1. The Hertfordshire Micro Market Project Increasing local choices by helping people to set up and run micro care and support services Tracy Ahern Hertfordshire Micro Market Coordinator

2. Introducing the Hertfordshire Micro Market Project This project is being run until August 2013 by Community Catalysts in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council It is helping local people to set up very small care and support services We call these local people micro providers This will help make personalisation happen so that people who need care or support, have more things to choose from

3. Things covered in this presentation What a micro provider is What micro providers do The kind of people that become micro providers Things that are good about micro providers Problems that micro providers can have How the Micro Market Project helps micro providers Finding out about the micro providers we are working with

4. What a micro provider is Provider of a very small care or support service 5 or less paid workers or volunteers Completely independent and doesn't belong to a larger organisation May be run on a self-employed basis, small business, or community venture Some may be offered at no cost, and others will be paid for by people’s personal budgets or own money

5. What micro providers do Each micro provider is different They offer different services in different ways to different people Some micro providers work with people with a learning disability Other micro providers work with people with a physical disability, older people or people with mental health needs

6. What micro providers do A few examples of the sorts of services set up by micro providers 1-1 care or support Opportunities to take part in leisure or sporting activities A chance to meet Opportunities to learn friends new skills such as farming

7. The kind of people that become micro providers People who are passionate about giving the right care or support and who want to do it on a very small basis People who become micro providers might include : People who have worked in social care Family members of people who may have needed care or support People who may have care or support needs themselves

8. Things that are good about micro providers They want to make a real difference to the lives of the people they support They have a very personal interest in how the service is delivered

9. Things that are good about micro providers They work with very small numbers of people They know each person very personally and what they like and don’t like really well They work flexibly in a very personal and individual way They put each person at the centre of things

10. Things that are good about micro providers A micro provider is their own boss People can give their own ideas about what they want to do A micro provider doesn't have to ask management if it is ok to do it

11. Things that are good about micro providers Each micro provider is unique just like each person they work with They can come up with new ways of doing things that no one else has thought of

12. Problems for micro providers There can be a lot of standards and rules to follow Micro providers can be very isolated It can be hard for them to find things out and to let people know about what they can do All of this can make it very hard for someone to set up a micro service

13. Help from the Hertfordshire Micro Market Project The Micro Market Project is here to help micro providers We give them the recognition, advice and information that they need We are helping more of these services to set up This means people who need some extra help or support have more chance of getting the kind of help they want

14. How the Micro Market Project helps micro providers One person to contact for individual help Help with ideas for new services Help to understand personalisation Help with marketing opportunities

15. How the micro market project helps micro providers Help to fix and solve problems Help to find organisations that can offer expert advice Help to find training

16. How the Micro Market Project helps micro providers Help for micro providers to support one another Letting people know the good things about micro services Working with the County Council to help reduce barriers

17. Finding out about the micro providers we are working with We regularly send an updated list to a wide range of organisations and people who are in contact with people who may be interested in using services that are offered by micro providers. We are also helping micro providers to register on the new eMarketplace

18. Any Questions? Tracy Ahern Hertfordshire Micro Market Coordinator tracy.ahern@communitycatalysts.co.uk Telephone: 07584 211 756