Can support providers become agents of citizenship and community development?
Authors: Chris Watson and Ashleigh Fox
From the Foreword:
Thirty years ago, when developing the first models of personalised support in the UK our assumption was that small was beautiful. However commissioning practices have continued to promote larger organisations. As this important paper describes, this is highly problematic.
Today, as Citizen Network focuses increasingly on how to combine personalised support with neighbourhoods of care, the challenge remains: can support providers become agents of citizenship and community development?
It is encouraging to hear of Catalyst Care Group’s work to create very small units of support with a high degree of autonomy. Hopefully this paper will encourage commissioners and support providers that it is time to think differently. We need to end the era of bigger is better but also create these kinds of pragmatic solutions to support the small to be beautiful.
Read and download the free pdf in your browser, link below.
The publisher is Citizen Network. From National to Neighbourhood © Chris Watson and Ashleigh Fox 2025.
Inclusion, Neighbourhood Care, Self-Directed Support, social care, England, Paper