Valuing the change that matters - Mental health wellbeing of 10-13 year olds

Abstract

Introduction: As part of an organisational journey towards managing and measuring to outcomes, Te Whanau o Waipareira conducted a Social Return on Investment (SROI) Analysis on its Ministry of Health (MoH) funded service, Taitamariki. This service aimed to prevent mental health illness amongst youth 10-13 years. SROI principles place people’s views at the centre of analysis as a way to measure what matters most to people and is inclusive of all outcomes experienced, giving a holistic view of how change is created. Description of Practice Change: Our SROI analysis evidenced the value of health services being delivered within a strengths-based, holistic and indigenous organisational approach. SROI is not just a framework for analysis but also enables service design that maximises impact which we are now progressing and embedding across our organisational practice. As a result of the Taitamariki SROI we were able to re-secure funding and have the ability to redesign the service around the outcomes that matter to our whanau (families and people) Highlights: The analysis uncovered several unheard and inspirational stories of change and helped understand the impact of the programme beyond the usual contractual outputs. It evidenced outcomes that our participants considered most valuable, as well as those that were key to sustained change. It was also critical to unpacking and articulating “The Waipareira Way” to both internal and external audiences. This embraced the value of culture in the delivery of programmes, incorporation of Maori concepts in programme logic models, and the capacity development of our research team to conduct similar analyses. While funding for the original Taitamariki service was concluded nationally, this SROI provided the basis on which we gained a new contract with regional health funders for a renewed Taitamariki service. Importantly, this funding is based around commissioning for outcomes and has allowed us to further refine the service design on the basis of our participant’s voices in what matters to them, as well as what will achieve most impact. Sustainability and transferability: Waipareira’s Social Innovation Hub takes international frameworks and models to test and adapt them to the New Zealand context with an indigenous lens before rolling them out to the wider organisation and partners. SROI was used as it’s guided by the Social Value Principles that put stakeholders at the centre, as well as being a framework that can be adapted across sectors and embedded into how we work and deliver our services. As part of this sustained organisation transformation towards maximising impact as identified above, this work provides ongoing learnings for amplifying stakeholder voices and delivering on what matters – learnings to be shared and built on for ourselves and externally. Conclusions: The investment in this SROI Analysis is a significant milestone, informing Waipareira on how to continue to embed and maximise impact across the organisation. It furthered our understanding and practices around embedding people’s voices in all that we do, as drivers and experts in their own aspirational change.