Thoughts

Our young people are facing an uncertain future, and the context in which young people today are gaining an education and entering the workforce is significantly different from past generations. The future state of education and employment must transition to adapt to these circumstances, and meet the challenges that young people are disproportionately facing.

A picture paints a thousand words, they say, so what better way to explain a fresh approach to children’s social care to staff, young people and their families than through an animation?

Catch up with our conversation with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Chris Naylor, CEO at London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

A conversation with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Chris Naylor, CEO at London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

There are growing fears that homelessness could rise in Western Australia (WA) with the end of government policies like JobKeeper coinciding with the end of the rental moratorium.

How we can work together to make a lasting difference in towns, cities and communities

To really make a difference, you need to be in it for the long-haul. As the final blog in our series explains.

The penultimate blog in our series on place-based transformation looks at why new approaches to local economic development are emerging. In particular we look at asking more serious questions about local impact.

We’ve loved collaborating with a range of talented creatives over the years, and encourage others to work with artists – such as illustrators, designers, photographers and videographers – to communicate complex issues in better ways.

The next in our series on place-based transformation looks at using community organising to create radical local change.

Part seven of our place-based transformation series looks at grow-your-own local leadership

We need an overarching goal for schools that is aligned to the new reality we are in.

Part six of our series shows how successful, sustainable change requires action from top to bottom and back up again.

Plans for sustainable recovery in the budget are welcome but the government still doesn’t seem to understand what it will really take to improve people’s lives. 

This piece is about leadership and governance, informed by the insights of 100+ front-line workers and leaders across Greater Manchester and their reflection on what they experienced and learned during their Covid response.

In response to the news that the government is planning to reverse reforms of the NHS in England, Sarah Gillinson, chief executive of Innovation Unit says more should be done to achieve greater integration and innovation.

This blog is about what happens when the state gets firmly behind a clear, shared purpose in local communities and the lessons that emerge when it does.

The next in our series on place-based transformation focuses on the role of learning as you go when delivering large-scale community change

We are in our third National lockdown, and have been told once again to work from home, where we can. There is so much that we have learnt in this crisis about how we work, communicate and collaborate, and so much that has already been transformed.

“This is what we have. Who needs it most?” From programmes to people in Greater Manchester’s Covid response.

Part 4 in our series on place-based transformation argues that meticulous planning is unnecessary and that more progress can be made by starting and doing

Part 3 in our series finds there can be no vision or meaningful action for place-based transformation without an appreciation of the locality and its residents

Learning from innovation in a crisis: how the disruption of Covid has given Greater Manchester the chance to ‘design forward differently’

Part two of our series on Place-Based Transformation is on the need for inspiration and ambition as the starting point of a strategy for change

Part one of our series shows how place-based transformation substantially improves the life chances of local residents – when it’s done well.

The new report, ‘What does the Covid-19 pandemic mean for young people’s mental and emotional wellbeing in Lambeth?’, captures the experiences and emotional lives of a group of young people living in Lambeth during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As we move towards nationwide vaccination and we look forward to the end of the pandemic, we should take the time to think: what has 2020 meant for the emotional lives of young people? What does it mean for future forms of care and support?

Learning from scaling innovation in children’s social care.

Shining a light on intergenerational connection through the COVID19 pandemic.

Innovation Unit head of health and social care William Roberts sets out a vision for a stronger, more sustainable model of care that supports older people to live better lives for longer.

Up to 10% of the government’s new levelling-up fund must be dedicated to innovation if the initiative is to achieve the impact intended.

KEY INSIGHTS FROM CO-DESIGN

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR WOMEN’S REFUGES

PRESS RELEASE: Jade Tang-Taylor to lead Innovation Unit New Zealand

NEW REPORT: Building stronger communities through parent-led support

NEW REPORT: Bridging the Gaps – new approaches to improving outcomes for care experienced young people given prison sentences.

