Category: Triangle

Year in review: Shining brightly in uncertain times

Posted on by Donna

Joy MacKeith, one of Triangle’s directors and co-founders, and co-author of the Outcomes Stars, explores her year in review, and shares her thoughts on the impact and successes of 2019, including the new Star Online and new Stars.

It’s week one back in the office after my new year’s break. My inbox is surprisingly full and the office is already buzzing with activity. Not everyone has taken two weeks off it seems. Before taking a deep breath and diving into the patiently waiting emails I allow myself the luxury of a moment to reflect on a very busy 2019 and anticipate what 2020 has in store.

Star Online 2 is unveiled

For me 2019 will always be the year that we built our new, improved software system and 2020 will be the year that the one thousand organisations working with the Star Online started to use it. The initial feedback from those who helped us test it in development has been amazing. I know many of our clients will be particularly excited about the reporting capability, with new visuals, new customisation and new time period reporting options. Other new features will make it much easier to manage implementation and data quality.  The fact that we now have a state-of-the-art platform for further developments is also very exciting. An off-line app is high on the list of new features we have planned. The new system is now live for new clients.  A massive thanks goes to Sarah Owen, our team member, who has led the project and QES our software development partners.

Making an impact

I will also remember 2019 as the year we conducted our strategic review. Thirteen years since the publication of the first Star it was time to look at how well the suite of tools had stood the test of time and how Triangle and the Star need to develop to stay at the cutting edge of practice. As part of the review we carried out a summer survey of our clients to find out what difference the Star makes. I know that people love the Star, so I was expecting broadly positive findings, but the level of appreciation and impact took me by surprise. Here are a few highlights:

  • 87% of Star users report that their keywork is more effective as a result of using the Star
  • 81% said that Star data reports enabled them to monitor and report on their outcomes more effectively
  • 95% say that the Star supports good conversations and collaboration between staff and service users
  • 92% say that helps service users to get an overview of their situation
  • 93% say that the Star supports person-centered, strengths-based working
  • 92% say that the Star is motivating for staff and service users because it makes change visible.

There were so many stand-out findings that it is hard not to keep adding more, but you get the idea. Of course there are always things that can be improved, but it was heartening to hear that many of the developments people were asking for focused around the Star Online so it was wonderful to know that in just a few months those needs would be met.

Not only do the findings underline the positive way that the Star helps workers take an enabling, strengths-based approach, but they are also a powerful affirmation of Triangle’s decision to invest heavily in implementation support through our client services team, our trainers and our regionally based implementation leads.

Research shows that better results are obtained from good implementation of a poor tool than from poor implementation of a good one. We aim to provide both an excellent tool and excellent implementation support. It is so affirming to see that this powerful combination is really making a difference. 

The strategic review concluded that the Star is a tool whose time has now come because of the increasing recognition of the importance of person-centred, outcomes focused collaborative working. Although it is well known in some sectors and regions, it is still largely unknown in many others so the potential for further impact is substantial. A key theme for 2020 and beyond will therefore be doing more to communicate what the Star is, the way that it can transform service delivery and the wealth of research behind it.

An organisation with a mission

As well as fact finding, our strategic review also involved some deep reflection and soul searching on Triangle’s role in the current service delivery climate. We are painfully aware that the service delivery landscape has changed since 2006 when the first version of the Star was published. Assumptions that if someone is motivated to change then the services will be there to support them no longer hold. Many services are now much lighter touch and can find it challenging to make the time for an in-depth conversation about needs and plans. This has resulted in requests for ‘lighter touch’ or self-completion Stars.

Should the Star stick to its original formulation as a comprehensive and reflective tool or adapt to new realities? There are no easy answers, but we have re-affirmed and sharpened our mission as an organisation that is committed to both advocating for an enabling approach to service delivery and helping service providers make this a reality in practice.

We now begin a new strand of work to shape the debate around what matters in service delivery through research, blogs, conference presentations and making links with the many others advocating for this kind of approach.

Drawing together the evidence base

The Outcomes Star was born out of practice rather than research and quickly took root because many organisations were hungry for a tool that would evidence the effectiveness of their work without getting in the way. When they discovered that the Star positively helped them achieve their outcomes, there was no stopping it. 

As a result, the formal research evidence for the Star lagged behind its use. 2019 was the year that changed and we were finally able to draw together a decade of work on validation to publish psychometric factsheets on nearly all versions (we are still collecting the data on very recently published Stars). 2020 will see the publication of a paper in a peer-reviewed journal setting out the psychometric properties of the Family Star Plus, the most widely used of the suite of Stars. This is an incredibly important landmark for us in establishing the Outcomes Star as a different kind of tool that straddles the aims of both promoting and evidencing change.

