Summary
The Socially Connected Strategy aims to work closely alongside key communities and individuals within the city to develop a list of priorities and actions to reduce isolation and loneliness, which will inform future HSCP initiatives.
Making A Difference
The development of the Socially Connected Programme is ongoing and therefore its overall impact cannot yet be evidenced. This project has strong links to Community Plan Performance Indicators, including ‘Thriving Places’ Residents with Positive Perception of Mental or Emotional Wellbeing.
In order to identify key priorities, gaps, and actions, to enable the people of Glasgow to be better connected and help reduce isolation and loneliness, Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership has commissioned the development of the Socially Connected Strategy.
The design process will be a first of its kind in Scotland, facilitated by expert designers from the V&A who will ensure all groups of people are represented and that the research design and communication methods are considerate of all needs.
Glasgow HSCP is working in partnership 3rd sector organisation Impact Funding Partners, who have identified organisations which are uniquely placed to represent a key stakeholder group and are champions for social justice in Glasgow. Organisations appointed a representative, providing that they were able to make decisions on behalf of their organisation and could engage people with lived experience that their organisation supports.
Work has been split into three phases: design, research, and consultation.
The design phase worked with organisations which support key communities across the city to ensure the Strategy is user led, to prioritise key tasks, and to evaluate the group’s thinking.
The research phase then supported the work of the strategy by engaging key stakeholders from the communities supported by the organisations involved in the design phase. These stakeholders meetings aimed to cluster the members into key groups, support the design and delivery of the research methods, and frame consultation methods for the final phase.
The consultation phase, consisting of a series of meetings to gather feedback from individuals and communities the Strategy hopes to support, is still ongoing – with the Strategy aiming for completion by the end of January 2022. Through the development of the strategy a wide range of groups, including those who are vulnerable and BME, have been engaged. A lot of these people have lived experience of the issues they and other people face in the city, and of the barriers to them engaging and connecting in their communities.
Glasgow’s Socially Connected Strategy will enable the Glasgow HSCP and its partners to be informed about the ways in which they can work together with communities to address the issue of social isolation and loneliness in the city. For more information, for if you wish to be involved in the Strategy’s development, contact Ewan Davidson at strategy@impactfundingpartners.com
