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Evaluation of Clúid Housing/ALONE pilot support co-ordination service for older tenants

Invitation to tender

Deadline: 17.00 Friday 1st July, 2016

Introduction

Clúid Housing is seeking tenders for an evaluation of a pilot support co-ordination service for older tenants which is being operated by ALONE with Clúid Housing tenants in Dublin and counties Louth, Cavan and Meath.

The pilot has been in operation since the beginning of the year, and is due to be completed in autumn 2016.

Clúid Housing is commissioning this evaluation for the following reasons:

·  Clúid Housing is examining a number of models for the provision of support services to its older tenants. The evaluation will assist in this process.

·  Clúid Housing is seeking a value-for-money assessment of the service to assist with the service’s future development.

·  ALONE has been developing a support co-ordination service for some time and believes that the time is now right for an independent assessment of this pilot.

Clúid Housing is an independent not-for-profit charity that provides rented social housing for people who cannot afford to buy their own home or pay for private rented housing. It was established in 1994 and currently owns or manages nearly 5,500 houses and apartments across the country.

ALONE provides Supportive Housing,Support Coordination, Befriending and Campaigns for Change to hundreds of older people every week, who are homeless, socially isolated, living in deprivation or in crisis.

Following the evaluation of this pilot ALONE plans to commission a broader evaluation of its services.

Outline of the support co-ordination service pilot

The primary aim of ALONE’s support co-ordination service, as it applies to this pilot, is to assist older tenants to continue to live in their home by ensuring that as far as possible their support needs are met. Tenants are referred to the service either through self-referral or by Clúid housing management staff. Once a tenant has been referred, an initial assessment of their needs is carried out by a support co-ordinator, either by phone or by meeting in person. The outcome of this leads to one of the following:

A.  Where needs are assessed to be low, information and advice is provided with brief interventions provided, with follow up within 2-3 weeks

B.  Where needs are assessed to be medium or high, a meeting with the tenant is held where a detailed holistic assessment is carried out. From this a 2-3 month outcome-focused support plan is developed.

The support co-ordination process can be summarised as follows:

1.  Comprehensive client assessment

2.  Support plan development

3.  Support co-ordination

4.  Review or reassessment

5.  Monitoring

The service is time limited, normally to a maximum of 60 days, but support co-ordination may continue beyond this if there is a still a need for it.

Support plans may incorporate the following areas:

·  Personal care

·  Physical health and mobility

·  Emotional and mental health

·  Finance

·  Social contact, leisure, cultural activities

The service is provided to tenants aged 55 or over in sheltered housing for older people and 60 or over in Clúid’s mainstream housing.

Key evaluation tasks

The evaluation will be both a process and an impact evaluation. Process evaluations analyse the processes of service delivery and focus on how things happen, and the relationship between inputs and outputs. Impact evaluations focus on outcomes, that is, the ultimate value or benefit of the service.

The primary evaluation tasks will be as follows:

1.  Carry out a review of the literature on the operation of similar services for older people; their impact; and where available, estimates of value for money.

2.  Describe the policy and strategic context of support co-ordination services

3.  Describe and assess the processes in place for the operation of the pilot programme. In particular:

a.  Assess the mechanisms used to identify potential participants

b.  Assess the effectiveness of the needs assessment tool used

c.  Assess the availability of relevant support services

4.  Assess key stakeholders’ satisfaction with the operation of the programme

a.  Clúid tenants

b.  Relevant Clúid Housing staff

c.  Relevant ALONE staff

5.  Assess the impact of the pilot service. This will involve:

a.  Examination of case records to identify outcomes with measurable impacts.

b.  Interviews with a sample of Clúid tenants.

6.  Provide an estimate of the future demand for a support co-ordination service from Clúid tenants. This will include an assessment of likely future numbers of older tenants; and an assessment of the optimum frequency of repeat assessments and the nature of these assessments.

7.  Assess the value-for-money offered by the pilot service. This will be a key element of the evaluation and researchers are invited to propose methodologies that will achieve this.

