Exploring published literature of emerging practice as a response to challenges due to COVID-19
10 November 2020
This month's insights sees a range of blogs, reports and publications that contribute to the growing literature seeking to understand and make sense of experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the themes and ideas echo the findings from our Health and Social Care Learning System findings.
The topics below include:
Citizen centred and future focussed: community hubs during COVID-19
A blog from the Carnegie Trust on the role of community hubs during COVID-19. Using experiences from community hubs over the last eight months, including in North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, the blog outlines how hubs can support coordination of existing services, provide more responsive support and supported greater collaboration with statutory services.
The impact of COVID-19 on families, children and young people in Glasgow
The final report from Children’s Neighbourhoods Scotland. Key findings:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has increased and entrenched social, economic and health inequalities in Glasgow
- The interlinked nature of different stressors on families has been highlighted by this crisis
- Long terms impacts are yet to be fully realised
- Positive responses and rapid adapting to provide different services were seen across all sectors
- Service professionals across sectors demonstrated their compassion and energy to help communities in Glasgow suffering the worst effects of the crisis.
- Many third sector workers recognised the historic significance of the COVID-19 pandemic and that the response required building a new form of solidarity
- The third sector were not fully recognised as providing essential public services during this emergency
Local authorities invited to improve their homelessness services using data and evidence
This is a programme, led by the What Works Community: Local Government, aims to support local authorities to build their capacity and skills around the use of data to inform decisions. The programme will provide participants with a range of digital resources, guided learning, expert support and peer learning.
Local authorities are encouraged to send team members of any level, whose role focuses on homelessness and housing and is confident leading change in their organisation.
Employment and homelessness in the context of the new economy following COVID-19
A paper from the Centre for Homelessness Impact that assess evidence around the changing picture of homelessness and employment, reviews current employment schemes and makes some key recommendations.
Everyone Home Collective – Route Map Two
This route map from the Everyone Home Collective lays out how people with no recourse to public funds can access safe accommodation. The route map outlines how we can build from the range of support, advice and accommodation that is already provided for people with NRPF across Scotland. And then to connect, embed and sustain this as a coordinated safeguard against homelessness and destitution over the next 5 years.
Under One Roof: working together to make things easier for people
The Simon Community has opened a new multi-agency Access Hub in Glasgow city centre. People can drop in to get help with benefits, health, finances, legal advice, access to the digital world and more.
The new service is being delivered in collaboration with over 20 partners – each committed to helping to make it much easier for people to get the support they need.
CIH Scotland responds to call for evidence on the impact of COVID-19
Responding to the Social Security Committee’s call for evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and what more can be done to support people in Scotland, the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland (CIH) has raised concerns about the increased risk of eviction and homelessness as the UK Government’s job retention scheme comes to a close at the end of October.
The Housing and Place Delivery Forum: our common goal and future priorities
A blog introducing a new knowledge exchange forum. This is a multidisciplinary group of people who have identified five key focus areas:
- The potential role that a national agency, operating at the regional level, might play in funding and coordinating the delivery of infrastructure and enabling works for housing development;
- A need to refocus the role of politics in planning;
- Developing an ambition for planning and empowering planners to champion good places;
- Empowering communities and harnessing their energy to enable people to influence the development of their own neighbourhoods; and,
- Learning from good practice approaches to land allocation and assembly for the housing and placemaking.
New digital services series launched to support organisations test their services online
The Carnegie Trust has launched a new blog and vlog series in partnership with Your Own Place, exploring how organisations have managed to continue providing vital services by shifting to online delivery when COVID-19 restrictions have meant traditional face-to-face work is restricted.
A new digital service for SFHA members: check your housing association’s digital maturity
The Digital Check-up Tool for housing associations has been created as part of the Scottish Federation of Housing Association's (SFHA) Innovation and Future Thinking programme in partnership with SCVO to quantify and score the digital maturity of our sector, enabling SFHA as a membership body to help nurture and develop capabilities and identify needs moving forward.
By completing the check-up, each organisation will get a digital maturity matrix score and also receive a personalised follow-up service from Gary Dickson, SFHA Digital Lead, which will include advice and shared learning on the seven main strands of the maturity model which have been created specifically with housing associations in mind:
- Leadership, culture, and skills
- Tools and equipment
- Content and marketing
- Data management
- Cyber resilience and online threats
- Technology enabled care
- Your organisation’s size and priorities
Using telehealth to build collaborative relationships with patients and providers
An interview with a pharmacist discussing the benefits of telehealth. Key points:
- Telehealth can promote closer relationships with people and result in asking more probing questions around personal challenges in maintaining health
- Telehealth can allow people to have conversations about their health ‘where they are’ – in comfortable surroundings and what feels like ‘there terms’ rather than visiting a clinical environment
- Collaboration can be supported as it is easier to coordinate joint conversations with people and other professionals
Learning from lockdown: 12 steps to eliminate digital exclusion
Report from the Carnegie Trust outlining the 12 steps they see as essential in tackling digital exclusion.
What do we mean when we say digital inclusion?
A blog that presents six provocations around digital inclusions – questions that need to be asked when thinking about or developing digital services/digital inclusion programmes.
Queer families: hints and tips for working with LGBTQ families
This report from Outside the Box, developed with the Queer Families Group in Glasgow, provides advice for organisations working with LGBTQ families. A lot of the challenges facing LGBTQ families centre on assumptions that are made by professionals across all settings. This guide provides advice on how professionals and services can be more inclusive through the language they use, the resources they provide and the activities they do.
Rights at risk: COVID-19, disabled people and emergency planning in Scotland – a baseline report from Inclusion Scotland
A report from Inclusion Scotland that takes stock of the situation disabled people were in before the pandemic, what happened to disabled people during the first months of the crisis as emergency responses were rolled out, what the long-term impact of the crisis might be for disabled people and what needs to happen now.
Introducing New Operating Models for Local Government
A series of new learning reports from a collaboration between Collaborate CIC and the Upstream Collaborative - twenty pioneering councils that are leading the transition to a new model of local government. These reports outline lessons and insights around creating the conditions for innovation, with a specific focus on the development of upstream approaches.