Recently I chaired the judging panel, on behalf of CapacityGRID, for the MJ's Innovation in Social Care Award. This is the first time I have done anything like this since I retired from the day to day local government fray. I was overwhelmed by the breadth, quality and ambition of the innovations taking place. People really are triumphing against the odds in improving the quality of life for people with real needs in an age of tightening resources.
My experience of similar competitions in the past is that many of the applications are a triumph of presentation over content. For this award there were 41 applications, all of which deserved careful consideration. Although the panel agreed unanimously on seven to shortlist for interview, some very impressive innovations should not be lost simply because they did not make the final stage of this competition. They are a credit to their designers and mostly capable of further development and replication in the right conditions.
The finalists really taxed our judgement. One lost out on presentation – it is always wise to follow the rules on these occasions. Another, featuring prepaid charge cards for direct payments in conjunction with a major commercial provider, was simply a great idea entered in the wrong category.
To read the full blog, visit http://www.capacitygrid.com/celebrating-excellence-in-social-care/ featured on CapacityGRID's website.
John Ransford is advisor to the CapacityGRID Board
