'I don’t think we’ve ever had anything like this to help people deal with their own personal feelings, plus team feelings, plus organisational change in the way that this does'.

Since 2007, adult social care has been Personalisation so it's no suprise that our Partners chose this as the topic for our second Change Project starting in 2008. Through discussions with them and the Expert Knowledg Exchange the focus for the project emerged as the experience of change to self-directed support.

Development group

Partner agencies were invited to apply to participate in the initial development stage of SDS360 from December 2008 to May 2009. The agencies involved were Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Cumbria County Council, Devon County Council, Lancashire County Council, London Borough of Sutton, Luton Borough Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and West Berkshire Council. The facilitators were Caroline Tomlinson, in-Control and George Julian, research in practice for adults

The Development Group brought together evidence, theory and approaches to support the change process, with practice experience, case examples and actions. All participants were involved in implementing self-directed support in different ways and benefited from hearing the evidence and each other's experience.

'Hearing others meant that we could be successful.' (Development Group member)

Pilot

A proto-type resource based on the Development Groups's recommendations was produced and piloted with practitioners in a series of workshops in May 2010. We shared the evidence and asked practitioners how they felt about change, what inspired them, and what helped them to manage the change towards self-directed support. They commented on the design, content and use of the resource.  It was then refined to be as relevant and useful as possible.

Change Cards

Practitioners wanted a resource that presented accessible, clear information with links to further resources, and that started from where they were in the process of change.

Change cards are based on ten ways that practitioners have told us they feel about the change. No matter where you are in the change, you can pick a feeling that relates to what you are experiencing.

For each feeling there are four types of card:

• change theory – validates feelings by linking them to models of change
• evidence – uses evidence to show how others have experienced change
• reflection – gives examples to encourage reflection and discussion
• action – gives ideas for what helps and what you might do.

Change Cards are supported by a website where you can look at models of change, search a bank of evidence on self-directed support, view more reflections and actions and add your own, and see how people are using Change Cards to empower themselves and others.

We are continuing to offer events to support the utilisation of Change Cards and to continue to help make sense of change as self-directed supports extends and is embedded in adult care and health.