What has been heard since the launch of Plan 24-30?

By Fiona Duncan - Independent Strategic Advisor to the promise

When Plan 24-30 launched on 20^th June, it was a curation of evidence, insights and progress made up to that point - building on what has come before and organised in way that is rooted in delivering all the conclusions of the Independent Care Review.

Fraser McKinlay’s June blog highlighted the need for organisations to explore the content of the Plan 24-30 website and its navigation and make suggestions for improvements. The hope was the summer months would give the time needed for organisations working to #KeepThePromise to get in touch to highlight the ways that Plan 24-30 could be adapted to be more useful for them as they navigate complexity of change ahead.

Over the last three months, plan2430@thepromise.scot has remained open for feedback, and an immense amount has been received, mostly positive. The feedback falls into three broad areas:

• Format and content of Plan 24-30
• Navigation of the Plan 24-30 website
• The non-traditional approach that Plan 24-30 presents

Plan 24-30 will continue to be developed. This will be in response to a) feedback, to ensure it stays fit for purpose and b) change as it happens to iterate a route map.

Static destination Plan 24-30 sets out WHAT must change, by WHEN and WHO must act. The ‘static’ parts of Plan 24-30 include the foundations, themes and the destination ‘where should Scotland be by 2030’. Whilst these parts of Plan 24-30 are fixed, a number of improvements are being made to support the function of the website to support understanding and navigation. These website improvements are listed later in this paper.

Dynamic route-map Each theme has a section on it that outlines the route map to 2030. These sections are dynamic. Keeping the promise requires joined-up working and agile delivery to respond to both expected and unexpected changes. The destination is known, but the path to change will evolve as progress is made to 2030. This means the route map will iterate to demonstrate progress made.

Ongoing development of Plan 24-30

 

Many constructive suggestions have been received on how to improve the website's content and navigation. And the immediate updates will respond to this feedback, as well as some amends to content where gaps have been identified. These updates will take place over the autumn and winter.

Several web developments are taking place to make it more straightforward to find information, including the addition of an option to ‘filter’ content on the website by sector and by theme.

Information sessions

Supported by The Promise Scotland, I will be hosting a session to highlight how Plan 24-30 has developed in response to feedback and to give an update on the next steps. This will be in the autumn and will be recorded and made available.

Resources

A Plan 24-30 slide deck with logos and infographics has been developed and is available to download.

Folks continue to advise what resources they’d like to #KeepThePromise. The team at The Promise Scotland will continue to log every single one for consideration against what would be most useful for stakeholders to:

• Understand Plan 24-30
• Communicate Plan 24-30
• Use Plan 24-30

All resources will be developed in response feedback, to make sure Plan 24-30 is effective in driving and implementing the changes needed to #KeepThePromise over the coming years.

Work is underway with the web developers to create a ‘take the tour’ website video to support people navigate the website and understand the content.

Developing route maps within Plan 24-30

 

More intensive targeted engagement with relevant stakeholders is required on HOW to get to WHAT ‘good’ looks like. This will allow solutions to be mapped as ‘milestones’ in Plan 24-30 and route maps to be developed.

The engagement over the coming months will focus on 1) the organisations with accountability for implementing changes in key parts of the ‘care system’, 2) surfacing solutions and 3) driving more collaborative work.

The approach for engagement will be rooted in what was heard during the Independent Care Review, with organisations that have to move first, move most and / or have the furthest to go - principally public bodies with statutory duties - prioritised.

The role of The Promise Scotland in convening will be to support discussions, whilst not building itself into the ‘system’ where other organisations have the responsibility and expertise to lead and drive change.

This means that engagement will focus on developing the ‘dynamic’ parts of Plan 24-30.

A new way of planning – how people ‘feel’ about Plan 24-30

 

The launch of Plan 24-30 also surfaced a degree of discomfort at the absence of the traditional, static strategy document many are used to. Just as the Independent Care Review’s methodology and outputs were non-conventional, the collaborative approach to devising Plan 24-30 and it being hosted on a website recognises that orthodox planning approaches have not worked so far and that ‘process’ can be as important as ‘product’.

Plan 24-30 was developed in response to calls from stakeholders for a plan that enables collaboration and keeps everyone on track, takes account of change as it happens, and that reflects the sustained commitment and determination to keep the promise.

Scotland is 4½ years on from the conclusions of the Independent Care Review. Over this time, the most straightforward changes to the ‘care system’ have been implemented, from here on in, it will be more complex and harder and will require new ways of working.

Plan 24-30 identifies where change must be accelerated, including areas with a significant distance to travel.

I appreciate that for the workforce, operating in a constantly changing operating environment, change is already challenging and difficult. The Independent Care Review was clear that ‘Scotland must hold the hands of those who hold the hand of the child’ and we must do what we can to recognise and alleviate the workforce’s feelings of overwhelm. As they are critical to making sure that the promise is kept.

The engagement will aim to address the discomfort and overwhelm, whilst ensuring everyone is clear on their role and responsibility in change.

Yesterday, the Scottish Government published an update report on their progress, with a statement from the First Minister reiterating commitment to #KeepThePromise. This commitment continues to be vital as Scotland moves onto the next stage of delivery with Plan 24-30.

The Scottish Government fulfilling its critical role in creating an enabling environment for the promise to be kept is essential, so it must fulfil its responsibilities - at pace. The progress made across a range of areas demonstrates the hard work already undertaken. This work must continue, and in some areas, be accelerated.

I look forward to continuing to work with the Scottish Government and all others dedicated to making sure Scotland does #KeepThePromise.

Email: plan2430@thepromise.scot