In early 2021, in collaboration with ten local authorities – along with EY, Microsoft and PA Consulting – Coram launched the Coram Innovation Incubator (CII), a specialist vehicle for children’s services providers to generate, test and scale innovative solutions to shared challenges facing the children’s social care sector.
Leveraging a collective drive to support vulnerable children and young people at a time of great need, the CII allows children’s services professionals from across the public, private and third sector to collaborate with Coram and our private sector experts. We aim to develop new approaches through the pursuit and exploitation of new products, processes and practice.
A call for new solutions
The CII was launched in a response to the significant disruption of life as we know it brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, which compounded what was already a picture of increasing complexity and demand.
Between December 2020 and January 2021, Coram-i carried out the first National Survey of Children’s Services Providers. The survey revealed that, although children’s services recognised the need to embrace new technology and innovative ways of working, they lacked the resources to commit to the kinds of changes required to make the greatest difference. Only 39% of the organisations surveyed were able to operate at the necessary level of radical innovation. To see the full insight report from the survey, please click here.
In response to our second innovation survey in 2022, we sought to demonstrate that tangible change for children and families is possible in our report Art of the Possible in Children’s Services: A Coram Manifesto. You can read this report here.
The CII seeks to provide the platform to unlock these opportunities to galvanise the innovation that delivers change for children, young people, families and those working in the sector.
In 2024, the sector faces ongoing challenges and the call to innovate grows louder, urging us to forge new paths and pioneer change. As we navigate the lingering repercussions of the pandemic, grapple with ongoing financial challenges in the sector, and try to turnaround the lack of capacity to meet the needs of children, the need for bold, inventive solutions becomes more pressing than ever before.
How the CII works
The CII brings together the insights of local authority and charity sector partners, Coram’s highly experienced multi-disciplinary team and private sector expertise to develop and pilot innovative solutions to the most important challenges facing children’s services as defined by the providers of those services. The CII creates a space for the sharing of ideas and issues from which projects, partnerships and, ultimately, products or services will emerge. It is designed to enable those across the organisation from the top down to be involved in the development – or incubation – of an innovation project.
The CII operates on a 12-month cycle of Innovation Labs, Learning Sets and webinars, Innovation Surveys and regular reporting on good practice. Partner organisations will also receive dedicated support from a CII Innovation Business Partner. For more information on these components, click here.
The CII Offer for 2024/25
Learning Sets
Quarterly sessions for members with a presentation from two speakers who have developed innovation in the sector, with a focus on practice, implementation, and sharing their experiences and challenges.
Webinars
Each year the Coram Innovation Incubator presents webinars showcasing new approaches and groundbreaking solutions to some of the challenges facing our sector.
Quarterly sessions with a focus on new and exciting projects led by a speaker working in the sector or beyond. These sessions focus on ideas, inspiration and new thinking.
You can watch all of the webinars below.
Webinar 1: Data Governance & Responsible A.I
Webinar 2: Protecting Children in the Post-Covid World
Webinar 3: Cultivating an Innovation Culture
Webinar 4: Innovation Through Collaboration
Webinar 5: Art of The Possible
Webinar 6: Envisaging a New Model of Care (1)
Webinar 7: Envisaging a New Model of Care (2)
Webinar 8: Early Intervention and Prevention (1)
Webinar 9: Early Intervention & Prevention (2)
Webinar 10: Facilitating Better Support for Children with SEND
Webinar 11: Bolstering the Children’s Social Care Workforce (1)
Bolstering the Children’s Social Care Workforce (2)
Bolstering the Children’s Social Care Workforce (3)
Webinar 12: Reimagining Data for Children: The North Yorkshire Approach (1)
Webinar 13: Reimagining Case Management Systems: North Yorkshire’s Approach – Part Two
Webinar 14: Building Cultural Competence and Embedding Diversity in Children’s Services
Webinar 15: Innovations for Children’s Wellbeing and Participation, with Mind of My Own and myHappymind
Webinar 16: Understanding AI: Use cases in education, children’s services and beyond
Webinar 17: Understanding AI with EY – AI for Good
The Collective
The Collective is our annual report collating best practice from across the sector, sharing innovations and projects, which considers both the UK and international context.
