The Workforce Development Innovation Fund (WDIF) is a special funding stream within the Workforce Development Fund (WDF). It aims to fund projects that are innovative in their approach to influencing workforce development in the longer term. It has a similar focus to WDF – on supporting ongoing professional development of staff through vocational qualifications by increasing skills and competence.
Applications for WDIF 2015-2016 open at 8am on Friday 8 May. And closes 1pm 5th June
These are this year’s priorities;
Skills for Care is keen to fund projects that address and fulfill any of the following:
Projects that test approaches to skills development which support prevention and early intervention with a focus on the integration of services (health, housing, social care and other). Projects should make use of and build upon the ‘Principles of workforce integration’
Projects that model approaches to developing a workforce with the skills necessary to provide improved person-centred care and support through multi-disciplinary working
Projects that demonstrate an innovative approach to implementing Skills for Care’s workforce development guidance for employers seeking to minimise the use of restrictive practices in health and social care, particularly in relation to supporting older people with dementia
Projects which identify what learning and development is required to ensure that those carrying out care needs assessments take an asset* (rather than a deficit) approach, thereby focussing on the skills and abilities of the person who needs support. Projects should align with the Care Act 2014 requirement that local authorities consider the person’s own strengths and capabilities, and support available from their wider support network or within the community when making assessment of care and support needs
Projects which enable care workers and people with care and support needs to use technology together, and which identify the workforce developments necessary to bring about, and embed these changes
Projects which develop innovative models of support to enable individual employers to robustly assess their personal assistants (PAs) against the Care Certificate. These will also demonstrate how the approach and Care Certificate Standards can be used to support local PA induction or quality assurance processes.
Projects which model approaches to supporting changes to culture and practice required by the Care Act, including:
- embedding new ways of providing personalised support
- supporting best practice to enable the development of outcome focused care and support plans
- asset or strengths based assessment*
- supporting transition
- effective safeguarding
- meeting carer’s needs.
Projects which explore the benefits and efficiencies achieved by improving collaboration when delivering learning and development, including the delivery of the Care Certificate. Projects should focus on collaboration between employers and within supply chains in the social care and health sector
Proposals which test a response to other significant and demonstrable policy drivers within the adult social care sector.
*Asset or strengths based assessment is, an approach to assessment that moves away from a more traditional public services’ focus on problems and deficiencies, where commissioners and providers set out to fill gaps and solve problems, to one that starts with people’s assets, strengths and skills