WSCC Changing Futures Programme Sussex - Data Sharing Evaluation

Changing Futures Sussex (CFS) wishes to commission an external evaluation of the impact of the information sharing arrangements between organisations working in the Changing Futures funded delivery teams in Sussex. Changing Futures is a national 3-year, £77 million programme aiming to improve outcomes for adults experiencing multiple disadvantage. It is funded by DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up) and NLCF (National Lottery Community Fund) until March 2025. CFS is one of 15 local partnerships across England that have been funded by the National Changing Futures Programme to improve outcomes for adults facing multiple compound needs, (MCN). In this context, 'MCN' is defined as experience of three or more of the following challenges: homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse, contact with the criminal justice system. It is common for individuals with MCN to interact with multiple public services at once for their various needs but often these services are not joined up and this leads to a complex system for individuals needing to navigate various different services, assessments, and support staff in order to get access to the support they need. Changing Futures aims to improve outcomes for adults facing MCN by testing new ways of bringing together public and community sector partners, in order to deliver improvements at individual, service and systems levels. These intended improvements are defined by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities as: • To stabilise and then improve the life situation of adults who face multiple disadvantage • To transform local services to provide a person-centred approach and to reduce crisis demand • To test a different approach to funding, accountability and engagement between local commissioners and services, and between central government and local areas

CFS is one of the largest CF programmes, covering Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, and West Sussex, the former of which is a unitary local authority whilst the latter are both two tier local government areas. In April 2024, CFS comprised a programme team of eight, with a further 32 client-facing staff. The delivery (client facing) teams are arranged across five locations, (3 in West Sussex, and one each in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove) and are made up of staff from a total of 15 organisations. The staff in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove are all hosted within Local Authority Adult Social Care Teams and undertake close multidisciplinary working, including accessing shared case management systems. The teams in West Sussex operate in a less integrated way, with partnership working between agencies rather than co-location and full multidisciplinary team working. It is proposed that the evaluation focus primarily on the Brighton & Hove and East Sussex teams. (www.ChangingFuturesSussex.org). To receive the Service Specification and Request For Quotation documents please email [email protected].