MHEP Shropshire
Aligned SDGs
General overview
Stage of development: Implementation
Policy sector: Employment and training
Date outcomes contract signed: Mar 2020
Start date of service provision: Apr 2020
Anticipated completion date: Jul 2024
Capital raised (minimum): GBP 204k (USD 253.10k)
Max potential outcome payment: GBP 1.03m
Service users: 582 individuals
Intervention
Individual Placement Support aimed at getting people with mental health issues back or into competitively paid employment
Target population
People with enduring and severe mental health issues
Location
Country
- United Kingdom
Service delivery locations
- Shropshire
Involved organisations
Configuration of contracting parties:
- Outcome payer holds contract with Mental Health and Employment Partnership limited (led by intermediary)
Commissioners/outcome payers
Service Providers
Investors
Intermediary organisations
Outcome metrics
- Metric 1: Engagement and completion of vocational profile
- Metric 2: Job Start
- Metric 3: Job sustainment < 16 hours per week
- Metric 4: Job Sustainment >16 per week
Results
MHEP Shropshire started delivering services in April 2020 and will finish in July 2024. Data was last updated in December 2023. These are interim results.
Outcome achievements
Overall target is based on the high case scenario defined in the Life Chances Fund Final Award Offer or Variation Agreements.
The graph above shows interim results for the project’s outcome achievements. Each bar represents a key participant outcome or metrics. Each metric is detailed above the graph (under the ‘Outcome metrics’ section of this page). Users can hover over the bars to access data on the expectations and achievements for that particular metric. Labels at the top of the bar represent the overall expectations for specific metrics, for the entire life of the project. The coloured section of the bar represents the project’s achievements so far.
Each bar takes the unit of analysis of the metric (if the metric is measured in number of individuals, the bar graph is representing individuals achieving that metric. If the metric is measured in weeks, the bar graph is representing weeks).
A note on targets (or expectations): the graph above shows the latest targets for the project. These targets are based on the best-case scenario expectations for every project. These targets may be different from the targets set at the start, as projects adapt to unexpected challenges or changes in circumstances. In addition, these targets could also work as a ‘cap’ for payments. We offer these parameters as a reference on outcome achievement projections. If projects are under implementation, they are not expected to have achieved any of these targets yet.
The intermediary organisation's comment on this graph:
'The metrics selected are in line with the IPS Grow key performance indicator framework, which was developed in collaboration with high fidelity UK IPS services. The metrics chosen represent a balance between achieving the 'key' outcome: entry into work, with a proxy measure for the quality of the outcome: how long the job is sustained. Although we would ideally like to track longer-term sustainments, over the course of MHEP, we have learnt that evidencing sustainment outcomes can be a challenge for providers. Often individuals will lose touch with the service after they secure employment, and obtaining evidence that they are still in work many weeks or months after the last needed support touch point can be challenging and administratively burdensome.
As well as achieving the specified outcomes in each project, conversations with providers and commissioners have suggested that the SIB strucuture may have helped move provider/commissioner relationships beyond 'compliance' toward collaborative problem solving to achieve better outcomes for service users.'
Outcome payments
The graph above shows interim outcome payment results. The x-axis displays the years since the start date of the project to the anticipated completion date. The y-axis represents the value of the payments for outcomes realised by participants in the programme. The aim of this graph is to enable users to compare the initial expectations of the project against the actual value of the outcomes that were achieved.
The dotted lines represent the different plans that projects had at different moments- labelled as ‘Plans’ in the key. The data for these dotted lines (or single dotted line) comes from the outcome payment profiles that projects shared with the commissioners and their values represent expectations according to 'best-case scenarios' (if projects achieved as many outcomes as possible). There are different dotted lines as projects can renegotiate their payment plans as they face changes that affect delivery (such as the COVID pandemic) or adjust their expectations during the life of the project. Each dotted line is made of a set of points. Each point represents a quarter. Users can hover over those points and access data on the expectations for that quarter.
The solid line shows the outcome payments that the project already claimed and received- labelled as ‘Actual’ in the key. Squared points on the 'Actual' line indicate that the payment for that quarter was a COVID-19 medium-scenario grant. This was one of the temporary funding options offered to projects during the COVID-19 pandemic (this included activity payments based on projected medium-case performance scenarios). On the top-right corner, the ‘Plans’ and ‘Actual’ lines can be selected and deselected to change which lines appear in the graph.
A note on the representation of different payment profiles (or plans): when Life Chances Fund projects reprofile their payment plans, they use a template provided by the National Lottery Fund. When they complete data for the past quarters, some projects preferred to leave those cells blank, other preferred to repeat the previous expectations and other decided to complete those cells with data from actual payments. To avoid confusions around these different criteria, we start representing a plan from the moment when the plan is valid.
The intermediary organisation's comment on this graph:
'Although the cumulative claims are higher than originally forecast, MHEP has been drawing down less than anticipated in later years. This is at least in part due to impact of COVID where we reached an agreement to draw down larger amounts to cover the disruption of the pandemic and provide stability to services.
In this project, MHEP receives outcomes payments for each outcome achieved. The provider is 'in house' in Shropshire council and receives a quarterly block payment to deliver the service.
Three main lessons for us delivering this project have been: 1. performance management based on strong, trusting relationships and accurate, accessible operational data can help diagnose and solve issues and drive up performance; 2. strong relationships between providers and commissioners can facilitate necessary adaptation over the life of the contract to e.g. respond to shifting economic context or accommodate new/changed referral pathways into the service. and 3. financial caps can disincentivise over-performance and make it harder to make up for underperformance early in the contract.'
Linked resource by project's intermediary organisation:
Spreadsheet of data
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