1. Community micro- enterprise Helping people to get a good life
Helen Allen
Rhys Davies
Stephen Chandler

2. Community Catalysts A social enterprise and CIC established in 2010
Works across the UK in partnership with local councils, health trusts, community groups and provider organisations
Help local people use their gifts, talents and imagination to set up sustainable social care and health enterprises
Our goal is for more people needing care to get the support they need to live the life they want to live.
Community entrepreneurs provide real choice of personalised and high-quality services for people who need support and services to live full lives.

3. Policy context in England
Government strategy for adult social care: a system in which people are able to co-design a service which is tailored to their requirements and would help them to lead a connected and contributing life in their local community (‘personalisation’).
Personal budgets and personal health budgets; giving people control of the money to buy services and support
This has been recently been strengthened by:
The Care Act in 2014
NHS England: Five Year Future Forward in 2014.

4. The challenge
People buy support and services that help them to live their lives
Giving people control of the money is only half the answer
People need real choice of a wide range of great local services and supports – and not just social care and health services
Control and choice can be made so complex, confusing, unattractive or scary that people would rather ‘get what they’re given’

5. Harnessing the talents of people in communities
Focus is often on ‘broken’ communities and ‘needy’ people but
Communities have many gifted and energetic people
We are all a mixture of needs and strengths
Concentrating just on needs can mean that professionals feel they have to ‘fix’ - and people and communities wait to be fixed.
Focusing on what communities and people have rather than on what they lack – and helping them use what they have – unlocks reservoirs of energy and creativity.

6. What do community micro- enterprises offer?
Personal and tailored support, rooted in communities
Co-produced services
Flexible and responsive to change
Choice of services that help people to live their lives and meet health and support needs
Help people to link to their community and build social capital
Help people to make their money go further
Local people helping other local people
A great opportunity for people who are marginalised to have a go!

7. Why do community micro- enterprises need help?
The way in which services are supported, regulated and commissioned has forced many good community micro -services to close or for new and emerging providers to enter the market
Families and frontline staff don’t know the new options exist or stick with the traditional services
Existing third sector, business and other infrastructure organisations rarely work together, understand the market, or have the specialised knowledge to provide the necessary tailored support

8. Community Catalysts and community micro- enterprise
Community Catalysts has developed and tested a 5-step approach to stimulate community micro- enterprise including:
Diagnostic to understand what needs to change
Developing a project plan
Identifying a local catalyst and local partners
Creating the right conditions for success
Creating and embedding legacy

9. Role of the local catalyst
Community Catalyst
Access to guidance and policies
Advice on premises
Brokering interface with the Council
Signposting to experts
Shaping of enterprise idea
Marketing
Dealing with complaints
Help with tenders and contracts
Information on personalisation
Feedback on written work
Peer connections and networks
Help with finance and funding issues

10. Community enterprise: the outcomes
University of Birmingham : community micro- enterprises:
Offer more personalised services
Help people to do the things they value and enjoy with their time
Are more innovative: more flexible and offer support to potentially marginalised communities
Offer better value for money
“the ability to offer more personalised and valued care without a high price tag”

11. Community Catalysts model of support- summary
We have deep knowledge of the social care and health sectors: we help very small enterprises negotiate the regulatory, legislative and bureaucratic barriers
We help people to understand what is needed, shape their idea and work to ensure that the enterprises we support are legally compliant, can demonstrate their quality and safety and are sustainable.
We help commissioners understand what needs to change (culture, systems and pathways) and then helping them to implement those changes .

12. Commissioning culture in Somerset
Nurture responsive and flexible markets that enable people to have more options in choosing, managing and directing their own support for as long as possible (from low level community activity to complex support and everything in between)
Efficient, effective and affordable for example, micro providers
Place our emphasis not on prescribing conversations but on “facilitating conversations” between people, communities and the market place
The right support at the right time

13. Somerset Community Micro-enterprise Project

14. Two years of Community Catalysts in Somerset
297 Enquiries
133
New Providers
Directory of 171 Community Providers
40% increase in people taking a Direct Payment

15. Watchet Community Employment Hub Sanctuary Pathways to Employment
Pearl – Girl Friday Somerset Ltd
Flower Shop (Hub)
Local Introduction / Matching
agency.
John – Helping to Remember
Dementia & Memory Loss
Support

16. Micro-Providers in Somerset

17. Area Cluster Meetings…

18. We also have…
Not only this but we have seen unintended outcomes. Brokerage and Introduction Services. People seeing that people like the continuity, flexibility that micro-providers can give. But offer people quality assurance and support.
Chilcares – One parishes response to struggling to find the right care in their village – Will hear from Graham and Paul after the break.

19. 25 % Savings on Traditional Models
£27,159 total cost
32 enterprises
2181 hours of support
£12.45 average hourly rate
91 people served
32 community micro-providers
£134,712 annual saving
160 community micro-providers
annual saving
£673,560
*Based on a survey of 32 community providers in West Somerset.

20. What is most important in a service?

21. For more information