to researchers: A reminder of our accountability

By |2021-06-30T16:14:07+00:00June 30th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |

Beth Collinson is the Learning and Impact Associate for the Fulfilling Lives programme. In this blog, she reflects on an open letter to researchers she recently read, reminding us of our accountability.

Alongside my work with Fulfilling Lives, since 2019 I have coordinated the Sheffield Addiction Recovery Research Panel (ShARRP). ShARRP is a public and patient involvement panel whose aim is to empower those with first-hand experience of substance use to shape how research in the field is undertaken. The panel is made up of those with personal experience of drug and alcohol use; carers, partners and family members of those affected by drug and alcohol use; as well as advocates for addiction recovery and harm reduction. Whilst the panel is situated in Sheffield, […]

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17 05, 2021

Improving service transitions for people experiencing multiple disadvantage: Prison release – new publication

By |2021-05-17T10:37:07+00:00May 17th, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: , , , |

Our latest publication, Improving service transitions for people experiencing multiple disadvantage: Prison release, is published today. The experience of prison for people experiencing multiple disadvantage is often a reoccurring series of short sentences, which create huge disruption to their lives with limited benefit in terms of rehabilitation. Among people supported by the Fulfilling Lives programme, there is an association between spending time in prison and having poorer outcomes, including being less likely to leave the programme to a positive destination.

The report details examples of effective practice from Fulfilling Lives areas and insights into how the process of prison release for people experiencing multiple disadvantage could be improved. Key findings show that Fulfilling Lives support workers and navigators who engage with people while they are in […]

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21 04, 2021

Evaluating the Evaluation: Reflections on the Importance of Evaluation in Fulfilling Lives

By |2021-04-21T14:35:58+00:00April 21st, 2021|Categories: Blog|

Mark Crowe, Research and Evaluation Coordinator at WY-FI has worked for the Fulfilling Lives programme for the last 8 years. In this blog, he reflects on the importance of evaluation within the programme.

I have been involved with Fulfilling Lives since the beginning, working with three different partnerships and lead organisations in West Yorkshire. There was so much that attracted me to the role – the focus on supporting the most disadvantaged and excluded people; a commitment from the funder to person-centred approaches and co-production; and an explicit link between practice and policy development.

I have spent a lot of my working life (which is roughly as long as the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) has been giving grants to good causes) writing reports that must be […]

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31 03, 2021

Why we need to invest in multiple needs – updated briefing published today

By |2021-03-31T17:54:32+00:00March 31st, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: |

Today we publish our latest briefing, Why we need to invest in multiple disadvantage. This updates our earlier briefing of the same name with more recent data and looks at outcomes over a longer period of time.

The briefing explores the substantial cost to the public purse created by misdirected and avoidable use of public services, as well as the human, social and economic costs. The briefing also shows how, after getting support from Fulfilling Lives for nearly a year, people have fewer negative interactions with public services, including fewer arrests, convictions, evictions and visits to A&E. There are also significant reductions in rough sleeping with more people spending time in supported accommodation or their own tenancy.

The analysis is based on data up to March 2020 and […]

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15 03, 2021

Using my experience to promote system change

By |2021-03-15T16:58:53+00:00March 15th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: |

Mandy Winstanley, Involvement Champion with Every Step of the Way (Birmingham Changing Futures Together) and member of the National Expert Citizen Group reflects on how she has used her own experience to promote system change.

My story

I was raised in the care system during the 70s and 80s having being born to a 15 year old mother who was using substances. The impact of this led to many childhood traumas and I started using substances myself at 9 years old, using periodically until I got clean at the age of 47. My life as a drug user was hard work and I used to adopt various ideas of family life. As a mum to six children, I would become the Walton’s for years, sometimes Mary […]

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15 02, 2021

COVID-19 has given us all permission to think differently

By |2021-02-15T14:19:22+00:00February 15th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |

Diane Elizabeth Smith MBE is the Head of Programme at Fulfilling Lives Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. In this blog Diane reflects on how COVID-19 has given us all permission to think differently.

Adjusting our processes to operate during a pandemic has been a challenge, but it has also presented us with a unique opportunity to apply Systems Thinking to make a better society for all.

As an organisation, we acknowledge that our current system doesn’t work for everyone – particularly people who experience greater levels of disadvantage – and our ambition is to make services easier to access by working alongside people who need, deliver, evaluate, commission and govern these services.

So, while we have a responsibility to respond and react to the pandemic and the pressures […]

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8 01, 2021

Workforce development and multiple disadvantage – new briefings published today

By |2021-01-08T13:39:51+00:00January 8th, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , |

Ensuring the workforce is equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes is an essential part of providing effective services and support for people experiencing multiple disadvantage. System-wide workforce development is one of five collective strategic priorities identified by Fulfilling Lives partnerships and intended to create sustainable change.

Our latest series of briefings, published today, each focus on a different aspect of workforce development and multiple disadvantage.

People with lived experience have a huge amount to offer the workforce. Their experience can be valuable, particularly in support roles, where they act as role models and rapidly build trust with beneficiaries from the perspective of someone who has been in a similar situation. The first briefing explores ways in which those with lived experience of multiple […]

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22 12, 2020

Reflections on 2020

By |2021-07-08T11:32:51+00:00December 22nd, 2020|Categories: Blog|

In our final blog of 2020, the Fulfilling Lives national evaluation team offer our collective highlights and reflections on what has been a most extraordinary year.

