Family Wellbeing Partnership in Clackmannanshire: evaluation

7. Systems Evaluation Analysis

The nature of the FWP demands an evaluation approach that extends beyond analysing individual workstreams. While the four workstreams offer tangible outputs and outcomes, their true value lies in their collective interplay within the complex system of public service transformation.

To fully evaluate the FWP’s impact, it is essential to consider its foundational design as a series of interconnected interventions, rather than isolated initiatives. The FWP's holistic, person-centred approach is specifically created to address the interdependencies of social, economic, and health determinants, and any evaluation of the FWP must reflect this.

The following analysis explores these dynamics, identifying how the FWP has begun to tilt the operating environment toward a model of long-term sustainability and shared outcomes. It focuses on how systemic changes initiated by the FWP address the root causes of social challenges, ensuring that progress is not only measurable but also enduring within the FWP and beyond.

7.1 Understanding the FWP through casual system relationships

Throughout the evaluation fieldwork, three integrated areas of work have been highlighted:

• place-based family-centred support, focusing on the communities in Clackmannanshire
• new models of working, via the FWP complementary workstreams, and
• technical system transformation, including how the council has changed its policies, governance and practices to support the FWP ways of working.

Each of these components represent vital functions within the system, and they interact dynamically to address both the complex and complicated aspects of family support systems.

Complex systems involve many interconnected parts, unpredictable outcomes, and changes that emerge over time. Holistic family-centred support is an example of this. Every family has different needs, so support must be flexible and personalised. The results aren’t always straightforward because they depend on social, emotional, and structural factors. Small changes - like building trust, involving families in decision-making, and using real-time feedback - can have big, unexpected impacts across the system.

That said, some parts of the system are more structured and predictable. These may be complicated aspects of the system and which may involve clear steps, cause-and-effect relationships, and technical processes. This is where the "technical system information" component comes in. By collecting and analysing data, the FWP ensures decisions are based on emerging evidence.

The "new models of working" component connects these two areas. It takes strategic insights and turns them into practical actions, like improving collaboration between agencies or training staff. By combining the three areas of work, the FWP creates an adaptive system that can respond to individual family needs while also being scalable and replicable. This balance between flexible, personalised support and structured, data-driven processes was at the heart of the FWP Theory of Change and has been designed to ensure long-term success and sustainability.

7.2 Seven System Domains

As Figure 5 above illustrates, when applying this systems lens and drawing on the process and impact evaluation findings, we can identify a number of interdependent system domains that form the FWP approach. These domains can be reviewed in turn to understand the effectiveness of the FWP from 2020 through to 2024. As shown in the figure, these ‘domains’ are connected to various degrees, which can help to create ‘reinforcing loops’. However, these domains also help to identify weaker relationships between parts of the system. Each arrow represents a causal link, annotated to specify the nature of the influence within the system.

The system for family-centred service transformation comprises seven interlinked domains, with three adaptive “core” elements embedded throughout.

Seven Domains

1. Trust and relationships with families

2. System leadership behaviours

3. Facilitators and barriers to innovation

4. Communication

5. Reimagined service delivery

6. Data monitoring and sharing

7. Governance

Three Adaptive Core Elements

• Family-centred support
• New models of working
• Technical system transformation

How the Domains Interact

Trust and relationships - system leadership. Values-based leadership emerges from strong, trusting relationships with families, promoting inquiry and listening

System leadership behaviours - reimagined service delivery. Leaders granting permission and building trust enable teams to pilot new approaches.

Reimagined service delivery - trust and relationships. Growing confidence in frontline staff spurs them to adapt practice in family-centred ways.

Reimagined service delivery - data monitoring and sharing (weaker link). New service models generate evidence, improving and proving effectiveness.

Data monitoring and sharing - governance (weaker link). Real-time data flows inform oversight bodies, enhancing learning loops.

Governance - communication. Governance structures align evidence with tailored messages for different decision-makers.

Communication - facilitators and barriers. Clear, evidence-based communication shapes system mechanics that support innovation.

Facilitators and barriers - system leadership. By reducing barriers and enhancing reliability, facilitative conditions enable leaders to respond and adapt services more effectively.

