Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership’s Intrapreneurship Programme is back offering a new round of the mentoring and financial support necessary to get such initiatives off the ground, working together with intrapreneurship programme developer The Lens.
It comes seven months after the programme helped five ideas become a reality – including podcasts for unpaid Carers and a sensory garden in Kirkcudbright for people living in sheltered accommodation.
And this time around, up to 12 ideas will be in a position to win support.
David Rowland is Director of Strategic Planning and Transformation, and he said: “We were really pleased with the response to the first round of the Intrapreneurship Programme this time last year, which sought initiatives that could help people live as independently as possible for as long as possible.
“The invitation to pitch these ideas was targeted at those already working and volunteering within health and social care – conscious of their experience, knowledge and insight.
“Lots of great proposals came forward, and entered a programme of support to help develop these ideas into viable projects.
“Through an assessment process, five projects went on to receive a share of £50,000 to help launch these initiatives – and I’m delighted to say that we’re already beginning to see the benefits.”
Projects which are now up and running thanks to the initial round of support and funding includes the use of virtual reality technology to help bring memories alive for elderly residents.
A ‘Reaching Out and Staying Put’ outreach programme for the LGBT community is another initiative which is now live, along with an initiative which produces audio podcasts for unpaid Carers aimed at sharing helpful information and addressing isolation.
The other two projects are the creation of a sensory garden for people living in sheltered accommodation, and the use of sensors to help track unusual movements within homes of vulnerable people.
David Rowland said: “These initiatives might never have existed if it wasn’t for the Intrapreneurship Programme, which has been delivered in partnership with The Lens.
“The investment in terms of time and financial support has really paid off, and so we’re very pleased to be going back out right now and inviting people to come forward with more initiatives which have the prospect of delivering real support to our communities.”
In order to obtain more information and apply, visit https://www.lensperspectives.org.uk/dumfries-and-galloway-health-and-social-care-intrapreneurship-programme/