The new report, ‘From crisis to renewal: Redesigning the mental health system around people and communities’, captures changes in the mental health system in response to Covid-19 and advocates for a new mental health vision shifting power towards communities.

How can we use the covid-19 crisis as an opportunity to reduce youth violence?

Our work as part of the Living Well UK Programme has shown us that stories are vital for producing change and improving people’s lives.

The world is in lockdown. It is affecting our mental health, our wellbeing, our lives. Yet there is also much generosity and kindness. We want to be sharing these stories, understanding that some will be harder to tell, and to hear, than others.

How the NHS Framework for Community Mental Health Services can help us to rebuild in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Innovation Unit ANZ are delighted to be working with Sport New Zealand | Ihi Aotearoa on a new project to understand experiences and perceptions of play from sector stakeholders, parents, and children, to create more quality play experiences.

A new report from Innovation Unit NZ investigates approaches to making Auckland an age-friendly region.

Innovation Unit recently undertook a project to share learning from the DfE Innovation in Children’s Social Care Programme across the UK. In this blog Caroline Wierzejska discusses the key features of our approach.

Auckland Council commissioned Innovation Unit ANZ to bring to life key opportunities for system-level collaboration to make Auckland a more age-friendly region, based on feedback from older Aucklanders.

Innovation Unit Senior Associate Siobhan Edwards discusses Sheffield’s journey in adopting the No Wrong Door approach to Children’s Social Care.

A report by Innovation Unit into youth violence in Greater Manchester reveals pressures on young males to conform to toxic images of masculinity, and the role of social media in this.

Rachel Knight from Innovation Unit Australia New Zealand discusses how Innovation Unit started her cultural competency journey, and some ways to help people engage with Te Āo Māori in the workplace. 

How to look back to Te Āo Māori/the Māori world to advance your design research practices.

This is one of two blog posts based on Rachel and Kataraina’s talk at the 2019 UX New Zealand conference, which you can watch here.

PRESS RELEASE: 350 people in Greater Manchester share their experiences and solutions on violence affecting young people in new report out today.

Innovation Unit is delighted to congratulate 2019’s winner of the Governor’s School STEM Awards – Brookman Primary School – and runner-up Pannawonica Primary School, who have been awarded for their approach to bringing a whole-of-school STEM culture to life.

The Heart Foundation of New Zealand commissioned Innovation Unit Australia New Zealand to lead a social innovation process in Te Tai Tokerau to explore how they might enable Māori to be screened for cardiovascular disease at a younger age.

Matthew Horne, Deputy Chief Executive at Innovation Unit, explains why we need new systems of support that help people to live well.

Innovation Unit are delighted to be working with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity on an international learning project to help them build their understanding of how living in urban areas affects people’s health and wellbeing.

This report from Innovation Unit in partnership with Big Change demonstrates how important it is for parents, teachers and pupils to be brought along, as well as the communities around them.

PRESS RELEASE: Seven in ten teachers say they wish schools were preparing students for more than just exams. New report on reimagining education launched by charity Big Change and Innovation Unit.

The report, Local Learning Ecosystems: emerging models is part of the WISE report series, in this case in partnership with Innovation Unit, a leading innovation social enterprise.

PRESS RELEASE: A radical new report from World Innovation Summit for Education-Innovation Unit calls for learners to get out of the classroom more and grasp the opportunities of flexible modern ‘learning ecosystems’.

In this blog series we explore three priority areas of the NHS Long Term Plan and provide our view on what we think it will take in practice to achieve the ambition it sets out.

In this first instalment, Sarah Dew discusses the importance of scaling solutions that work for people, not conditions.

A new research report reveals key insights about the experiences of care leavers leaving prison, and the opportunities and challenges they face following release. 

We’re helping six Greater Manchester local authorities adapt and adopt No Wrong Door – last week they visited North Yorkshire to experience the model first-hand

PRESS RELEASE: Innovation Unit appoints Directors from HMRC, Ufi and Richmond Upon Thames Council to their Board.