In the following analysis, we focus in particular on five of the domains that are crucial in helping chart the journey of the FWP from being a series of interconnected programme activities in 2021 to becoming an environment which creates opportunities for interdependent activities across the system in 2024 and beyond. We also discuss two further domains, described in Figure 5 as ‘communication’ and ‘facilitators and barriers to innovation’, throughout this chapter. For each of the domains, we have described key activities, enablers and barriers, along with examples and direct quotes from both the process and impact evaluation.

1. Building trust and relationships with families

The overall FWP model is based on consistent engagement with families, supporting community-led initiatives, and co-designed services. This is part of the FWP’s aim to create a culture where families feel valued, heard, and empowered to actively participate in shaping the support they receive, and aligns with the vision of achieving trauma-transformed practice in Clackmannanshire. This way of working is particularly effective in complex human systems (especially those with high incidences of trauma), where meaningful change depends on relationships, trust, and the ability to adapt services to a range of people with changeable needs. Creating a culture where families feel heard and valued helps create a collective purpose and story of the change being sought - as highlighted in the ToC. Stakeholders and service users’ knowledge of the purpose of the FWP collective journey was key to realising system change.

How were the voices of families initially heard?

From its inception, the FWP prioritised listening to the voices of families and communities to ensure that services were designed around their needs. Recognising that effective solutions require a deep understanding of lived experiences, council and third sector partners working with the FWP employed multiple strategies to capture and incorporate these voices into their planning and delivery processes, which are highlighted throughout this evaluation report.

Co-design

As discussed in the process evaluations for each workstream, one of the initial methods for listening to the voices of families about their needs was through community-led conversations facilitated by practitioners and third sector partners. Word of mouth, as well as reaching people in schools / at nurseries, were important ways of engaging with families. Participatory design promotes system leadership behaviours around being curious and reflective on what works and why. For example, facilitated conversations started in the CWP-funded ‘Bumps and All’, a toddler and baby group, which is volunteer-led and has put on programmes of activities and fundraisers based on the requests of those attending the group. These sessions provided a safe space for families to openly discuss their challenges, aspirations, and priorities. Practitioners highlighted the importance of creating informal, judgment-free environments to encourage participation. A participant from a community hub shared in an interview that,

“We spoke about things we didn’t even realise were problems until someone asked the right questions.”

These conversations revealed recurring themes that were systemic barriers to family wellbeing, such as financial instability, housing insecurity, mental health struggles, and the challenges of accessing childcare. This feedback shaped early interventions around the four main workstreams.

Ongoing feedback loops and outreach

Local families were also engaged through participatory design workshops, where they worked alongside practitioners to co-create ideas for support. These workshops allowed families to not only share their perspectives but also to actively shape the services they would subsequently use. One practitioner described the impact of these sessions in an interview, saying,

“Families felt heard - not just listened to, but truly included in building what they needed.”

Such feedback loops were established to continuously refine services to create and strengthen family based support. Practitioners actively sought input from families participating in initial activities, such as cooking classes, social events, adult literacy support, more childcare provision and more transport for after school care, and these feedback loops have continued. While these methods were effective in capturing many perspectives from communities, through this evaluation, practitioners working in FWP acknowledged the challenges in reaching the most marginalised families. Some families were hesitant to engage due to negative past experiences with public services or simply feeling isolated within their own homes. To help overcome this, the FWP employed persistent outreach efforts, often relying on trusted community members and organisations to act as bridges. The most effective methods were to create opportunities for people to come together and share their experiences and concerns and then develop ways to address those concerns. This relational approach slowly built-up trust. As highlighted in the FWP theory of change, system leadership behaviours like trust-building and relationship-building play a foundational role in enabling system change.

Strategic collaboration

Throughout this evaluation we have seen the importance of strategic partnerships. Another important partnership is the ongoing collaboration between the FWP and What Matters to You (WM2U) in Clackmannanshire, which began in Autumn 2023. This initiative, supported by The Hunter Foundation and BBC Children in Need, focuses on empowering communities by encouraging them to identify and act on their priorities, and is currently funding five community projects in Clackmannanshire. It is another FWP strategic enabler and an important way to add to the overall ‘community of changemakers’.

