Shared Purpose

In brief

Shared Purpose is the third round of our Closing the Gap improvement programme, which aims to identify improvements, build knowledge and skills, and create new approaches to help transform the quality of healthcare in the UK.

The quality agenda has to date largely focused on improving the reliability of clinical services. But clinical teams do not work in isolation. Corporate support services have a significant role to play in improving the quality of care experienced by patients.

The Health Foundation wants to work with up to eight award holder teams who understand the value of aligning staff in corporate support and frontline services around a common purpose: continuously improving the quality of healthcare.

Shared Purpose aims to:

• raise awareness of the role corporate support services can play in improving quality of care
• create examples of best practice in corporate support services and clinical services working together to improve quality of care
• develop the evidence base of what works in improving care through aligning corporate support and clinical services around common quality goals.

Especially with the UK health services facing financial challenges, it is vital to deliver improvement not just at the level of individual clinical services, but across organisations and health economies. Often when we approach change at this level, it becomes more obvious that we need to change the corporate support systems as well as clinical processes.

Shared Purpose will support up to eight organisations to turn their ideas into successful examples of best practice. It aims to build the evidence base for what works in aligning corporate support and clinical services around common quality goals.

Key facts at-a-glance

1. We want to work with up to eight healthcare organisations to come up with and implement ideas that demonstrate how corporate support services and clinical teams can work together to improve quality of care.
2. Applications can come from primary, secondary or tertiary care, including mental health – in  either a hospital or community setting. We welcome partnerships and will consider applications from the private or voluntary sector, where they are providing NHS services.
3. Over three and a half years, each organisation will receive funding in the region of £420,000 and a tailored learning package. We expect the work to be continued following our funding and will revisit sites for a further evaluation of progress 12 months after the end of our financial support.
4. You will need to have a compelling idea that involves a significant improvement in some aspect of corporate services that helps the organisation address a critical challenge and will lead to demonstrable benefits to patients.
5. Proposals will need to demonstrate a strong track record in change management and an organisation-wide quality strategy that spans corporate and clinical services.
6. You will need to demonstrate the involvement of key stakeholders, including board level commitment to the project.
7. Shared Purpose opens for applications on the 31 October 2011. The deadline for the first stage application is 4 January 2012.