Hello and goodbye

Closer to home, 2019 has been an important year of hellos and goodbyes. Hello to our first Managing Director, Graham Randles, who joined us from the New Economics Foundation consultancy service, and goodbye to Paul Muir, our Operations Director who pioneered our work on implementation support and much else besides. Hello to Tamara Hamilton who will be covering Sarah Owen’s maternity leave this year and goodbye to Susan Goodbrand who covered Emily Lamont’s maternity leave. Goodbye also to Roxanne Timmis who has moved on to an exciting new role with Think Ahead, a charity that supports graduates into mental health social work. Best of all, we have said hello to four new babies including Ziya Nisi born on 28th December to Giorgia, one of the staff at Unique Outcomes, our Australian implementation partner.

And finally

Triangle also gave birth to five new Stars in 2019 in a year of unprecedented Star development activity. We now have a Star for preparing for the end of life. Together with our Parent and Baby Star this means the Stars really can take you from cradle to grave.  2020 sees the publication of our new 3-5 year plan, a project to build on interest in the Star in the USA, the full implementation of our new software system and much more besides. 

It is incredible to see how something that started as an approach for one organisation in one sector has evolved and flourished over so many sectors and countries around the world. As we approach a very uncertain new decade, it gives me hope that when people collaborate to address specific issues with commitment, persistence, flexibility and creativity, we really can make a difference.

Graphic introducing the Planning Star - linking to the Planning Star webpage
Image introducting the Preparation Star - linking to the Preparation Star webpage
Image introducing the Pathway Star with a graphic linking to a blog on how the Pathway Star is a person-centered tool
Graphic introducing the Recovery Star Fourth Edition, linking to a blog post on the new Star
Image linking to a blog post introducing the new My Mind Star for use with organisations supporting young people's mental health and well-being

If you have any questions about our new Stars, or would like any information on the new Star Online, or anything else, please contact us on info@triangleconsulting.co.uk or +44 (0) 207 272 8765.

Triangle and our social enterprise model

Posted on by Outcomes Star

Sara Burns, Director and Co-Founder of Triangle, and one of the authors of the Outcomes Stars™ explores what it means to Triangle to be a social enterprise.

By Sara Burns, Director and Co-Founder of Triangle, June 2019.

When we incorporated “social enterprise” into our name in 2009, it seemed entirely natural and obvious to me, yet I gave it little thought and there were few guidelines at the time. Fast forward 10 years and I find myself passionate about the concept and practice of social enterprise, as well as better informed and in a sector that is becoming more defined.

In our case, the expression of our social mission and our enterprise (business activity) are one and the same thing. There are many types of social enterprise, including those who raise money through a neutral business activity in order to fund a separate social mission. As Triangle, we develop Outcomes Stars and other tools and help organisations use them because we believe in their transformative potential. We witness time and again in many sectors how the right tool can support people to really listen, have good conversations, plan and deliver support, gather meaningful information and learn about what works. Like so many people, we are operating in a world where services and funding are severely squeezed, and our aim is to keep listening and learning, so we can continue to innovate and make a contribution.

So why am I passionate about social enterprise?

There are a number of reasons.

We make choices and decisions based on what is helpful at a sector level, not what will bring in the most money. This has been the case since we started. It provides a refreshing clarity and simplicity; even though the choices are not always immediately obvious, we are able to focus on the question of what will be most helpful. Somehow the big decisions and changes of direction over the years have always been made easily and harmoniously, and I believe that is because of this clarity of purpose.

Receiving an income from the expression of our social mission in the world, rather than relying on grants or other funding, gives us relative freedom and independence. Ultimately, the majority of our income from training and licenses can be tracked back to the UK government, we collaborate widely in developing Stars and other tools and respond as best we can to different needs and agendas. Yet, at the end of the day, we are the authors and can make decisions based on our learning and experience of what works. And we can plan ahead without the limiting factor of short term funding and the inevitable uncertainties that brings. 

Similarly, because we have an income and are committed to reinvesting at least half of the surplus each year, we have some freedom to be generous and experiment. We offer training and licenses at (often below) cost to enable small organisations to use the Outcome Stars if it’s right for them. We provide implementation support according to need, not based on what people pay. We take risks and invest in new developments before there is a market for them.

All this contributes to a working life that is more fun and meaningful. Money is powerful and I enjoy the potential it affords to be successful in making a contribution – to use the very particular expertise we have built up over the years for good.

My anecdotal impression is that some people who enter the social enterprise sector, while passionate about their social mission, feel ambivalence or even resistance to the enterprise/business aspect, to money and charging. Ultimately, this can result in lack of sustainability and good ideas not getting off the ground. When everything feels too tight financially, that can be stressful and less enjoyable. Being confident about embracing the enterprise aspect and charging realistically for services and products can open some space. Space is important for people to be able to move freely, take risks, be creative and innovate. That is the culture we seek to develop and maintain within Triangle, so that everybody working with us feels able to contribute ideas and enjoy the sense of purpose, clarity and independence, so that we can be as helpful as possible in the challenged world of health and social care.