According to a Clackmannanshire Council report^[75], a number of outcomes have resulted from the collaboration with WM2U to date including enhanced confidence, skills, and social connections among community members, with residents actively participating in service design. The report points to these small funding investments contributing to a preventative and relational model of public services, helping to shift decision-making power towards the community. Importantly, each project benefits from dedicated practitioner support from the Council:

• Crochet Comforts at The Bowmar is supported by Council Community Learning (CLD) and Development staff.
• Ben Cleuch Polytunnel Gardening in Tillicoultry is supported by the Council’s Education Refugee Team.
• Tullibody/Abercromby Primary School Family Foodies is backed by school staff.
• Sauchie Community Collaborative is facilitated by CWP and CLD staff.
• Alloa Family Centre Growing Group is supported by Early Help (Social Work) staff.

With Clackmannanshire Council and FWP match-funding each of the five Clacks projects, this reinforces the model of direct community funding. By putting funding directly into the hands of the community, this approach amplifies local voices and empowers people to engage in projects that matter to them, all with the backing of Clackmannanshire practitioners.

Building and sustaining trust

As noted throughout the evaluation, building community trust in the FWP has been a deliberate and multifaceted effort since day one. By focusing on creating service responses based on community feedback, as highlighted above, the FWP has fostered trust with families, the broader community, and within its own teams. In terms of stimulating broad system change, that matters because listening is key to getting alongside someone and giving agency for them to act within their own life.

This reflects a widely recognised principle in systems change and community development that small, relational actions - repeated consistently by many people - can collectively shift the system.

Most respondents (10 out of 15) to the FWP Stakeholder Survey said that they felt the FWP has incorporated the voice of local families into how it operates “very well” or “extremely well”. In addition, most survey respondents (9 out of 15) felt that the FWP engages well or very well with community members in the co-design of services, with a large majority of respondents (11 out of 15) also stating that they themselves had engaged in co-design of services with community members.^[76] When asked how this had changed the way in which support and/or activities are delivered, one survey respondent explained that,

“it helps us provide support and activities people actually want and need”.

Other survey respondents described specific ways in which engaging in co-design had affected how their organisation provided support, such as influencing when particular activities are delivered and prompting services to closely involve families in the shaping of support plans.

Trust with families is built through sustained, personalised support that addresses their immediate needs while encouraging long-term engagement. Increased confidence when engaging with services was cited as a key positive impact of the FWP by FWP stakeholder survey respondents, with greater trust highlighted as a crucial factor in helping bring about this increased confidence. Staff in FWP activities prioritise creating safe and consistent spaces for families to connect, ensuring a welcoming environment. In the evaluation, several examples of this emerged:

• Community members requested and, over time, led cooking and literacy classes in Alloa Academy. Supported by CATS, school staff created an environment of mutual respect and shared learning.
• The Community House in Alloa South has provided immediate support to families living nearby, offering food security, financial advice, and housing guidance, as well as CWP-funded after school and summer holiday provision^[77].
• The CWP Enhanced Baby and Toddler Group focuses on working with families to progress their own goals, such as setting boundaries, bedtime routines, nutrition, and creating quality family time.^[78].
• Initiatives like Play Roots - a CWP group session offered by Home-Start Clackmannanshire in collaboration with Educational Psychologists and Speech and Language Therapists, providing creative projects and crafts for families - offer workers a chance to “see more depth to the support we can offer”, including dealing with stress, coping strategies, maximising their income, securing new jobs, or developing new skills.
• As part of CATS, over thirty partners were brought in to Alloa Academy to offer an array of engaging formats for staff to get to know families, all designed to enhance the wellbeing and capabilities of young people.

