Outline Requirements for an Academic Advisor to the One Team Working Evaluation Project

Outline requirements for an academic advisor / independent researcherto the development of the One Team Working Evaluation Framework in Doncaster

Project background

In Doncaster, Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDASH) and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC) along with key partners, have instigated a programme of integrated working – One Team Working (OTW) - with the four-fold aim of:

Positive user experiences
Better care outcomes
Positive staff experiences
Improved cost effectiveness

As it is rolled out to each of four localities across Doncaster, the OTW programme will result in an integrated community team as health and social care staff are co-located, a single point of access into community services, improved communication between health and social care providing personalised support and less duplication for service users and carers.

The rollout of OTW across the adult pathway and the children and young people’s pathway has begun; the first of four adult pathway sites went live in Sept 2011.

The stated objectives of the OTW programme are:

Reduced hospital and care home admissions with more people being cared for in their own home

Better service user experience
Promote early and safe return to home from acute care
Improved service user participation, choice, control and prevention
Enable community-based, adult step up and step down beds
Improved support for carers
Increased opportunity for improving health and wellbeing
Children and young people educated at their local school rather than out-of-authority
Stronger safeguarding arrangements for adults and children that reduces child protection cases and number of looked after children
Improve access for vulnerable and hard to reach groups

The evaluation of OTW is included in the formal partnership agreement between DMBC, RDASH and wider partners and the evaluation outcomes will inform future commissioning and delivery. A PID for the development of the OTW Evaluation Framework is being finalised: this project will run from July 2012- March2013. The implementation of the evaluation itself will then follow.

Role of academic advisor / independent researcher

The role of the external academic advisor / independent researcher to the development of the OTW Evaluation Framework will be to act as a critical friend, provide external challenge, advise on valid and reliable outcome measures and draw in learning from other evaluations nationally.

Commitment

The advisor to the evaluation would be expected to:

attend key meetings in person in Doncaster beginning in August 2012 and ending in Feb 2013
join other meetings by conference call
provide advice, review documents and return feedback within agreed timescales

Over the 7 months of the project the commitment is expected to be approximately 20 days.

Remuneration

The remuneration is £350 per full day worked on the OTW Evaluation Framework Project. Reasonable travel expenses will be paid at NHS/LA rates.

Expressions of interest should be emailed to

by close of play 3 August 2012.