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Are You Listening? Are you listening? A booklet produced for statutory bodies on the effective engagement of older people Acknowledgements This booklet has been produced in partnership between Age UK, South East Network of Seniors (SENS) and South East England Forum on Ageing (SEEFA). It draws on Age UK’s Forum Toolkit and builds on Consulting and Engaging with Older People, published by Help the Aged in 2007, as well as further discussions between Age UK staff and representatives of older people’s forums and networks. Age UK, the new force combining Age Concern and Help the Aged, helps people enjoy a better later life – here and in 40 other countries – by providing life-enhancing services and vital support. SENS brings together older people’s forums across the South East to share common concerns and seek solutions. SEEFA is a multi-organisation partnership that shares best practice and raises awareness of issues on ageing in the South East. We also wish to thank the members of the Age UK Engagement Development Reference Group who have contributed their views and ideas to this publication and provided information and advice throughout the development of this booklet. For further information, contact the Engagement team at Age UK on 0800 169 80 80 or email [email protected]. The team has produced a number of relevant publications including the Engagement Toolkit and Forum Toolkit for starting and developing a forum. You can also visit www.ageuk.org.uk To find out more about the Equality Act and Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC), visit www.equalityhumanrights.com For references to Dorset Partnership for Older People’s Projects, visit www.ndti.org.uk/uploads/files/Insights_7_Prevention_That_Works.pdf or www.vimeo.com/22022973 There is a large amount of information about engagement on the internet. The following website may be of particular interest: www.involve.org.uk Photography on pages 7, 8, 11, 16 and 17 used courtesy of Enid Irving. Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 What is engagement? 4 3 Why engage? 6 4 Planning engagement 9 5 Mechanisms for engagement 16 6 Levers for successful engagement 19 Notes 20 Are You Listening? 1 1 Introduction We are reminded daily by the media of our While accumulating legislation demands that rapidly ageing population and the pressures local people are involved in the planning and that this is already putting on local services. delivery of local services, this policy is backed Difficult decisions are having to be made by by a growing body of evidence, which shows local authorities and the health economy about that engagement is effective in delivering facilities and service priorities. Older people have cost-effective, useful services.1 a wealth of experience and expertise which they This is a good time for commissioners and are eager to contribute to help find solutions. providers of services to explore new ways to Older people’s forums – which will subsequently involve service users and potential service users be referred to as forums in this document in identifying priorities and opportunities for the – can be a useful engagement tool. Age UK reconfiguration of services. and its local partners work with a network of This publication aims to support local authorities independent forums through a programme and the health economy with their decision- called Speaking Up for Our Age. If you are not making by explaining how they can engage with already in touch with your local forum, please older people on the design and delivery of local make contact with the Civic Engagement services. As local citizens, older people wish to Officer within the Age UK Engagement and be informed and engaged on all local matters, Volunteering team and we will be pleased to not just on those that are assumed to be of put you in touch. Call 0800 169 80 80 or email interest, such as health and social care. [email protected] Older people wish to be informed and engaged on all local matters, not just on those that are assumed to be of interest, such as health and social care. Are You Listening? 3 2 What is engagement? Civic Engagement, which is the focus of this 2.1 Informing, consulting, involving, booklet, has been defined as ‘collective actions collaborating, partnership, delegated designed to identify and address issues of power, citizen control public concern’.2 Different types of involvement are appropriate The terms ‘involvement’, ‘participation’ and in different situations, but the aim should be ‘engagement’ tend to be used interchangeably to strive for maximum engagement. Genuine and will be used thus in this document. engagement works best as a continuous process The different levels of involving people are rather than a one-off event. With this in mind, demonstrated by Sherry R. Arnstein’s community forums provide a valuable and cost-effective 3 engagement ‘ladder of participation’ in which foundation for local civic engagement. lower ‘rungs’ mean less participation and higher rungs equate to more participation. Arnstein considered the lower rungs, of informing, consulting, involving and collaborating as ‘tokenism’ because the power-holders still retain rights to decision-making. It is not until the higher rungs of ‘partnership’, ‘delegated power’ and ‘citizen control’ that citizens gain increasing degrees of real power and clout. citizen control delegated power partnership collaborating involving consulting informing 4 Are You Listening? Case study: A view of the Wiltshire model Just over four years ago, Wiltshire was This was achieved by developing good almost at the bottom of the national league practices around engagement, aimed regarding engagement with older people. at the improvement of services offered Senior citizens were determined to change by the council, and by involving the third this and as a result, out of a small think- sector in providing more local services. tank, a research programme was born called Service users have been invited to be directly Beyond the Immediate (BTI). The Wiltshire engaged in the policy-making decisions in Strategic Board gave its full support to this. many practical ways. Membership of key BTI has been an extraordinary example of boards, such as the Joint Commissioning how working together can really make things Boards on Care and Health, Older People happen if everyone is committed to a shared Services, Adult Abuse Board and the key aim. Over 50 agencies came together to Scrutiny Board, has brought about form the alliance, led by Age UK Wiltshire. substantial benefits. The over-50s themselves played a key role in There is also ongoing engagement with finding out about the needs, concerns and older people at grassroots level through the aspirations of their peers. This was supported establishment and development of 18 Area with funding, time, energy and practical help Boards, each with a reasonable budget to from statutory bodies and alliance members. decide on local improvements, as well as When Wiltshire became a unitary council, through annual events. service users, alongside others in the third sector, worked in close partnership with the council to make more effective use of scarce resources. Are You Listening? 5 3 Why engage? Wiltshire County Council is confident of the benefits that a structured engagement policy Case study: Portsmouth has enabled. municipal budget-making Successful engagement takes time, money In Portsmouth, the City Council invites and practical resources, so statutory bodies Portsmouth Pensioners’ Association and service providers will want to be clear about (PPA) together with other voluntary the reasons for engagement. These include: bodies, including the local Age UK, to a consultation meeting on a draft budget • government legislation requirements every January. PPA then meets to • s trengthening understanding between discuss and makes representations as a policy-makers, planners, commissioners, deputation (five minutes) at the full council service providers and service users meeting when the budget is agreed. • i mproving people’s later life This is an important process because once • ma king better use of resources. the budget has been agreed, the scope for further interventions later in the year 3.1 Government legislation over cuts, for example, may be futile. Following the budget, the PPA asks one As this publication goes to press, there is of the city financial officers to give them considerable uncertainty about the future a breakdown of all the expenditure on obligations around engagement that will older people for the coming year. be required of local authorities and service providers. What is absolutely clear, however, is that there is a growing expectation for local 3.3 Improving people’s later life authorities and service providers to have robust and demonstrable engagement It is neither acceptable nor feasible to make strategies in place. These will be fundamental assumptions about older people’s opinions to the effective local implementation of the and needs. Today’s older people are extremely localism agenda and the Big Society. heterogeneous, encompassing people with radically different life experiences and a wide age span of 40 years or more. This huge range 3.2 Strengthening understanding of difference is a challenge for planners, which between policy-makers, planners, can most effectively be addressed by involving commissioners, service providers people from across its spectrum. and service users As is illustrated in the case study below, older Forums tell us about the confidence that people have valuable contributions to make in effective engagement with statutory bodies ensuring that local needs are met through cost- and service providers brings. When older people effective, high-quality services. are engaged in decision-making, they are more easily able to understand the reasons for cuts and are eager to work with commissioners to find effective solutions that meet local needs. Building understanding and trust in this way paves the way for fruitful open discussions.
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