The FWP has also had to work hard to build trust (another of the pillars of trauma-informed practice) particularly with families who have had negative past experiences with systems or services. These barriers have been addressed through persistence, transparency, and adaptability, as well as offering services through different modalities e.g. digital. Asked to identify any particular communities or groups they feel have been less included in the FWP, groups cited by respondents to the FWP Stakeholder Survey included elderly people and those affected by substance use. The reasons for this are complex. One worker involved in outreach work emphasised that many parents find it very hard to leave the house, something which they feel has worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The FWP’s focus on trust extended beyond families to include practitioners and partner organisations. Internally, the FWP created a culture of trust by allowing staff time and providing clear permission for staff to take the initiative and prioritise relationship-building over bureaucracy. Practitioners consistently noted that this autonomy enhanced their ability to connect with families on a deeper level. One respondent to the FWP Stakeholder Survey, who helps deliver activities linked to the CWP workstream, described a key aspect of their person-centred approach as being agile and adaptable in how they provide services, recognising that “no one size fits all.” The respondent described having seen “a huge positive impact from the approach - taking the time to build connection and trust with people, and really listen to, and act on their needs, you can see the confidence build in them week by week.” This kind of trust-based, adaptive working is especially important in complex human systems, where change rarely follows a linear path and solutions must respond to the unique and evolving needs of individuals and communities.

2. System leadership behaviours

System leadership involves guiding change across different organisations by fostering trust, collaboration, shared accountability and creating a culture of reflection and learning. By encouraging reflective practices and value-based decision-making, this approach ensures that solutions are not just top-down but co-created with those delivering and receiving support, making them more effective and sustainable.

Leading through values

Almost every worker interviewed as part of this process evaluation, cited their experience of the Columba 1400 Values Based Leadership Programme as pivotal in giving them space and time to reflect with others on personal and shared values, and foster their commitment to the work of meaningful change. As one stakeholder interviewee shared during this evaluation,

“Professionals looking at each other around the planning table, everyone having shared that experience at Columba, meant we all knew we needed to think about how to make ‘that’ happen, how can we support that family better… it actually became competitive… ok that worked, what else can we do to support them, who else [services] can we get involved here..”

This approach allowed practitioners to pause, think about their roles, and decide how they wanted to contribute to the FWP. Values like awareness, focus, creativity, integrity, perseverance, and service became central to those conversations. Practitioners were then encouraged to take ownership of their actions, articulate their values, and align their behaviours with these core values in their work and lives. A number of professionals interviewed noted that those very behaviours began to be increasingly modelled in the work of the FWP.

This has also enabled the FWP to live up to the values of The Promise. For example, managers for kinship care, community justice, and education psychology have undertaken Columba 1400 Values Based Leadership training. In addition, the FWP has led significant investment in trauma-informed capacity, with over 4,800 hours of CPD delivered across the workforce. This includes the development of a “Readiness for Caring” (R4C) programme to equip key professionals and caregivers with the knowledge and confidence to provide reparative, stable environments and reduce the need for physical intervention or placement changes. This is an extension of the ‘Readiness for Learning’ (R4L) approach (Taylor & Barrett (2018) and Taylor & Barrett (2022)) that was developed by the educational psychology service as a trauma-informed approach to closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Application of the theories and values which underpin R4L are evident throughout the design and delivery of interventions across the FWP, including (but not limited to) the continuum of mental health supports for children, young people and their families, and the Child Wellbeing Project. Clackmannanshire Active Learning Academy (CALA), launched in August 2024, also provides trauma-informed education for care-experienced learners and those on the edge of care, helping prevent out-of-area placements and supporting educational inclusion.

Creating conditions for collaborative leadership

The FWP leadership clearly recognises that relationships within a human system provide the context for collaboration. According to professionals interviewed, the key difference was that they were told they had permission to do things differently. That messaging was all-important. It enabled trust and creativity from staff. In the words of one manager, “It almost became competitive - what else can we do differently to meet that particular need?”. This has created stronger connections with many different people across the Clackmannanshire system. Interviewees emphasised that many leaders in the council now adopt the FWP leadership approach. In terms of communication, these leadership behaviours have been instrumental in connecting the interdependent parts of the system together. As one staff member put it,

“Our leaders didn’t micromanage - they trusted us to do what we do best, and that trust gave us the confidence to push boundaries.”

In the FWP Stakeholder Survey, 12 out of 15 respondents felt that Clackmannanshire Council leaders model Values Based Leadership (VBL) either to some extent or a great extent, with no respondents feeling that Council leaders model Values Based Leadership (VBL) “not at all”. In addition, when asked to identify from a list of any challenges their organisation has faced in collaborating with partners involved in the FWP, only two respondents selected “leadership behaviours e.g. resistance to change”, with stakeholders considerably more likely to highlight other challenges such as funding limitations (selected by 12 respondents) and high staff workloads / understaffing (9 respondents) as being those which have inhibited collaboration.