Across the sector, over the past few years, many services have been trialing new ways to meet the needs of those they support and keep pace with evolving risks and threats to young people’s safety and security. This has led to the emergence of new approaches, products, services and system changes, many of which capitalise on the possibilities afforded by new technology, some of which were necessarily adopted when Covid-19 forced us to rethink practice to maintain services. Innovation in children’s social care is more important than ever.
In this context, every year the Coram Innovation Incubator produces the CII Innovation Collective, a unique repository for its members which seeks to collate and report on innovative projects and approaches which have been developed in a bid to tackle key sectoral challenges.
You can read the 2023-24 CII Innovation Collective here.
You can download the CII Innovation Collective from 2022-23 here and from 2021-22 here.
We have also started to build an online repository for the Collective, called the Innovation Playbook, and an experimental GPT assistant that you can use to ask questions of the Collective.
To contribute to future editions of the CII Innovation Collective or to find out more about the Coram Innovation Incubator, please email innovation@coram.org.uk.
Support to develop our core projects
These projects have focused on using technology to improve ways of working, developing a child-focused approach to case recording, supporting workforce recruitment and retention through new models of flexible working, wellbeing and culture change, tackling placement sufficiency and improving the way local authorities deliver SEND support.
Ignite Leadership Course
Formerly called the Innovation Inset, CII Ignite is a five-session course to support you in developing, piloting and implementing an innovation project in your organisation.
It brings together a design thinking approach, social work theory and a focus on evaluation to help immerse you in a problem, identify your end user, and think creatively about solutions. We then work together to support you to put this into practice and measure outcomes.
You can find a case study which describes Bromley’s experience of the Inset here.
Read the 2024-2025 Ignite Prospectus here.
The Practice Forum
A monthly online call for practitioners and those close to frontline practice, to share experiences. Each month will be led by one of our local authority partners with a focus on a particular practice issue, and time for discussion, reflection, and sharing practice.
Coffee Dates
You will be matched every quarter with someone from another partner organisation to arrange an informal, one-to-one call to share your current challenges, learn about what is happening in other parts of the UK, and build organic links with likeminded colleagues across the country.
Consultation
In addition to the above, as a full member of the Incubator you will be able to access three consultancy days over the course of the year, for one-to-one support and advice. This offer is broad to allow you to make the best use of this time according to the priorities of your organisation.
The Drop-In
Our regular monthly slot for you to meet with the Incubator team at Coram to share what you’re working on, ask questions, and discuss current issues in the sector.
Bid-writing and Funding applications
We are happy to support you with bid-writing and funding applications for projects that are being developed as part of your work in the Incubator, building on the expertise and relationships that Coram has in this area.
Additional Opportunities
We also offer additional ad-hoc opportunities to contribute to sector-wide policy discussions, including hosting roundtables with senior leaders and change makers.
Our Private Sector Supporters
Recognising the need to co-develop solutions with know-how and resources from the private sector, Coram is proud to be supported by EY, Microsoft and PA Consulting. Each organisation is committed to contributing their insight and expertise to support the sector to innovate to improve the lives of children and young people. The CII will seek out and secure further supporters as needed to deliver on its programme of innovation, bringing the very best of the private sector to bear on the challenges for children.
Our Partners
Our current members are City, University of London, Hertfordshire County Council, Grosvenor Hart Homes, London Borough of Bromley, London of Havering, North Yorkshire County Council, London Borough of Redbridge and Sentinel.
We firmly believe that a diverse coalition of passionate minds and organisations fosters inspiration and fuels the momentum needed for transformative change. Together, we will realise a future where every child thrives and collaborative strides redefine the landscape of children’s social care and generate the momentum needed for change.
Coram is looking for a further partners to join the CII from a range of sectors!
To find out more about becoming a CII partner, get in touch by emailing innovation@coram.org.uk.
Get involved
CII Programmes run from April-April. Our Prospectus for 2024/25 provides more information about our offer and provides details on our range of membership options. You can also join our mailing list to stay informed about our latest initiatives, breakthroughs, and collaborative efforts in children’s social care.
Download the Prospectus Join our mailing list