  • The Fulfilling Lives programme provides much-needed support for people facing multiple disadvantage. This year the programme passed the 4,000 mark for numbers of direct beneficiaries.
  • There is great energy across the local partnerships to drive work to change the system of support for people facing multiple disadvantage, both at local and national level. Read about the partnerships’ systems change priorities here.
  • One of the priorities shared across partnerships is improving access to services, in particular mental health support. At the start of the year we published a report exploring the barriers to accessing mental health support […]
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26 10, 2020

The co-production cake: Want a slice?

By |2020-10-26T10:52:51+00:00October 26th, 2020|Categories: Blog|Tags: |

Last month the National Lottery Community Fund hosted a virtual breakfast to discuss all things co-production. Hosted by Laura Furness, Head of Funding at the National Lottery Community Fund, the panel consisted of Winston Allamby (Community Partner, Fulfilling Lives Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham), Helen Phoenix (Head of Customer Collaboration, South Yorkshire Housing Association) and myself (Learning and Impact Associate, Fulfilling Lives). This blog is intended to shed light on some of the key messages and discusses co-production using the analogy of baking a cake: a theme which came up during the session.

So what do we mean by co-production? In A Meeting of Minds, a report published by The National Lottery Community Fund last year, co-production is defined as “creating, delivering, […]

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15 09, 2020

The role of lived experience in creating systems change

By |2020-09-15T10:12:09+00:00September 15th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

Creating lasting systems change – at local and national levels – is a key objective of the Fulfilling Lives programme and experts by experience have become increasingly involved in systems change work in their local areas. Our latest publication draws together the experiences and perspectives of partnership staff, partner and stakeholder organisations and insights and reflections from experts by experience (people with lived experience of multiple disadvantage) involved in systems change activities.

By providing a powerful, authentic voice and unique insights, experts are able to challenge assumptions, motivate organisations to do things differently and pinpoint areas for change. The opportunity to be involved in system change activity can be empowering and satisfying as it enables experts to reframe negative past experiences as learning to drive positive […]

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29 07, 2020

Closing down beneficiary support projects – new publication

By |2020-09-25T12:42:12+00:00July 29th, 2020|Categories: News|

Our latest publication, Closing down beneficiary support projects, draws together the experiences and perspectives of staff in various roles at four Fulfilling Lives partnerships whose direct work supporting beneficiaries has come to an end. Fulfilling Lives was always a time-limited programme, providing funding to test new approaches with the aim of informing lasting systems change. The report offers practical tips and recommendations from partnerships to aid the smooth closure of similar time-limited support.

The report highlights that starting planning and preparation for closing projects early is key. A joint strategy involving all partners helps ensure everyone is clear about their role in the process. Ongoing flexibility and adaptation is required, and close monitoring of caseloads is important to balance demand with available resource.

External preparation and systems change […]

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27 07, 2020

A test and learn approach to Critical Time Intervention

By |2021-07-08T11:33:52+00:00July 27th, 2020|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |

Iain Donnelly, Programme Lead, has recently joined Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead (FLNG). In this blog Iain reflects on their Critical Time Intervention pilot.

Between June 2018 and March 2020 we piloted a Critical Time Intervention (CTI) model as an alternative to the more traditional navigation approach that we had previously used in our work supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Developed in the US, CTI is an evidence-based practice of working with a person during a transition, such as leaving prison or moving into accommodation, for a maximum period of nine-months, focusing on person-centred goals and building support networks in preparation for the end of the time-limited period.  As a model, it’s relatively new in the UK and ours was one of the first full-scale pilots to […]

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7 07, 2020

Challenges and opportunities: Evidence from Fulfilling Lives partnerships on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic

By |2020-09-15T09:51:21+00:00July 7th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , |

Our latest publication, Challenges and Opportunities, draws together key experiences from Fulfilling Lives areas on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures to control its transmission have created challenges and opportunities for partnerships supporting people facing multiple disadvantage. In particular, the pandemic has created movement on issues that partnerships have been working towards for some time, such as taking more collaborative and person-centred approaches. As we transition out of lockdown, it is important that the learning from the pandemic is captured and used to inform more positive models of working in the future.

The pandemic has engendered a sense of urgency and rapid responses to need. Service providers have shown greater flexibility and creative solutions have been developed to meet need. […]

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29 06, 2020

COVID-19 and the national evaluation of Fulfilling Lives

By |2020-06-29T09:36:09+00:00June 29th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: |

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures to control its transmission have created challenges and opportunities for partnerships. In particular, there are examples of changes and flexibilities on issues that partnerships have been seeking to influence for some time. It is important as we transition out of the lockdown to capture information and evidence on the changes made, their impact and to identify those that are beneficial.

In response to this, the national evaluation team will be undertaking a two-stage piece of evaluative work. This includes:

  • A short-term, rapid piece to inform immediate planning for transition out of lockdown, to capture changes Fulfilling Lives partnerships have helped implement, and which of these have been effective in the short term and should continue. This work will complement and […]
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