Over the years, organisations have provided support to people in a way that has been a barrier to fully contributing to their community. In the current climate, here are a number of questions to consider:

• How do we develop alternatives to just paid support for people?
• How do we continue to develop individually designed services at a time of reduced budgets?
• How do we stay true to our values and principles while moving forward?
• What hasn't worked, why not and how can we try it differently?
• Looking in depth at a person's day/night - where does the support come from?
• Does housing play a significant role in our thinking?
• How can we use assistive technology to support people?
• Who is the person and what do we notice about what they bring and what they can contribute?
• What relationship does the person have that can be nurtured, develop and can be reciprocal?
• How do we move away from what currently is to what could be and test out the impact of our ideas on the person and the service?
• How do we find a balance of what is important to people while providing just enough support?

Who should attend?
Providers, commissioners and all people trying to create individually designed services in the current financial context.

About Ruth Gorman
Ruth works as a trainer and consultant with Helen Sanderson Associates (HSA) and is Chief Executive of a charity called Imagine, Act and Succeed, a provider in the North West of England.

Ruth has worked within IAS for 15 years and with HSA for 10 years. Her work has included development of person centred teams, her lead areas have included Positive and Productive Meetings, MAP and PATH and Person Centred Supervision, Working Together for Change and Just Enough Support.

Can't attend but want to find out more?
Please email communications@in-control.org.uk

This webinar is being provided for Stay Connected members. However if you would like to access this session please contact us at communications@in-control.org.uk and we will set you up with a no oligation free trial of the network.

Further information on forthcoming webinars can be found here.

In this session, Rich Watts will provide an overview of the work that DPULOs do and will share evidence and best practice from DPULOs across the country and the difference they're making. He will also share information about the Office for Disability Issues' Strengthening DPULOs programme that promotes the sustainability of DPULOs.

Before joining the webinar, you can find information about the Strengthening DPULOs Programme on the ODI website or Facebook.

The webinar will include:

• Defining what a DPULO is
• A history of DPULOs and relevant government policy
• Reflections on DPULOs from 2005-2010
• Current challenges for DPULOs
• Current opportunities for DPULOs
• DPULOs making a difference - the evidence
• About the ODI's Strengthening DPULOs Programme
• Ambassadors
• Experts
• Facilitation Fund
• Questions

About Rich Watts
Rich is National Lead at the Office for Disability Issues for the Strengthening Disabled People's User Led Organisation programme. He took up the role in July 2011 as a secondment from his role as Director of Essex Coalition of Disabled People (ECDP).

Rich joined ECDP, a user-led organisation (ULO) based in Essex, as a director in November 2007 and is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of ECDP's activities. His previous roles have included strategy, policy and planning roles at the Disability Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and in Community Development in local government.

To take part in this webinar, or to find out more about Stay Connected, please email communications@in-control.org.uk

Information on how to take part in our webinars can be found on this page.

The workshop is part of a significant programme of work to support the introduction of personal health budgets for continuing healthcare patients in the North West.

The work has been commissioned by the North West Strategic Health Authority to deliver a six month programme working with primary care trust clusters and local authorities in the North West. It is in response to the Government's announcement in October that people receiving continuing healthcare services should have the right to ask for a personal health budget by April 2014. This announcement is reflected in the recently published NHS Operating Framework that instructs NHS organisations to prepare for the roll out of personal health budgets in continuing healthcare.

The programme will run in alongside the North West Transition Alliance programme which is also being delivered by In Control in support of Think Local, Act Personal.

Starting from January, In Control's specialist health team will be running a series of workshops and specific project work with sites.

Vidhya Alakeson who will be involved in the programme, said: "This is an important piece of work that will inform the basis of the roll out for personal health budgets and will draw on the expertise that already exists in the region from areas that are currently involved in the Department of Health personal health budgets programme. Our aim is to help improve existing processes and encourage areas that have no experience working with personal health budgets to begin planning for roll out."

For further information on this programme, please email Julie Stansfield.

This new service will enable delegates to save the time and expense of travelling to an event. They will be able to participate in short, focused online sessions involving leading people in the personalisation field. Delegates will even have the opportunity to ask questions afterwards!

