The report is based on the national innovation survey, distributed to all children’s services providers at the end of 2021, which sought to assess where agencies are finding it possible to achieve positive change and how the CII can facilitate the innovations which can transform the lives of children and young people.
Key findings
- The key barriers to innovation in children’s services relate to organisational workforce issues, growing demand and complexity, and the challenges involved in successfully embedding innovation so it is sustainable;
- There have been specific improvements in the therapeutic support services are able to offer to children, young people and families as well as better methods of early intervention;
- Collaboration, capacity and having an innovative organisational culture and a willingness to take risk are critical to enabling change and innovation;
- Children’s services are better able to implement and adapt models which have been developed in other organisations;
- Children’s services providers acknowledge the value of capitalising on the potential of technology to assist service delivery, with 64% of those surveyed report use of new technology in their service.