The Inquiry

How to create, develop and verify human-centred services that achieve the following:

Are responsive, effective and really work for people.
Breaks the cycles of disadvantage and inequality, to create more person-focused public services that are better able to respond to the complexity of problems present in Oxford communities
Involve a diverse range of people in the design and delivery of services, especially people with lived experience of having used those services.
Are of high quality with substantial collaborations with service-users that shapes service creation, delivery and experience.
Enable organisations to be sources and advocates for the development of these services.

Learnings from Parent Power

People must be able to use their lived experiences to change the way that services are created.
It’s important services don’t use individuals’ lived experiences as a means to an end, not considering whether extracting those experiences could retraumatize families. Ways to circumvent this:
Create a process that means people can tell their stories just once, without having to do so repeatedly at different points in a process.

Remove jargon and make processes easier to navigate through clearer language that can be understood by all.
Removal of barriers in the application process.

Important for microservices to not feel authoritative, but instead more relatable and comfortable, which will help people take the first step. Whether that be attending a group, reaching out with a challenge and generally engaging in things that are available to them.
Creating a sense of safety at each touchpoint will lead to spaces where people are able to be vulnerable and open, build confidence and good support networks that continually guide them to the next best steps for them.
Good networks are at the heart of the impact that is created. A sense of family.

Make forms easy to understand, and less intrusive and overwhelming
More friendly and less long-winded
Needs to take into account the individual filling in the form and what they are realistically able or willing to answer. I.e. If a child is filling out a form, a question like ‘are you being neglected’ will likely cause great difficulty understanding and/or facing the question.

Ask what forms mean to those filling them out, and how they can be changed for the better.

Being aware of and working to remove the stigma of needing help from service providers. I.e. When parents don’t want schools to know in case they make assumptions.
Taking into account the resistance people have towards using services and using that awareness to inform communications with them.
Mobilise more creative and positive networks building on people’s strengths rather than solely focusing on prevention.

Include professionals in each relevant area - i.e. parents, residents, and not just the statutory sector. Bringing people together from across all systems.
Understanding interconnectedness of issues and creating processes that take that into account.

Listen to what people are telling organisations and services about their experience. Ask if they view their situation as a success, rather than basing success on figures or what service providers assume success should be. I.e. A person may be housed, but if it’s not in a mentally safe environment that supports them in the long-term, this shouldn’t be considered a success
involve those you are serving i.e. the homeless community, in everything to do with shaping the policies, structure and delivery of the service itself.
Questions to ask before putting a service in place for an individual: What do you feel a service should be giving you? What do you feel is going wrong?
Questions to ask after an individual receives a service, to determine the level of success: Are they still facing various personal issues? I.e. taking drugs, drinking. Are they in conflicting lives? Do they view their situation as a success?

Use other counties to create that version of life
Remember it’s not just about the local authority, but is also about creating change across the nation.

Important for service-providing individuals to remember why they’re there, as this will come across to those using the service.
People being helped should not be made to feel like a problem to be got rid of, but an individual that has a problem, needing some help for themselves (and not for the collective stats.)

Trauma-related issues should be dealt with before a service is provided, to maximise the effectiveness of the service. I.e. If an individual is sent to rehabilitation before the issues that caused or exacerbated their addiction aren’t solved, the individual may have less of an awareness of why they are in a particular situation, how their background affects their decision-making, etc. This would make rehabilitation less likely to have a long-lasting impact.

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