Internally, the FWP has cultivated an organisational culture of trust by empowering staff and through collaboration. Practitioners are encouraged to take initiative, adapt services, and build meaningful relationships with families. Interviewed staff members reported that this culture of trust helped them to work effectively. As one interviewee shared,

“I was told my job was initially to go and make relationships with families and then with other support services. I just get on…no-one has ever said anything to me, so I assume I’m not doing anything wrong.. I’m left to get on with it and do what I think is right. So I definitely feel supported and trusted”.

Collaborative efforts have also created a culture of shared accountability. Regular meetings between a range of FWP staff, across the workstreams, with partners such as the Department of Work and Pensions and Citizens Advice Bureau have reinforced trust and strengthened service delivery. As one worker emphasised,

“Integrating external partners into collaborative spaces broke down traditional silos and created shared responsibility, ensuring more cohesive outcomes for families”.

The FWP has also leveraged this collaborative approach to catalyse systemic change in both residential and educational provision, accelerating its ethos of supporting The Promise. For example, the FWP partnered with The Vardy Foundation to improve residential care and housing for children and young people, securing long-term investment and affordable leasing through private partnerships to support #KeepThePromise goals by 2030. Additionally, the FWP-funded Young Parent Project supported 23 young parents in 2024 - many being care-experienced - with housing, benefits and education opportunities, offering direct, practical help aligned with The Promise commitments.

System leadership behaviours

One of the most important aspects of the way the FWP has been set up is the ability to create authorising environments - spaces where people feel empowered to act, take initiative and collaborate. The process of developing the new Wellbeing Hub, due to open in 2027 as a place for the Clackmannanshire community to connect with others and be physically active, was a powerful example. Decision makers actively engaged families, third sector organisations, and council services to shape what the new shared spaces needed to look like. This collaboration created environments that prioritised community needs. STRIVE in itself was also a strong authorising environment - a daily convened space for police, housing, and social work to address crises holistically, family by family. This model streamlined preventative support for families, improving collaboration between agencies to provide support. Working in this way promotes system leadership behaviours - as set out in the FWP theory of change.

Another strong aspect of the Clackmannanshire system is the number of community assets, resources and places that exist to get support. Practitioners are encouraged by their managers to spend time mapping what is available and actively building relationships, helping people access the system, share information on services and activities they hear about and understand who in the system may be able to help certain families. An illustration of the impact of practitioners on building good relationships and sharing knowledge to support families involves a new family worker who spent weeks visiting community centres and groups, introducing herself and demonstrating curiosity by asking about what was happening. Some time later, the worker encountered a struggling family needing immediate assistance but facing financial challenges. The worker was able to point the family to a centre and community shop where families could buy ten items for £4.50. This practical intervention not only addressed the immediate need but also underscored the importance of workers knowing where to turn to for resources, and having the autonomy to act quickly.

The final aspect of system leadership behaviours in the FWP is around ceding power. The whole FWP model of working is itself about continually ceding power to the community, one conversation and one action at a time. Power and decision making is also pushed to front line workers. For example, education is traditionally an environment with hierarchies and multi-layered levels of decision making.

Challenges to embedding system leadership behaviours

The FWP also faced challenges in embedding system leadership behaviours across all sectors. Resistance to change was a recurring issue, particularly within more hierarchical parts of the system. Leaders have recognised challenges in effective communication among those stakeholders, and interview feedback from leaders suggests staff still have a way to go to explain the FWP way of working to wider colleagues. One remarked,

“It’s hard to change a culture that’s been in place for decades, but that’s exactly what we need to do.”

Despite the progress made, interviewees suggested that more could be achieved if the FWP had greater capacity. Feedback indicates that the pace of change is rapid, and there is now a need for the FWP to strengthen its connections across a broader range of systems. The next steps include deeper integration with the wider Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) teams, and private sector organisations - helping to build a more unified ecosystem. One interviewee reflected that

“we’ve only scratched the surface of engaging with the business sector on the FWP approach”.