We are delighted to feature as one of the FT’s Leading Innovation Consultants in the UK for the second year running.

Innovation Unit has been visiting and working with innovative schools in the United States for the past decade. Here are some important things we have learned.

In this article, Kataraina Davis, one of our New Zealand based Project Leads, reflects on her journey into social innovation. 

The following mindsets for social innovation were developed by Innovate Change prior to its merge with Innovation Unit.  

Last week ten ex-carers became the first Coach4Care coaches to offer support to carers and those they care for.  

Innovation Unit in partnership Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) and Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) have been working with UNICEF’s regional offices in sub-saharan Africa to better understand the opportunities and challenges of ICT for learning on outcomes for young people.

We’re looking for two new UK Board Directors to help us get there. If you’re an experienced leader with values that align with ours we would love to hear from you. Please register your interest by 23rd November 2018.

Finding ideas from the high street to make healthy eating easier for children and families.

Over the past year we have been working with a dedicated partnership of funders and London Councils to explore the potential of business and community led ideas that help people make healthier food choices on our high streets.

Want to assess the impact of a new model for community mental health services? We are looking for an evaluation partner for a new ambitious programme supported by the Big Lottery Fund running over three years.

Nick Webb, our lead for mental health, writes an alternative job description for the new Minister for Suicide.

Auckland Council commissioned Innovation Unit Australia New Zealand to understand peoples’ experiences of housing instability to inform a cross-sectoral homelessness plan for Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland)

PRESS RELEASE: New Living Well UK programme will take innovative approach to improving mental health to four new areas thanks to £3.4 million in National Lottery funding.

A new report reveals deep gaps between housing support services, and shines a light on opportunities for system-level change.

Funded by The Oak Foundation, Innovation Unit and partners have begun work to develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing care leavers given prison sentences and their experiences of being in custody and following release.

On Tuesday 31st July Innovation Unit and SCIE will be hosting a free webinar to share and discuss learning from the Named Social Worker Programme.

BBC News coverage of Public Health England’s work on mapping fast food hotspots mentions Tasters Fried Chicken’s new healthier menu for children, which came about as part of our work on Healthy High Streets.

As New Zealand’s Innovate Change merges with Innovation Unit, we create a new Māori identity that connects us to our place in Aotearoa.

On 1 July 2018, Innovate Change will merge with Innovation Unit, a not-for-profit social enterprise that creates new solutions for thriving societies.

A collection of healthcare innovations that are beginning to answer some of the most challenging questions in healthcare.

The ideas in this booklet describe how radically different services might be achieved. They are some of the vital principles that should underpin 21st century healthcare.

Innovation Unit are delighted to be working with Unlocking Potential to support them in the design of a unique primary school for children living in the London Borough of Brent.

On Friday 20 April, we brought together social work leaders and managers from across the UK to learn from innovative approaches to working with adolescents with complex needs.

How can healthcare leaders create cultures in which innovative solutions can scale up? Sarah Dew, Project Lead at Innovation Unit, explores what needs to change.

Jonny Mallinson, Head of Alliances for Change at Innovation Unit, reflects on the rapid progress made by West London CCG as they move towards community-based models of care that are innovative, integrated and sustainable.

The latest NHS Confederation podcast looks at new care models in the NHS. Innovation Unit’s Health and Social Care Lead, William Roberts, offers his insight and experience of successfully spreading change across networks.

On Thursday 15 March Q Community hosted a Twitter chat with David Albury and Tim Horton, discussing how innovations are successfully scaled in the NHS.

William joins our expanding team, bringing significant health experience from both the NHS and local government, where he has held a number of key roles over the last twenty years.

How do we create thriving societies for good mental health? We need to stop working person to person and take a more holistic approach, supporting connected groups of individuals, friends, families, neighbourhoods and caregivers.

Yesterday, Vicki Purewal joined the launch event for a new report on inner-city childhood obesity to talk about Healthy High Streets – the healthy eating project we are delivering with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity.