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Programme overview
How the programme was delivered
The programme builds on the expertise of participating authorities, who have demonstrated leadership in pioneering approaches to proactive prevention locally. The programme is delivered through a Community of Practice and a Reference Group to ensure a wide, cross-sector representation:
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Programme objectives
The objectives of the programme were to deliver:
A report outlining the outputs from the programme, in particular:
- the key steps to deliver targeted, proactive prevention for older people at scale
- guidance that can be used to help consistently and robustly evidence the benefits of prevention
Engagement through participants and partner bodies to communicate to central government the outputs from the programme and any enabling requirements identified through programme.
Sharing of insights and themes with the wider sector and government throughout the programme’s duration.
Following the programme’s creation, the Community of Practice members also expressed a desire to deliver a large-scale proactive prevention programme across multiple councils to apply the delivery model and build what could be one of the first large-scale evidence bases for prevention.
Scope of the programme
All opportunities to prevent needs from escalating (whether through more upstream efforts focussed at the many, or proactive prevention focused on specific individuals most at risk), are valuable. However, they require different strategies, approaches, and delivery models.
To meaningfully contribute and add new evidence and insight to the breadth of good practice that already exists, the decision was made to focus the scope of the programme on targeted and proactive prevention for older people who are risk of crisis in the short to medium term. This targeted approach to prevention enables effort and resources to be directed at those most likely to benefit from early intervention.
However, the principles of targeted, proactive prevention can be applied to many other areas, such as support for working age adults and other areas of adult social care, as well as children’s social care, housing, and homelessness. The delivery model and evidence guidance developed in this toolkit reflect the need for deep collaboration across local systems, ensuring that prevention is not just a strategy but a fundamental shift in how care and support are delivered.