Finally, progress has been led by a small number of senior leaders, which creates a potential risk that any leadership turnover or changing priorities could undermine the continuity of system leadership practices. However, interview feedback from senior leaders now suggests that the tide has turned sufficiently to enable sustained systemic reform even in the event of leadership turnover. This is exemplified by the refreshed FWP Oversight Board, which, over time will be self-sustaining.

3. Reimagining service delivery

Key to service redesign is the integration of resources across sectors, enabling a more coordinated and efficient approach to support. A shift from reactive to preventative models should allow services to address challenges before they escalate, reducing reliance on crisis interventions. In complex human systems, where needs are interconnected and ever-changing, this kind of integrated, preventative approach creates the conditions for more responsive, sustainable, and person-centred support. As one practitioner interviewee said,

"The current system is not about crisis response anymore - it is about creating an enabling environment for families before they reach that point."

Over time, the FWP has built on a strong leadership foundation, and FWP staff have increasingly felt able and emboldened to implement changes.

Evidence of change of practice

12 out of 15 respondents to the FWP Stakeholder Survey carried out as part of this evaluation said that involvement in the FWP had influenced how their organisation designs and/or delivers services and activities to at least some extent. Asked to describe specific changes to their services resulting from involvement in the FWP, respondents provided a range of examples, including:

• Providing more direct support and signposting to families based on the issues that they themselves raise;
• Delivering new activities, such as new creative group provision for under-5s in Clackmannanshire;
• Adjusting activities due to increased partnership working with other organisations involved with the FWP, and the new training and development opportunities available to staff as a result of this;
• Supporting plans to turn a disused building in Alloa into a multi-use community space to be used by partner organisations in need of venues to host programmes;
• Offering flexible work placements to parents to upskill and support them to be ready for work;
• Adjusting activities to avoid duplication across FWP services.
• Developing a continuum of mental health supports which brought new providers into Scotland and which have the potential to contribute to significant cost avoidance savings.
• Other changes in practice were brought about in the summer of 2024, when two Planet Youth Officers started in post within the FWP to promote the work of the Planet Youth Icelandic Prevention Model in Clackmannanshire’s schools and in the community. This model focused on areas of concern raised through pupil surveys (such as substance abuse and vaping). In collaboration with the Planet Youth Lead in each secondary school, bespoke action plans were then created in each secondary school to tackle these issues. In addition, since May 2024 the Clackmannanshire Planet Youth Coalition has met regularly bringing together partners across the NHS, Violence against Women and Girls, Community Learning and Development, Child Protection, the Parent Council and the third sector.

Embedding the FWP approach

Increasing numbers of staff can articulate the benefits of the FWP way of working, which has now extended to wider areas of service delivery including, for example, housing, sport and leisure, community learning and development work, community justice, gender based violence, and adult learning In addition, a majority of respondents to the FWP Stakeholder Survey (10 out of 15) said that their organisation’s focus on prevention and early intervention had increased as a result of their involvement with the FWP, in some cases significantly. Respondents also generally felt that the FWP had been successful in integrating a person-centred approach into service delivery across its partners: asked to rate how well they feel the FWP has done this, with 1 indicating not well integrated and 5 indicating fully integrated, respondents gave an average rating of 4.3. It could be expected that over time this way of working would lead to reductions in the need for crisis services, but this has not yet been evidenced.

Key to the new models of working, and as discussed in the STRIVE chapter, there is evidence to suggest that STRIVE’s emphasis on early support and prevention helped reduce individuals’ reliance on some forms of crisis intervention in Clackmannanshire. For example, families facing housing insecurity received immediate assistance through coordinated efforts between housing officers and social workers, preventing crises from escalating. As one interviewee pointed out, "STRIVE has shown us what can be achieved when agencies work together seamlessly. But to sustain this, we need stronger data systems and resources to scale this model effectively."

Underpinning the embedding of the FWP approach is an integrated commitment to The Promise. The FWP in Clackmannanshire has ensured that The Promise is not treated as a parallel or standalone programme. Rather, clear efforts have been made to integrate The Promise into strategic governance and service planning. Through the “One Plan, One Report” model, ten strategic plans were synthesised into six outcomes — foremost among them, that “children and young people grow up loved, safe and respected.” This outcome reflects the core ambition of The Promise and is co-owned by all senior managers across the People Directorate, embedding accountability across service areas.