Interested in finding out more about Triangle’s mission and values?

For more information on Triangle, please take a look at our Values. For more information on the Outcomes Stars and our licensing and training options please contact us: email Triangle at info@triangleconsulting.co.uk, or call on +44(0)202  7272 8765.

*****

Sara Burns: Sara is co-creator of the Outcomes Stars. She leads on and is continually inspired by developing new versions for new sectors, as well as overseeing all the other ways Triangle can be helpful and support people to use the Star well.

For more information on Triangle and the team behind the Outcomes Stars, please take a look at our About Triangle pages. For more information on the Outcomes Stars and the values that underpin each version, or explore the history of the Star at About the Star or please contact us with any questions: email Triangle at info@triangleconsulting.co.uk.

Introducing our new Managing Director

Posted on by Outcomes Star

Triangle, the social enterprise behind the Outcomes Stars, has grown rapidly in the last few years, as more and more frontline services aim to support and measure change by implementing the Outcomes Star.

To help lead Triangle into our next exciting chapter, we have appointed Graham Randles in the new role of Managing Director.

 

Graham joins us from the New Economics Foundation (NEF). As Managing Director of NEF Consulting, Graham worked with organisations to prove and improve their impact by understanding and measuring outcomes, leading a team delivering consultancy, training and capacity building.

Graham brings to Triangle his significant experience in the fields of health and wellbeing, social care and environmental sustainability, such as his role in developing the first total contribution report for the Crown Estate and creating the 40-year impact report for the Prince’s Trust.  Throughout Graham’s varied career in the UK and internationally, he has focused on challenging the status-quo to unlock ideas and new ways of working.

 

 

Recently Graham has worked on projects to assess the implementation of the Public Services (Social Value) Act across the health and care sector for NHS England and to measure the value for money of FareShare, the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste.

Graham will work alongside Joy MacKeith and Sara Burns, co-founder Directors of Triangle and creators at the Outcomes Star, to lead our social enterprise – supporting our teams to support our licensed Star users, and building the presence of Triangle in the wider world.  Graham is an accomplished international public speaker with a focus on measuring impact, having recently spoken at the World Health Forum in Gastein and delivered workshops for Public Health Wales and the UK’s Care Quality Commission.

Graham has a BSc in business Administration and an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice, both from the University of Bath, and he is also a trustee for the sight loss charity Sutton Vision.

 

If you have any questions about our new role, any queries about Triangle or the Outcomes Star or would just like to say hello, please contact us on info@triangleconsulting.co.uk or +44(0)207 272 8765.

All the news from our 10th anniversary event in London

Posted on by Outcomes Star

On 14th November 2017, we marked over 10 years since the publication of the original Outcomes Star for homelessness with a free information and learning event in London, UK.

Over 100 people came together on a Tuesday morning, including new faces and people who have been instrumental to the success of the Star s0 far.  The purpose of the day was to share what Triangle have learnt from over a decade supporting frontline services to prove and improve outcomes, and to hear from people’s own learnings and experiences of the Outcomes Star – watch our short video of the morning in action:

First up, our directors, Sara and Joy, presented their thoughts and learnings, looking back to 2002 and the beginnings of the Outcomes Star, and looking ahead to what the future may hold for outcomes, impact and the Outcomes Star.  See the presentation from Joy and Sara, creators of the Outcomes Star and directors of Triangle, here.

To mark over 10 years of the Outcomes Star, we’ve pulled together some interesting facts and figures, showing the scale of Star use across the UK:

Later that morning, we heard from two representatives of organisations using the Outcomes Star in their day-to-day practice.  Claire Richardson, commissioner with the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner team, told us how they had worked closely with service providers to help them get the most out of the Star.  Mick Carroll, Head of Coaching at Restore, an Oxford-based mental health charity, took us through the 7 things, if you really want to implement the Star as badly and ineffectively as possible, that you absolutely must do!  You can hear both Claire and Mick, as well as Paul Richards, a Support Worker and Licensed Star Trainer from St Basils, a charity supporting young homeless people or young people at risk of homelessness in the West Midlands, tell us a bit more about their use of the Star in our short videos, here.

Lastly, before lunch, attendees were invited to join one of ten discussion tables, each focusing on different aspects of the Outcomes Star – from the Star Online web app, to action planning with the Star, sharing the Star with commissioners and specific Stars, such as the Tenancy Star and Young Person’s Star.  Feedback from the day was really positive about this format, so we’re hoping to run some more information sessions in this style in the New Year across the UK, and maybe even beyond!

Thank you to all that attended the event!  For more information about our 10 year anniversary, read our article here. If you are interested in attending an information event in the future, or have any questions about any aspect of the Outcomes Star, please contact Triangle.