Main presentation

1. National Body for Home Improvement Agencies
Improving Delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant
DFG Champions
Roadshows
Autumn 2019

2. About Foundations
• National Body for Home Improvement Agencies since 2000
• As contracted by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and
Local Government
• Here to support with improving the delivery of DFGs
• Almost everything we do is FREE OF CHARGE*
• Advice, support, training, workshops – please ask.
*Apart from software, external training and in-depth consultancy
#DFGChampions

3. #DFGChampions
“The sum of the expertise
of the people in the
audience is greater than
the sum of the expertise of
the people on the stage”
Dave Winer

4. 53%
#DFGChampions
LAs with
an RRO
Policy 2016

5. 85%
#DFGChampions
LAs with
an RRO
Policy 2019

6. DFG Theory of Change
#DFGChampions

7. Theory of Change?
• Sometimes called “logic chains” or “logic models”
• Improvement projects are usually:
• Time limited
• Focus on improving the process
• But what impact will that make, and when?
• What about continual improvement?
• Lots of reporting but no clear view of what you do?
• A theory of change links up the change process so you can
measure if it works
#DFGChampions

8. Theory of Change
•Help teams work together to achieve a
shared understanding of a project and its aims.
•Bring the process of change to the forefront.
•Make projects more effective
•Quickly communicate a project’s aims
•Encourage teams to engage with the existing
evidence base
#DFGChampions

9. Working back from the Impact
•Developing a theory of change
#DFGChampions
Inputs Activities Outputs Outcomes Impact
Work backwards

10. Required Impact
• From 2015 Spending Review:
• Increased funding to deliver 85,000 adaptations per year
• This is expected to prevent 8,500 people from needing to
go into a care home in 2019-20
• Assumes 10% of DFG recipients are prevented from needing
residential care
• Use NHS Number to link DFG and Care data
#DFGChampions

11. DFG Logic Chain Example
#DFGChampions
Inputs Activities Outputs Outcomes Impacts
Budget?
Staff?
How many
people
assessed or
supported to
apply?
How many
DFGs
approved,
how quick?
How many
homes
adapted?
Less people
entering
residential
care

12. DFG Baseline for 2018/19
#DFGChampions
Inputs Activities Outputs Outcomes Impacts
£1.2m of
DFG
4 FTE staff
123 DFG
applications
Avg DFG
£9,750, 116
days from
application
110 homes
adapted
11 fewer
people entering
residential care

13. Inputs and Activities
• Charge an agency fee?
• Pays for more staff
• Supports people better
• And means lower average grants (including the fee)
• Introduce or update RRO policy?
• Simplify the process
• More grants processed per member of staff
• More staff? More budget? Alliance Contracting?
#DFGChampions

14. Grant Uses
Showers Straight
stairlift
Curved
stairlift
Ramp Extension Other
55% 15% 10% 10% 3% 7%
£4,755 £2,358 £4,495 £3,928 £31,939 N/A
#DFGChampions

15. Adaptations without Delay

16. DFG - Sausage Machine?
#DFGChampions

17. Traditional DFG Delivery
Person
contacts
Social
Services
Occupational
Therapist
makes
assessment
Agency helps
with
application
Local
Authority
approves
Grant
Contractor
carries out
works

18. #DFGChampions
“In every field of inquiry, it is true that all things
should be made as simple as possible – but no
simpler.”
Albert Einstein
“And for every problem that is muddled by over-
complexity, a dozen are muddled by over-
simplifying.”
Sydney J. Harris

19. #DFGChampions
Complicated
or
Sophisticated?

20. The Wall – Housing and OTs
#DFGChampions

21. The Dam
#DFGChampions

22. We’ll be back next year!
Thank you for Coming!
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