organisational culture

Delivering integrated care and support (IRISS Insights, No 24)

Document that is based on a report prepared for ADSW at the time of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill (Petch, 2013) and seeks to distill key evidence to assist health and social care partnerships in Scotland in their delivery of integrated care and support. It works from the premise that structural change by itself does not deliver the improved outcomes sought for service users and communities, unless equal or greater attention is paid to a range of other key factors.

Key points are as follows:

Exploring the relationships between evidence and innovation in the context of Scotland’s social services

Report that uses theoretical, empirical and practice literatures and case studies to reflect on the links between evidence and innovation in the context of Scotland's social services. It bridges two of the core work streams at The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS); evidence-informed practice and innovation and improvement.

In-work poverty, ethnicity and workplace cultures

Research that is part of JRF’s focus on the links between poverty and ethnicity, and examines the role of workplace cultures in routes out of poverty for people of all ethnicities.

With a high representation of ethnic minorities in low-paid work, and falling demand for low-level skills, this publication reveals the need for skills development and career progression for all employees.

Culture change in the public sector (IRISS Insights, No. 17)

Evidence review that focuses on the topic of organisational culture change in the public sector. It examines definitions and approaches to organisational culture and how they relate to the public sector; the type of change that identifies as cultural; what the enablers are to culture change; and describes some of the challenges to changing cultures in the public sector.

Performance differences across local authorities

Paper that comes in two parts. First Lesley Sutton shares her experience in looking at (some) data on local authority spend and performance in a few sectors. This is undertaken on the basis of published data, and the annex describes the key data sets that are available and touches upon the significant gaps. Her work does point to a major variation in performance but also emphasises that this is a data and policy minefield; great care should be taken before drawing any conclusions as to relative efficiencies, etc.

The Big Society and innovation in care and support for adults: key messages from SCIE expert seminars

This paper presents the key messages from two SCIE expert seminars: Innovate and Fly: supporting quality and efficiency in tough times (co-hosted with The Innovation Unit) 9 July 2010; and Big ideas, big society: innovation in care and support (co-hosted with the Department of Health) 5 August 2010.

Targeted youth support pathfinders evaluation: final report

This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the Targeted Youth Support Pathfinders (TYSPs). The policy was developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to ensure that young people in need of support receive a genuinely personalised package of support, at the earliest possible opportunity. The evaluation was designed to capture the impact of the service reforms at the level of infrastructure, professional working practices, individual young people and overall outcomes.

The gang as street organisation (Radio 4 series: Thinking Allowed)

This episode of Radio 4's Thinking Allowed series includes a segment on gangs and looks at what happens when a violent gang tries to refashion itself as a political movement. David Brotherton, Associate Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice is co-author of 'The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation: Street Politics and the Transformation of a New York City Gang', an account of his experience of the notorious New York branch of an American super gang and its decision to go straight. He joins Laurie Taylor to discuss. The segment is first in the audio clip.

Empowering communities to influence local decision making: evidence-based lessons for policy makers and practitioners

This report draws on a systematic review of published evidence to provide lessons on empowerment for policy makers and practitioners. It aims to enable the development of workable activities for empowerment underpinned by a sound evidence base. It focuses on six key mechanisms that facilitate empowerment: asset transfer; citizen governance; electronic participation; participatory budgeting; petitions; redress.