Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports over 150 community organizations annually through funding and development support. Around half of the funded projects address mental health needs using creative arts activities like music, dance, and crafts. The programs aim to promote independence and prevent needs for statutory services by engaging over 12,000 people monthly in activities that improve well-being. Benefits include demonstrated outcomes, community organizations offering innovative services, and a swift response to newly identified needs, though challenges include unequal relationships with commissioners and demonstrating value.

1. Realising the Value:
Supporting communities to maximise
people’s independence
Fiona Weir, February 2016

2. About us
• Community Partnerships is part of
Kirklees Council’s Adult Services’
Commissioning and Health Partnerships
• Part-funded by the two Kirklees Clinical
Commissioning Groups (CCGs)
• Key areas of work are:
- Community investment: £1.5M to 168 VCOs in
2014-15 and approx. £1.3M to 150 VCOs this year;
- Development support;
- Better in Kirklees: supporting people into
community activity (‘social prescribing’);
- User/carer involvement.

3. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
Key figures (2014-15)
• 168 groups funded
• Further 115 supported but not funded
• 42,846 hours of community-based activity
• Over 12,000 people benefitted monthly and 6,245 weekly
• 2170 volunteers giving 250,253 hours
• 128 projects under £10k, 53 projects under £2k – hence
‘micro-commissioning’.
• Av cost to us (commissioners/tax payers) £2.10ppph
• Every pound we invest brings an additional £2.29 into
Kirklees in cash or kind for community prevention
activities

4. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
Arts and Mental Health
Around half of the projects we support address mental
health needs, and many use creative arts:
• 86 (51.2%) projects supporting people with mental
health needs in 2014-15;
• 36 projects using creative arts including music, dance,
singing, painting, wood-turning;
• Targeted ‘micro-commissioning’ – for example, we are
about to invest in approx. 10 new projects supporting
men’s mental health, after this was identified as a
gap.

5. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
Examples (2014-16)
Music and singing: HOOT Creative Arts, Callaloo Carnival Arts,
Xylosound
Dance: Batley Rock ‘n’ Roll, DanceAbility, Startin Line Dancing
Performing Arts: Curtain Up Players, Imagineer
Film, photography, digital arts: Dewsbury Photographic
Group, Kirklees Filmmakers
Fine Arts and drawing: Oakwell Arts Group, TAP into Art
Writing: Gujerati Writers’ Forum
Craft: Birstall Wood Turners, Howlands Centre, Kirki Burtis,
Support 2 Recovery
Arts access: Culture Club, Side by Side Memory Project

6. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
What type of mental health needs?
• We don’t know formally…
• We assumed previously that it was low-level prevention/
well-being only, but we now know that’s not so.
• Community groups report people using their support:
• When they can’t access statutory MH services
• As a ‘step-down’ or exit route from secondary services
• Some time after acute/crisis support, as a way of
maintaining independence
• To support the mental health of people with severe
disabilities/long-term health conditions
• Our social prescribing service gets formal referrals from
community mental health teams.

8. Why do we do it?
• In Kirklees, we know we can’t ‘do’ health and social
care without communities.
• Communities play an essential role in helping people
to help themselves and each other – what we call
‘maximising independence’.
• Clear existing evidence of the well-being benefits of
creative arts activities.

9. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
Why do we do it? (2)
Prevention
Keeping people active and involved in communities can
prevent, delay or reduce their need for statutory services.
Market development
Supporting VCOs means they are better able to support people
with H&SC needs in their communities, more sustainably.
Best outcomes and impact:
- Clear well-being benefits and really excellent value;
- Direct impact – ‘care closer to home’;
- People as assets - people are often the ‘experts in their own
care’, many ‘give back’ even if they need support themselves,
and many groups are user led.

10. Micro-commissioning to meet an
identified need
Eg 1: End of life community based activities
Aim: to “develop new and/or innovative community-based
activities for individuals who are approaching the end of
their lives, and their families and informal carers”.
Organisations invited to put forward ideas and apply for
funding (up to £20k)
We worked with the local hospice to co-commission
5 VCOs came forward and 3 are now delivering

11. Micro-commissioning to meet an
identified need
Eg 2: Men’s Mental Health
Aim: to “develop new and/or innovative community-based
activities the support men’s mental health”.
Organisations invited to put forward ideas and apply
16 VCOs came forward and we anticipate 10 will be
funded
Enables support to be provided more quickly, while
strategic plans are developed

12. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
Any questions so far?

13. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.
Group discussion
What do you think are the benefits and the
challenges for community groups?
What do you think are the benefits and the
challenges for commissioners?

14. Overview
Kirklees Council Community Partnerships supports hundreds of
community-based projects each year, including many with a
mental health and/or community arts focus - including music,
singing, drama, craft, film-making and more.
Our development and 'micro commissioning' approach aims to
create a diverse and vibrant range of community 'prevention'
activities in Kirklees, so people can get involved in activities they
enjoy, that support their health and well-being, keep them
independent, and reduce or prevent their need for support from
statutory services.
Community Partnerships manager Fiona Weir will lead a
discussion about the range of activities on offer, the people who
take part, and the potential benefits for individuals, community
organisations and commissioners alike.

15. Some thoughts: benefits
• Demonstrable positive outcomes
• VCOs potentially offer better value, innovation,
better engagement, alternative ways of delivering,
different models
• Swift responses to meet gaps and newly-identified
needs while more strategic responses are planned
• Part of a planned
‘whole system’ offer
• Preferred by most,
whenever possible.

16. Some thoughts: challenges
• Unequal relationships between commissioners and
community groups (perceptions and realities)
• Statutory services are still agreeing their arrangements
and formal processes… That can make VCS collaboration
(currently?) more difficult.
• Demonstrating the value of micro-commissioning – data
complex and often second-hand
• Budget constraints – is continued investment a priority?
• ‘Losing control’ – statutory organisations don’t like it!

17. To find out more about our work
Photos and storyboards from groups
are at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/comm
unity-partnerships/
Visit
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/communitypartnerships

18. Contact
Fiona Weir,
Community Partnerships Manager,
Community Partnerships,
Civic Centre 1, 4th Floor,
High Street, Huddersfield,
HD1 2YU
Tel: 01484 225142
Email: community.partnerships@kirklees.gov.uk
Find us on Facebook: KirkleesCommunityPartnerships