8.  Assess the effectiveness of a number of funding models for the future provision of support co-ordination services.

9.  Assess the organisational learning from the pilot: what lessons have been learned that will assist in the future development of the service?

Eligibility


Applications are invited from independent researchers, academic institutions, research consultancies, post-graduate researchers, housing organisations or other voluntary bodies wishing to undertake research.


Funding

The amount awarded for the research will be a maximum of €10,000. The final amount will be awarded in line with the merit of the proposal and on the basis of the proposed budget outlined in the application form.

The bursary amount is all-inclusive, i.e. no additional payment is available for expenses or other disbursements. In particular if VAT is applicable the total research cost, inclusive of VAT, must be a maximum of €10,000. Payment of the bursary will be in 3 stages, linked to the approval of the progress report and completion of the final report. Details of disbursement will be agreed with the researcher(s) selected.

The recipient of the bursary will be responsible for ensuring that any taxation that is applicable is paid in full.

Research proposals

All applications must be submitted using the attached application form. This includes:

·  Information on the principal researcher (contact and background information, current curriculum vitae) and any co-researchers, if applicable.

·  Applicant’s understanding of the research topic (max 250 words)

·  Detailed research proposal (max 750 words)

·  Proposed budget including daily rates of researcher(s) where appropriate

Assessment criteria

Submissions will be assessed against the following criteria:

·  The relevant experience and research record of the applicant

·  The applicant’s understanding of the research topic

·  The strength of the methodological model and proposed analysis

·  The value for money provided by the proposal

Successful applicants will be required to supply a current tax clearance certificate.

Timeframe

It is envisaged that the contract will be awarded in July 2016, and it is hoped that the evaluation will be completed by end October 2016.

Deliverables

The researcher(s) will be required to deliver a written report in a format to be agreed with Clúid.

Application Submission

Proposals must be submitted using the attached application form. The deadline for submission is 17.00 on Friday 1st July 2016.

An electronic copy of the application should be submitted to:

Simon Brooke

Head of Policy

Clúid Housing

63-66 Amiens Street

Dublin 1

Email:

Further information

If you have any questions regarding the application process or questions of clarification on this Call for Proposals, please contact Simon Brooke, Head of Policy, Clúid Housing, by email only at .

Evaluation of Clúid Housing/ALONE pilot support co-ordination service for older tenants

APPLICATION FORM

SECTION A: PERSONAL DETAILS

1.  Principal Researcher Details

Title / First name / Last name
Organisation
Position
Address
Telephone / Fax / Email

2.  Co-researcher(s) Details (if applicable)

Title / First name / Last name
Organisation
Position
Address
Telephone / Fax / Email
Title / First name / Last name
Organisation
Position
Address
Telephone / Fax / Email

SECTION B: PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER CAREER SUMMARY

Current employment Please state position and company
Start date of current employment
Last employment Please state position and company
Academic qualifications Please include any qualifications and dates obtained
Area(s) of research expertise
Relevant research studies or publications completed in the last 5 years

SECTION C: CO-RESEARCHER(S) CAREER SUMMARY (if applicable)

Name
Current employment Please state position and company
Start date of current employment
Last employment Please state position and company
Academic qualifications Please include any qualifications and dates obtained
Area of research expertise
Relevant research studies or publications completed in the last 5 years
Name
Current employment Please state position and company
Start date of current employment
Last employment Please state position and company
Academic qualifications Please include any qualifications and dates obtained
Area of research expertise
Relevant research studies or publications completed in the last 5 years

SECTION D: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Understanding of the research topic – maximum 250 words
.
Detailed research proposal – This should include methodologies to be applied, main work tasks and a tasks/time chart that includes dates for submission of interim and final reports - maximum 1000 words

SECTION E: FINANCIAL DETAILS

Proposed Expenditure

Type / Description / Costs (EURO)
Travel
Subsistence
Research expenses
Including daily rates for researcher(s) where appropriate
Other
Sub-total

An electronic copy of the completed application should be submitted to:

Simon Brooke

Head of Policy

Clúid Housing Association

63-66 Amiens Street

Dublin 1

Email:

Closing date 17.00 Friday 1st July 2016