The IBSEN project - National evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Projects

Researchers: Professor Caroline Glendinning, Nicola Moran, Parvaneh Rabiee
Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU): Professor David Challis, Sally Jacobs & Mark Wilberforce (University of Manchester); Professor Martin Knapp & Jose-Luis Fernandez (London School of Economics); Professor Ann Netten & Karen Jones (University of Kent)
Social Care Workforce Research Unit, Kings College London: Professor Jill Manthorpe; Martin Stevens

Funder: Department of Health

Duration: April 2006 – March 2008

Final report

Evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Programme: Final Report

Further publications available at the bottom of this web page: summary report, research findings etc.

Please note that the IBSEN website has now closed and been replaced by this web page - hosted by the Social Policy Research Unit.

Questions or comments are always welcome. Don't hesitate to contact Dr. Martin Stevens at: martin.stevens@kcl.ac.uk

Why evaluate individual budgets?

Individual budgets sit at the heart of government policy for improving choice and control for people needing social care support. Individual budgets bring together a number of different funding streams and offer a transparent way of allocating resources to individuals. Knowing the level of resources at their disposal can help individuals plan and control how their support needs are met.

Individual budgets are being piloted in 13 local authorities across England. The implementation is being supported by a team from the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP).

Evaluating these pilot projects is fundamental to a future decision by government about whether this approach will be rolled out more widely. The IBSEN project aims to identify whether individual budgets offer a better way of supporting disabled adults and older people than conventional methods of resource allocation and service delivery and, if so, which models work best for which groups of people.

Elements of the evaluation

The evaluation has five main dimensions:

experiences and outcomes for users and carers
the cost-effectiveness of individual budgets in comparison with standard approaches
implications for social care and other agencies (such as health) and the impact on service providers
how services purchased through individual budgets are commissioned, managed and coordinated
the implications for social services and the social care workforce, including workload, training, legal and professional issues.

Each of the research partners involved in the evaluation is responsible for specific aspects of the evaluation.

Publications and presentations

2009

The Individual Budget pilots: Issues for policy and practice
Glendinning, C., Social Care Research Conference, University of Greenwich, 25 February 2009.

The Individual Budget pilots: the unfinished business
Glendinning, C., The Evaluation of the Individual Budgets: Messages for policy and practice, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 3 February 2009.

The national evaluation of the social care individual budgets pilot projects
Glendinning, C., Local Leadership: A National Service, NHS Confederation National Conference, Liverpool, 12 June 2009.

Joining up government by integrating funding streams? The experiences of the Individual Budget Pilot Projects
Glendinning, C., Moran, N. et al., Annual Conference of the Joint University Council's Public Administration Committee, University of Glamorgan, 8 September 2009.

Training for change: early days of Individual Budgets and the implications for social work and care management practice: a qualitative study of the views of trainers, 2009
Manthorpe, J., Jacobs, S., Rapaport, J., Challis, D., Netten, A., Glendinning, C., Stevens, M., Wilberforce, M., Knapp, M. and Harris, J., British Journal of Social Work, 39, 7, 1291-1305.

Safeguarding and system change: early perceptions of the implications for adult protection services of the English Individual Budgets Pilots - a qualitative study, 2009
Manthorpe, J., Stevens, M., Rapaport, J., Harris, J., Jacobs, S., Challis, D., Netten, A., Knapp, M., Wilberforce, M. and Glendinning, C., British Journal of Social Work, 39, 8, 1465-1480.

Gearing up for personalisation: training activities commissioned in the English pilot individual budgets sites 2006-2008, (in press)
Manthorpe, J., Stevens, M., Rapaport, J., Jacobs, S., Challis, D., Wilberforce, M., Netten, A., Knapp, M. and Glendinning, C., Social Work Education.

Individual Budgets: lessons from early users' experiences, 2009
Rabiee, P., Moran, N. and Glendinning, C., British Journal of Social Work, 39, 5, 918-935.

2008

National evaluation of the individual budget pilots
Glendinning, C., Mental Health and Personalisation Conference, ORT Conference Centre, London, 8 December 2008.

National evaluation of the individual budget pilots
Glendinning, C., Local Government Information Unit Presentation, London, 8 December 2008.

What next for individual budgets?
Glendinning, C., Individual Budgets National Evaluation Conference, Kings College, London, 14 November 2008.

Evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Programme: Final Report, 2008
Glendinning, C., Challis, D., Fernandez, J., Jacobs, S., Jones, K., Knapp, M., Manthorpe, J., Moran, N., Netten, A., Stevens, M. and Wilberforce, M..

Evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Programme: Summary report, 2008
Glendinning, C., Challis, D., Fernandez, J., Jacobs, S., Jones, K., Knapp, M., Manthorpe, J., Moran, N., Netten, A., Stevens, M. and Wilberforce, M., Social Policy Research Unit, 51 pages.

The national evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Programme, 2008
Glendinning, C., Challis, D., Fernandez, J., Jacobs, S., Jones, K., Knapp, M., Manthorpe, J., Moran, N., Netten, A., Stevens, M. and Wilberforce, M., Research Findings, Social Policy Research Unit.

The national evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Programme: Experiences and implications for care coordinators and managers, 2008
Glendinning, C., Challis, D., Fernandez, J., Jacobs, S., Jones, K., Knapp, M., Manthorpe, J., Moran, N., Netten, A., Stevens, M. and Wilberforce, M., Research Findings, Social Policy Research Unit.

Individual budget projects come under the microscope, 2008
Manthorpe, J., Stevens, M., Challis, D., Netten, A., Glendinning, C., Knapp, M., Wilberforce, M., Jacobs, S., Jones, K., Moran, N. and Fernandez, J., Mental Health Today, December, 22-26.

2007

Individual Budgets Evaluation: A summary of early findings, 2007
Challis, D., [et al.] inc. Glendinning, C., and Wilberforce, M., Social Policy Research Unit.

Evaluating the individual budget pilot projects, 2007
Glendinning, C., Challis, D., Fernandez, J.-L., Jones, K., Knapp, M., Manthorpe, J., Netten, A., Stevens, M. and Wilberforce, M., Journal of Care Services Management, 1, 2, 123-8.

2006

The evaluation of the Individual Budgets Pilot Projects (IBSEN)
Glendinning, C., Department of Health Social Care Research Showcase, Department of Health, London, 10 November 2006.

The national evaluation of the Individual Budget pilot projects
Glendinning, C., Coventry Social Services Department Stakeholder Conference, Coventry, 15 May 2006.

Individual budgets: on the launch pad, 2006
Stevens, M. and Glendinning, C., Journal of Integrated Care, 14, 6, 23-31.

Further IBSEN publications

Manthorpe, J. (2008) Individual budgets - the story so far, Community Care, 1746, 6 November, 32-3

Manthorpe, J. (2008) Individual budgets on the frontline, Community Care, 1747, 13 November, 30-1

Manthorpe, J. (2008) A work in progress, Community Care, 1748, 19 November, 30-1

Extension study - impact and outcomes for carers

The changes in budgets and care arrangements for service users will have a correspondingly large effect on the care provided by their friends, family and other informal carers. Choices may be made to: pay informal carers for their care; to use the IB to relieve informal carers of some caring duties; or the IB could be assigned to the carer and not the service user. Carers may also become heavily involved in the organisation and processing of the budget and new care arrangements. In order to fully asses the impact of IBs on everyone concerned the views and experiences of carers must be evaluated. A project to do this is underway as part of the Department of Health Research Programme within SPRU, please follow this link to find further details of this project:

Individual budgets: impact and outcomes for carers

For further details about SPRU's role in the evaluation, contact Caroline Glendinning