The evaluation highlights that initiatives like trauma-informed training, targeted support for care-experienced young parents, the partnership with The Vardy Foundation, and the launch of Clackmannanshire Active Learning Academy (CALA) demonstrate that FWP is delivering The Promise through meaningful structural, policy, and practice changes. These efforts culminated in the 2025 strategic report Putting Love at the Centre,^[79] which sets out a trauma-informed, theory-based model for supporting families in Clackmannanshire (Readiness for Caring).

Community hubs

One of several standout achievements in reimagining service delivery has been the creation and use of existing community spaces to deliver services, which function as one-stop centres for families to access multiple services in a single, welcoming location. These spaces provide practical support, including food assistance, financial advice, and housing guidance, while also serving as safe spaces for families to engage with practitioners. Practitioners highlighted how this model, as close to the community as possible, reduced the stigma often associated with accessing public services, allowing families to seek help in a non-judgmental environment. Interviews and case studies gathered by FWP staff indicate that staff feel they have permission to do things differently and that the ‘no wrong door’ approach has helped improve the financial situations of those accessing them, by signposting to relevant services and supports which individuals were previously unaware of as well as providing space for traditional services to be accessed within the community.

Key posts

Another crucial aspect of service redesign and embedding the FWP approach has been the strategic selection of key individuals to fill critical roles with cross cutting remits. For example, bringing in an experienced staff member from Housing with expertise in process and project management, and seconding individuals from schools to take on both practice-based and strategic coordination roles within the FWP, has proven highly effective. This deliberate approach has strengthened the FWP’s ability to deliver its vision and foster collaboration across sectors. Amongst many roles within the post, in 2024, the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund Participation Officer conducted meetings twice a week with families to hear feedback on issues they wanted support with. The Child Poverty Coordinator post was also instrumental in aligning services to address child poverty, working across education, employability, and health services to ensure that families received integrated support. The FWP has over time taken over the Council Poverty remit, ensuring further alignment of the Local Child Poverty Action Plan, which is now embedded within the One Plan, One Report, a council-approved integrated framework designed to streamline community planning efforts by consolidating various strategic initiatives and government policy ambitions into one cohesive plan. Under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 (‘the Act’) Local Authorities and NHS Boards have a statutory duty to jointly publish annual Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs). Close relationships with NHS Forth Valley have enabled joint consideration of this streamlining. Family Support Workers and front line staff also play a critical role, acting as direct links between families and the wide range of services offered. Their responsibilities encompass building trusting relationships, providing tailored support, and fostering resilience and independence among families.

Finally, the staff working as part of the FWP have played a vital role in operationalising the FWP’s vision, ensuring alignment across the Council’s People Directorate (which manages services related to education, children’s services, community justice, criminal justice, educational psychology, , Community Learning and Development , libraries, Sport and Leisure) and the Place Directorate (which manages services related to development, housing, property, and the environment). This includes overseeing activities, coordinating stakeholders, and driving accountability. The STRIVE team lead post will facilitate rapid intervention by streamlining communication and decision-making among police, housing, social work, and other sectors. This post exemplifies the effectiveness of having a single point of coordination for complex cases.

These kinds of broker roles were crucial in fostering the collaboration and innovation needed for service redesign and the FWP theory of change sets out the importance of brokerage as a system leadership behaviour. By acting as connectors, facilitators, and advocates, they ensure that the FWP’s initiatives are grounded in community needs while maintaining strategic alignment with Council priorities. Their work not only enhances service delivery but has also helped build a culture of trust and shared accountability within the system. Much of the efforts in service redesign is in reimagining roles and responsibilities of the workforce.

4. Governance

Inclusive governance is essential when operating in complex systems, as traditional top-down approaches often fail to capture the nuance of lived experience. For the FWP, an evolving governance framework is built on shared accountability and community involvement, including families, and ensuring that decision-making is transparent and inclusive. FWP governance has always relied on creating a space for stakeholders to come together in a non-hierarchical way. The Scottish Government played an important role in this; rather than requiring traditional grant reporting, officials from the Scottish Government committed, at the start, to being active partners in the strategic development and shared governance of the FWP. This collaborative approach involved jointly sharing the risks associated with new, grant-funded, ways of delivering services, and working together as a team to adapt to changing circumstances and feedback from the community.