A number of dates have already been secured for the next few months. Some of these will be open access, however a number (those marked with *) will only be available to members of our Stay Connected network.

Forthcoming webinars include:

Strengthening Disabled People's User Led Organisations (DPULOs)*

16 February 2012 - 10am to 10.45am

Rich Watts

National Lead for Strengthening DPULOs Programme and Director of Essex Coalition of Disabled People (ECDP)

Disabled people's user-led organisations (DPULOs) can and do play a unique role in both representing the voice of disabled people and in delivering public services, particularly in social care.

In this session, Rich Watts will provide an overview of the work that DPULOs do and will share evidence and best practice from DPULOs across the country and the difference they're making. He will also share information about the Office for Disability Issues' Strengthening DPULOs programme that promotes the sustainability of DPULOs.

Before joining the webinar, you can find information about the Strengthening DPULOs Programme on the ODI website or Facebook.

Just Enough Support*

22 February 2012 - 2pm to 2.30pm

Ruth Gorman, CEO Imagine, Act and Succeed

As the impact of the economic downturn hits public services most organisations will experience a reduction in funding over the coming years and possibly longer. This session will enable participants to be proactive and take this opportunity to make a concerted push around developing alternatives to just paid support, promote better outcomes for people and to be in control of their own destiny as funding reduces.

Personal health budgets

14 March 2012 - 2pm to 2.30pm

Vidhya Alakeson, In Control's Personal Health Budget Programme

This webinar will explore how personal health budgets are progressing including good practice and challenges and will look at what needs to be done ahead of the roll out for continuing health care in April 2014.

Email us to register for this session.

Webinar places are limited and are available on a first-come-first-served basis only. Invitations will be issued nearer the time but to secure your online seat register your interest now by contacting communications@in-control.org.uk with details of the webinar you want to take part in.

*These sessions are available to members of Stay Connected only, access may be available as part of a trial of the network, contact us for further information.

Content and timings may be subject to change.

Please note that you will need to be registered for People Power to access this recording. If you have forgotten your login in details simply enter your email address and click on 'Forgotten password' and a reminder will be emailed to you.

You can access the recording here

It is available under 'webinars' in the 'support' section.

Attendees included:

• Ciaran Devane, CEO Macmillan Cancer Support
• Paul Burstow MP, Minister of State for Care Services
• Harry Cayton, CEO of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence
• Paul Streets, Director of Public and Patient Experience and Engagement
• Angela Coulter, Director of Global Initiatives at the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, Boston and senior research scientist at the Department for Public Health
• Dr Joceyln Cornwell, Director The Point of Care at the Kings Fund
• Dr Jo Bibby, Director of Improvement Programmes, Health Foundation for the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE
• Jeremy Hughes, CEO, Alzheimer's Society
• Sue Roberts, Chair, Year of Care Partnerships
• Petrea Fagan, Clinincal Development, Addenbrookes Hospital
• Cathy Burton, Macmillan GP, NHS Lambeth
• Dr Amanda Beglet, UCLP Clinical Academic Programmes
• Caroline Tapster, CEP Hertfordshire County Council
• Mark Davies, CEO Imperial College
• Mike Hobday, Director, Policy and Research, Macmillan Cancer Support
• Lisa Godfrey, Macmilillan Programme Director: UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, Macmillan Cancer Support
• Professor Jane Maher, Chief Medical Officer, Macmillan Cancer Support
• Anna Baranski, Policy Analyst, Macmillan Cancer Support
• Simran Bell, Projects Officer and Events Organiser for the CEO office, Macmillan Cancer Support

POET (Personal Outcomes Evaluation Tool), developed by In Control and Lancaster University is the most developed and actively used tool for checking the success of personal budgets. Its aim is to provide a national benchmark on the impact that personal budgets are having on people's lives.

Using POET we published the first ever National Personal Budget survey, commissioned by Think Local, Act Personal. This  session focused on the results of the National Personal Budget Survey and what this means for your organisation. It also demonstrated how POET can enable organisations to review their delivery of self-directed support; identify good practice and areas for learning; inform strategic planning and increase local accountability.

Information on the support we can offer to organisations wishing to evaluate the impact of personal budgets can be downloaded below.

For further information about POET, please email poet@in-control.org.uk

For details of future webinars, click here.