1. The Q Improvement Lab
August 2017

2. August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
What is Q?
Q is a connected community working together to improve health and care quality across the UK.
Q supports people in their existing improvement work: making it easier to share ideas, enhance skills and make changes that benefit patients.
The Q Lab was born out of the co- design process for Q.

3. August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
What is the Q Lab?
The Q Improvement Lab brings people together from across the UK to work on complex challenges facing health and care.

4. August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
What is the Q Lab?
Working on a single challenge for 9-12 months, the Q Lab will:
Find new ways to understand problems
Provide spaces for experimentation
Help scale solutions that work

5. August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
What is the Q Lab?
Around the world social innovation labs are being established as a way of tackling complex challenges. They use approaches such as design and behavioural science, and work collaboratively with diverse groups of people to create and test new ideas. We are piloting a lab approach to see whether – when combined with improvement expertise and the Q community – it can make a difference to health and care.

6. August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
What is the Q Lab?
The first pilot Q Lab started in April 2017 and will run for 12 months. If it shows potential as a model for supporting improvement, our ambition is to establish a small number of Labs over the coming years. The pilot Q Lab is funded by the Health Foundation and NHS Improvement.

7. A diverse group of collaborators…
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
A diverse group of collaborators…
Social care
Recipient of peer support
Peer support worker
Academic
Charities GP
Service manager
Designer
National bodies
Patient representative
Housing sector
Commissioner

8. We aim to achieve impact in three ways…
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
We aim to achieve impact in three ways… 1.
Support improvements within the current system 2.
Facilitate new collaborations
and connections 3.
Re-imagine and influence the future provision of care

9. The first Q Lab challenge:
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
The first Q Lab challenge:
What would it take for effective peer support to be available to everyone who wants it, to help manage their long-term health and wellbeing needs?
12 month project
Started April 2017
130+ people collaborating

10. Research and discovery Develop and test ideas Distil & spread learning
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
Collaborative working
April ‘17
March ’18 and beyond
Research and discovery
Develop and test ideas
Distil & spread learning
Collaborate with Lab participants to understand the issue from a variety of perspectives.
Develop ideas, test interventions; enable collaboration and sharing of tacit knowledge.
Support Lab participants, and Q community, to spread learning & opportunities for change
This diagram is too simple really to convey a whole range of things that run through the year but hope it helps to give a sense of the shape of the year.

11. Research and discovery Develop and test ideas Distil & spread learning
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
Collaborative working
April ‘17
Where we are now (August – December)
March ’18 and beyond
Research and discovery
Develop and test ideas
Distil & spread learning
Drawing on what is already known, collaborating with Lab participants to understand the issue from a variety of perspectives.
Bring together research and workshop outputs to develop ideas, test interventions and enable collaboration and sharing of tacit knowledge.
Share the learning of phase two and working on next steps.

12. Developing and testing ideas
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
Developing and testing ideas
Together with Lab participants we’ve developed and will take forward three briefs for this phase:
How can we generate sources of evidence that capture the holistic impact peer support can have on people’s lives? 1.
How can we improve the routine offering and promotion of peer support in a primary care setting? 2.
How can we support the sharing of knowledge, experience and evidence of what does and does not work in peer support? 3.
Continue to support connections and collaborations. +
Support people to build on their own ideas to create local improvements. +

13. August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
Working with the Lab
Collaboration and diversity are key to the Lab. We welcome and encourage people to be involved in the Lab’s ‘developing and testing ideas’ phase. Whether you have experience or expertise in peer support, or are keen to explore ideas and learn more, come and collaborate with us.

14. Work closely with the Lab over 3-4 months
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
Working with the Lab
Lab participants can get involved in many ways:
Keep up to date via our mailing list
Share the Lab’s work with your networks
Complete surveys to help gather information
Review and comment on documents
Share tacit knowledge of peer support
Take part in workshops or webinars to develop ideas
Collaborate on projects with other Lab participants
Test ideas locally and share learning
Benefits:
5-10 minutes a week
Develop your networks
Learn more about peer support approaches
Test your own ideas with a diverse group of people
Opportunity to get support for local ideas and improvements
Work closely with the Lab over 3-4 months
Learn and develop new skills in tackling complex challenges

15. “I feel that the Lab enables a structured approach to focus, share knowledge, experiences and ideas that can enable change. The variety of people involved enables diverse problem solving/solution finding.”

16. “I have been to many events where we talk about the same ideas and issues over and over again, but no-one ever seems to come up with ways of actually changing things. I am hopeful that the Q Lab will be able to come up with some practical ways forward.”

17. Website: https://q.health.org.uk/q-improvement-lab/
August 2017
The Q Improvement Lab
Website:
Profiles of people currently working with the Lab:
Contact us via: @theQCommunity - #QLabs