GEN129 Project manage action targeted at addressing health and wellbeing issues

Overview

This standard is about community-based projects planned and implemented by health and wellbeing services in response to the identified needs, concerns and interests of communities and groups. Such projects are usually part of a change strategy for communities which have been directly identified by the initiative of practitioners. The aims and objectives of the practitioners need to be justified. Whilst this standard describes standards for health and wellbeing projects which are to be implemented by health practitioners, the values on which it is based are respect for the rights and views of those for whom the project is intended, to enable those involved to be as self-managing and self-directed as possible through their involvement in the project. The purpose of such projects is usually to promote health and wellbeing as a holistic and positive concept. This standard applies to any practitioner who has the task of managing health and wellbeing projects to address the needs and concerns of groups and communities. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. models of community development, the basis of these models and their meaning for the work of practitioners
2. how to implement the various stages of the community development models in an effective way
3. how to work with communities and groups in a non-directive way on a top-down agenda but in a way which encourages the involvement of community members
4. the experiences and achievements of others who have adopted similar models and approaches
5. how to evaluate the experiences and achievements of others and contextualise them into your own context
6. the tensions that may exist between your own agenda, your agency's agenda and the concerns and interests of the organisation, community and group within which you are working and how to deal with them
7. the range of outcomes which the community and group may experience and how these may not be seen as directly health related although they will contribute to health and wellbeing
8. the range of strategies which might be employed in externally driven health and wellbeing projects and the relevance of these to different circumstances
9. how to support and sustain groups, communities and organisations as they develop themselves
10. how the need of groups and communities change over time and the ways in which this will affect your role with them
11. the purpose of involving, and ways to involve, people and structures already in existence in the community
12. who participates, how participation occurs and the benefits of it - the differences between participation in decision making, in programme implementation and in evaluation
13. activities which encourage participation
14. people in the group, community or organisation who may have a vested interest in, or set agenda for, developments, and how to evaluate the benefits and disadvantages which this may bring to the work in the short and longer term
15. how to evaluate the extent to which the people who become involved in projects are representative and how more marginalised groups can be encouraged to participate
16. the extent to which it may be possible to meet people's raised expectation and the best ways of handling this
17. the different perception which the public in general may have of projects and how their views can be handled constructively
18. the sources of funding and resourcing which may be available to support community groups in their work
19. the different projects which may be competing for funding from the same sources although they may have similar objectives in mind
20. the purpose of being clear as to who the group is and what the nature of their health and wellbeing needs are and the effect of this on the ability to plan the work effectively
21. the range of resources which might be available for the project including those which are given in kind
22. the purpose of securing commitment before too much detailed planning takes place and how to do this effectively
23. the level of detail which is required for effective planning to take place
24. the different factors which might affect the plan and its implementation and how to take them into account in the plan
25. the ways in which community projects can be evaluated
26. difficulties in evaluating development work given the multiplicity of factors which can affect people's health and wellbeing and their attitudes towards it
27. the type of qualitative information which might be obtained at the planning stage and ways of obtaining this
28. qualitative information which will be available on the processes of the project as it proceeds and the use of this in evaluation and review
29. how to develop plans which are clear and capable of implementation
30. the purpose of drafting plans and agreeing them with all those involved
31. effective ways of briefing people as to their role in the project
32. the purpose of identifying people's and organisation's roles and responsibilities in partnership with them
33. how to support people to understand the contribution which they each can make
34. the purpose of encouraging people to make suggestions and recommendations and keep in contact
35. how to present information to people in a form and at a level which is appropriate to them
36. the range of different support needs which people have from technical support to emotional and psychological support
37. how to determine the necessary frequency with which people need to be contacted
38. for how long it may be necessary to support people and organisations, how the nature of the support may change over time and how to assess when this is necessary
39. the purpose of disseminating information on achievements and lessons learnt and how this may be done effectively
40. the range of ways in which achievements may be acknowledged and how these can be altered for different people and different circumstances
41. the purpose of making conflicts of interest explicit and working out ways of dealing with them with others
42. the purpose of evaluation and review and its value for future development
43. the different quantitative and qualitative methods which are available for evaluating processes and outcomes of projects
44. the wide range of ways in which evaluation may be used
45. how evaluation may limit community participation and the benefits of clarifying how things need to change
46. how to encourage those involved to think of evaluation constructively and focus on its aid to learning and development
47. the purpose of encouraging individuals to contribute their own views and share these with the broader group
48. the purpose of evaluating not only achievements but also aspects which have been less successful and how this can be encouraged
49. the purpose of encouraging frank and honest communication
50. the reasons for thinking about the project in the context of the wider community
51. how complaints, reviews and consumer surveys may provide better indicators of service quality than do patterns of demand

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. identify the health and wellbeing issues for the group or community with whom you are working from available information
2. work in partnership with relevant parties to:
1. assess the nature, coverage and criticality of the health and wellbeing issues
2. prioritise the health and wellbeing issues for the group or community
3. develop clear explicit aims for the work which are attainable and acceptable to those commissioning the work
4. evaluate the products and services which might address these issues for their relevance and suitability to the setting
5. select the products and services most likely to address the prioritised health and wellbeing issues
6. agree a realistic budget
3. develop project specifications, which include clear, realistic objectives, success criteria, and accurate and detailed costings
4. detail methods of evaluating the project which are capable of implementation in the setting and valid in relation to the objectives and success criteria
5. identify and agree the roles, responsibilities, expectations and lines of accountability of the different people who will make a contribution to the project
6. detail the ways in which the project can best encourage and support the active involvement of people from the group or community based on evidence of good practice
7. arrange resources and timescales for getting the project underway consistent with agreed resources and objectives
8. thoroughly brief relevant people on the nature and purpose of the project in a manner which enables it to be presented to best advantage
9. use methods to co-ordinate implementation of action plans that are appropriate to the nature of the project and the people involved with it
10. offer appropriate support to those involved in the project to enable them to achieve the objectives of the project and develop a sense of commitment to it
11. maintain contact at a realistic and appropriate level of frequency
12. take actions to achieve the optimum balance between encouraging the community which the project serves to take as much responsibility for the project itself and keeping it true to its original objectives
13. encourage those involved in the project to involve the wider community in the project and include their interests in it
14. encourage and support other practitioners who have an impact on the project to build similar development approaches to their own work
15. acknowledge the project team's and individuals' achievements
16. make any conflicts of interest in your own role within the project explicit to those involved and discuss ways of dealing with them
17. effectively manage resources to meet changing conditions within the project
18. encourage those involved with the project to see the value of evaluation and review and the ways in which this contributes to future development
19. use evaluation methods and processes that are appropriate to the project, its aims, objectives and processes and enable project participants to contribute their own views
20. ensure that the evaluation covers both outcomes which the project achieves and the processes used to achieve those outcomes
21. offer project members the appropriate level and forms of support so that they can evaluate and review the project systematically
22. actively encourage and support individuals to offer their views and reflect on the effectiveness of the project in achieving its aims
23. demonstrate your valuing of the contributions which project members make
24. reach agreement with all involved as to any changes which need to be made
25. support project participants to consider any implications which such changes may make to them
26. make accurate, legible and complete records of the review process, structured in a way which allows others to make use of them

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard replaced MH89. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: G5 Services and project management