Opportunity Nottingham in partnership with NCVS

Aims of the PDU Facilitate the sharing of expertise and good practice Promote innovation and collaborative working across all sectors Improve skills and knowledge through collaborative learning Improve outcomes for beneficiaries in the city.

Focus areas Initial work streams: Novel Psychoactive Substances Service User Participation Psychologically Informed Approaches Women’s Complex Needs Housing First Lead experts Regular communication with local professionals

Learning events There will be a variety of formats: Workshops: presenting good practice; exploring research; showcasing innovation; developing skills Information sessions / more formal ‘training’-style events Conferences Communities of Practice: the style, content and frequency of these depends on the subject matter and context. It’s important to ensure a diverse audience at each event; shared perspectives and collaborative working Feedback informs future PDU activity Response to issues raised

Learning events The programme of events so far: Novel Psychoactive Substances Information Event : 17th October Introduction to PIE (Psychologically Informed Environments): 1st November PIE Action Learning Sets Getting Engaged (with your service users) : 10th November Good Practice in Service User Participation : 17th January Introduction to Housing First : March A gender responsive approach to service provision : early 2018

Online platform The PDU online platform will be live early March 2018. Professionals and volunteers will be able to: access information and resources relating to a wide range of fields, which highlight in particular what is happening locally view materials from learning events share information with fellow professionals via the platform share perspectives / expertise by posting comments on resources There is a lot of potential as the PDU grows to add to the platform so that it becomes, for example: a way for workers to support each other a place to exchange ideas / ask questions to experts a way of facilitating research

E-Newsletter Information on current issues and developments Case studies / examples of what is working well Promotion of learning / professional networking events across all fields Case studies are something that has been requested from professionals during our research.

Ongoing evaluation Is the PDU meeting the needs of staff, volunteers and beneficiaries? Is the PDU having an impact on knowledge, skills and practice? regular communication with PDU participants assessment of learning; short and long-term feedback from beneficiaries / service users monitoring of forum discussions (later) monitoring usage of and contribution to the online platform There will of course be a formal evaluation process along with independent evaluation, but key questions to consider as we go along are…..

Thoughts and suggestions Future activities / learning events CPD needs that the PDU could support