Ideas for social services and social care from Iriss
The Emporium of Dangerous Ideas is a future-orientated festival that aims to re-establish the importance of dangerous ideas as agents of change ā to shift the axis of what is possible! The 2015 Emporium will take place all over Scotland from 9th to 19th June.
Further details of the events are available here:
http://www.collegedevelopmentnetwork.ac.uk/fodi/festival-of-dangerous-ideas
An underpinning principle of the Innovation and Improvementās strategy is the emphasis on creating spaces for innovation to happen.Ā We believe that we have a role in supporting the incubation of ideas, and are trying to understand what that role might look like in the future.
To explore this further, we had the pleasure of attending the Innovate conference in San Sebastian (or Donostia, in Basque) last week. The conference was designed to share practice across a range of European countries about the focus on social innovation for economic development.
Our contribution to the conference was based on our experiences of supporting a social entrepreneur, Alison Urie, to develop a social enterprise, Vox Liminis. Happily, Alison was able to attend the conference to share her learning and experience directly with the audience.
In the short time that was available for the presentation, Alison explained that 9 months ago, IRISS provided time space and a small amount of funding to help her on her way to developing Vox Liminis. This support, alongside that of many others (Fergus McNeill (Criminologist from Glasgow University, The Melting Pot etc.) has helped Alison’s idea become reality.
Alisonās passionate and articulate presentation seemed to give the audience plenty of food for thought regarding the link between research and practice ā as well as the elements which are necessary in order to encourage start-ups to grow and flourish. She noted that her journey hasn’t always been smooth, but that the links between practice, academia and being based within an agency (like IRISS) which bridges all these worlds had made her work possible. If weāve been marginally helpful to Alison then we are glad ā but ultimately, the success is down to her skills, networks and determination to make her social enterprise a success. We are sure sheāll continue to go from strength to strength.
At IRISS, this experiment has reminded us of the need to have a mixture of diverse perspectives to keep ideas flowing ā we have gained huge amounts from having Alisonās input and her influence is clear in our organisation.
To read more about Alison’s journey, please visit her blog: www.voxliminis.co.uk,
To find out more about the Innovate project, see one of the ongoing outputs, the Social Innovation Network, an online facility that allows users to access information, participate in research, debate and discussion, and co-ordinate collaborative ventures with other stakeholders
On 16th July 2013 the Guardian raised the important question:
āIs food the future of philanthropy?ā
This was as part of their report on Free Cakes UK – a service that matches keen amateur bakers with families struggling to provide their child with a birthday cake – delivering its 1,000th cake. Proving that perhaps, in this case anyway, cake is the answer to big questions.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the world (Glasgow), on the same day, I (Fiona Wood) was starting my journey as a new IRISS employee.
I came to IRISS from a series of academic research posts in collaboration with various Scottish Higher Education Institutes and NHS Boards but I donāt have a healthcare background. In fact my background is as an academic researcher specialising in designing programs of activity for childrenās outdoor play and learning.
So whatās it like for an academic/designer suddenly finding they work in the field of social services after years of working in education and health care? Well, let me tell youā¦.
IRISS is different from any other place Iāve ever worked before. The office is large and open with all staff (including our director) sitting in the same space. At one end there are three sofas used for meetings, chatting, eating, reading and so on.
At the other end there is a bright pink wall with the words ālearning, partnership, creativityā embossed in white across it. Below this phrases like āyou are what you shareā, āan essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to failā and āIf you canāt explain it simply, you donāt understand it well enoughā inspire the organisation.
There is bunting on the ceiling and always a fresh supply of chocolates, biscuits, lots of fruit and, of course, cake!
But, does this style of working work I hear you ask? Well, a colleague, also new to IRISS, summed it up pretty well I think when they said:
āHappier workers are more productive. Get the environment right and everyone functions properly and you produce some nice workā.
So yes, I think it works.
Now, how does this compare to other organisations Iāve worked for? Well, before IRISS I worked as a researcher in a hospital. There were not open offices, there were not sofas or relaxed spaces for staff to interact with one other and there certainly werenāt any pink walls with inspirational quotes. But there was cake.
However, in the hospital the cake wasnāt shared across hierarchies because there were doors in the way. The doctors had their cake; the nurses had their cake; the researchers hadā¦.well we would steal everyone elseās cake. The point is, everyone had a specific role and they stuck to it. They didnāt share ideas, they didnāt listen to one another, and they didnāt know what was going on with each otherās work. Instead, day in, day out, they came in and did their work and didnāt stop and think and question one another. This is not co-production.
At IRISS, there is a lot of listening and asking colleagues what they are working on; there is a lot of sharing ideas; and a lot of engaging with one another and openly questioning each other in a friendly way. Each of the staff members have a broad range of skills that they creatively feed into the organisation. This supports the wide variety of projects currently taking place within IRISS, allowing a spectrum of social service issues to be addressed and considered from a wide perspective.
The resulting difference is that in IRISS there is no room for egos or hierarchies.
I am reminded of the striking difference between these two approaches when I attend meetings with external partners. Iāve observed Health and Social Care professionals pointing the finger at one another and complaining about the āarranged marriageā they are facing at the start of 2014. There is no conversation, no listening, no questioning, no engaging ā instead I see more closed doors, more talking, more blaming.
It is clear more needs to be done to create a happy and collaborative relationship between these groups.
Perhaps they could learn from IRISS.
But what is the solution I hear you ask? Well, itās been 9 weeks so far and Iām not yet sure, but as a starting point I suggest that if we really are going to work together to make a difference for people in Scotland receiving care through Social Services then we have to be willing to listen to one another and actually hear what the other parties are saying.
In short, if youāre going to have your cake and eat it, at least share it with your colleagues too [and that includes your external colleagues and those from other sectors].
