Mental Health and Employment Partnership (MHEP)

Project insights

1. Additional Performance Monitoring

   Service providers benefited from MHEP’s strong performance monitoring as well as analytical expertise on IPS. This includes detailed reports and data dashboards, which are regularly reviewed as part of contract review meetings. Providers find that the level of granularity and presentation of information are beyond what is typically available, which enables earlier and more precise identification of problems within their MHEP-supported services. Once problems were identified, MHEP could often suggest concrete solutions.

   The data analysis and intelligence MHEP provides is often seen as over and above what stakeholders could normally access in traditional commissioning. Although projects were used to working towards similar outcome measures, MHEP’s performance management function was seen to drive additional focus on achieving outcomes.

2. Solution-Orientated Collaboration

   MHEP’s SIB approach is seen as a different way of working and commissioning compared to other contracts. Providers feel that this collaboration allows them to work closely with MHEP, in engaging in a continuous conversation on local resourcing, co-location of employment specialists, and performance challenges.

   MHEP is described as a conduit between providers and local commissioners and plays a strong role in identifying new opportunities in making connections. Providers speak highly of the working culture within the partnership and found its ‘business-approach’ more effective than the one within local authorities. Additionally, collaborative working with regular communication/meetings and additional specialist input helped gain a detailed understanding of the IPS services, which is usually not available during implementation. In fact, MHEP’s IPS specialist was seen as fundamental in supporting thinking through solutions to any problems.

3. Advocating for IPS and additional financial resources

   MHEP SIB approach are described as providing additional advocacy support in the form of signposting to relevant opportunities and funding, leading multi-stage Life Chance Fund applications, and advocating for IPS and high-impact services.

   For commissioners, one of MHEP’s most cited contributions was to help projects apply for and unlock additional financial resources through the Life Chances Fund (LCF). The MHEP team led the multi-stage LCF applications for projects. By assuming responsibility for this process, MHEP protected projects from the administrative burden involved. Similarly, providers feel they are alerted to funding opportunities and NHS resources and appreciated its professionalism in highlighting these resources. For example, MHEP assisted a provider through a period of low referrals by signposting them to opportunities for promoting their services, guided them on hosting trust-wide employment events, and connected them to relevant stakeholders.

4. Initial learning curve

   The social impact bond contract with MHEP was generally perceived as complex and distinct from traditional contracting arrangements. Initially, providers found the structure to be very complicated and did not fully understand it despite being in implementation. Similarly, commissioners mentioned that they found the contract setup “unusual,” and their legal and finance teams struggled to understand it.

   The design of contract incentives around job starts was different to other contracts that stakeholders had worked on, and one of the things that wasn’t understood was the inability to claim subsequent job starts outcomes for the same individuals. Since in a typical IPS service, they would follow people all the way through additional jobs.

   The start of the contracts was perceived as bumpy, given that the SIB projects’ launch coincided with the onset of COVID-19 and the national lockdown in the UK. Due to the lack of in-person communication, stakeholders working with a SIB for the first time found it particularly difficult to familiarise themselves with the new way of working and new processes. Additional support that acknowledges this learning curve is needed.