WIREDGOV

A coalition of leading charities have yesterday published evidence that coordinated interventions for individuals with multiple needs can improve wellbeing and significantly reduce the overall cost of service use.

These findings come from a two year study by FTI Consulting and Pro Bono Economics into the effectiveness of better coordinated services for people facing a combination of problems such as homelessness, substance misuse, mental health problems and offending. The report highlights the considerable savings that a more coordinated approach can deliver, including one pilot which reduced service use costs by 26.4% over the study period. 

The study followed the lives of individuals involved in the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) service pilots operating in Cambridgeshire, Derby and Somerset (Mendip and Sedgemoor).  Each pilot area employed a coordinator to engage with clients and ensure the best possible route through existing services, and all local agencies agreed to provide flexible responses for the individuals involved.

Based on learning from the pilots and wider work, MEAM is now supporting local areas across the country to design and deliver coordinated interventions using its new non-prescriptive framework, the MEAM Approach.

Oliver Hilbery, the MEAM Project Director, said:
“We are delighted to be publishing the second-year results today. The findings show that when local agencies work together to provide better coordinated interventions then they can not only improve lives, but also reduce costs to the public purse too”

A service user summed up their experiences of the coordinated intervention saying:
“Since he got on my case, things have taken a turn for the good. Before I was
going round in circles. It's not a bed of roses yet, but before it was a dead-end.”

Sue Holloway, Director of Pro Bono Economics said:
“We’re very pleased to have worked with MEAM and FTI Consulting on this new report.  The study shows the value of economic analysis to understand the impact of the excellent work done by charities and public bodies.”

Tim Battrick, FTI Consulting said:
“We have been pleased to bring our skills in economic analysis to this area of work and to work closely with MEAM and the pilot areas to produce this report.”

Find out more about the MEAM approach.