The FWP’s governance framework was designed to prioritise shared responsibility across sectors while incorporating community voices in decision-making processes. By shifting away from traditional, siloed structures, the FWP created a model that emphasised inclusivity and outcomes-focused leadership. As one leader explained,

“For the first time, we had everyone at the table, working together with a common purpose.”

The predominant view of professionals interviewed was that the Scottish Government’s collaboration with council staff created a trusting and supportive environment where innovative ideas could be openly tested. One interviewee remarked,

“The Scottish Government’s involvement provided essential funding and policy guidance, and yes that was crucial in establishing and advancing the FWP. But, there was a real sense of working together and meetings felt supportive.”

From 2020 onward, this approach by the Scottish Government helped drive a shared sense of purpose within the FWP, implicitly allowing time and space, without the need for strict outcome reporting against grants, for a comprehensive review of how traditional local authority systems could be redefined to support the FWP’s operating model. This differs from the more traditional approach which may typically involve the Scottish Government requesting details of targets, spend and outcomes from different parts of the Council and then routinely requesting monitoring data, often with little subsequent feedback or overall analysis given to the Council.

As well as collaborative governance arrangements between the Scottish Government and Clackmannanshire Council, collaborative governance was also a key feature of the FWP model in how it worked with local stakeholders. Responses to the FWP Stakeholder Survey indicate that the FWP has played a positive role in encouraging increased collaboration across different organisations and stakeholders in Clackmannanshire. Asked how their collaboration with partners and other organisations had changed as a result of their involvement in the FWP, over 90% of survey respondents (14 out of 15) said their level of collaboration had increased; in addition, the same number of survey respondents said they had become more aware or much more aware of other relevant support services since becoming involved in the FWP. One respondent contrasted their experiences of collaborative working through the FWP with those of their prior working environments: “It is refreshing to come into a local authority where people are working together for the greater good and not just protecting their own space/job. Our organisation has a greater place in the community because we now work alongside others.”

Between 2020 and 2024, the FWP’s governance model evolved into a circular process designed to emphasise and reflect the interconnected nature of the system. By 2024, this approach supported more inclusive and iterative decision-making, as illustrated in the diagram below.

FWP Strategic Oversight Board - this board provides strategic guidance and ensures alignment with overarching goals and policies. It functions as the main decision-making body for the FWP, setting priorities and monitoring progress. From November 2024, the Board was being refreshed to include national partners who are interested in learning more about and contributing to the development of the FWP way of working, reflecting national interest in the FWP. This will be maintained as a high level strategic space for discussion, with a lesser focus on operational governance.

FWP Strategic Planning Team - comprising senior leaders, this team focuses on integrating FWP objectives into broader strategic frameworks and addressing systemic barriers. It facilitates high-level coordination across services.

FWP Operational Team - responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of FWP initiatives, this team ensures that activities are effectively delivered to meet community needs.

FWP Collaborative - an open and inclusive group that fosters cross-sector collaboration and community input. Monthly meetings of the FWP Collaborative include practitioners who want to share ideas, identify resources, and co-create solutions. The group has a simple structure of ‘an ask and/or an offer’ and is instrumental in maintaining the non-hierarchical ethos of the FWP and enabling practitioner innovation. The formation of this group came from practitioners themselves who wanted a space to share experiences, ideas and ways to support each other.

Balancing strategic priorities with operational realities was a recurring pressure in the development of the FWP. Some interviewees recognised that some managers resisted the shift toward shared accountability, preferring the familiarity of traditional hierarchies.

While the FWP’s governance structure is designed to promote inclusivity and shared accountability, and outcomes align with the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan. FWP continues to navigate Council governance processes. There is a need to coordinate with multiple strategic and operational frameworks, each with their own priorities and performance metrics. The FWP originated from the People Directorate and must contribute to a range of plans and forums - including business plans, annual priorities, and cross-partner groups - which can create complexity. Navigating these layers of governance requires ongoing collaboration and strong relationships at senior levels to ensure the FWP’s values and ways of working are maintained. The One Fund, One Plan, One Report is helping to align multiple policy areas and plans including community planning partnerships.

As discussed more fully in the next section, a lack of sufficient performance data is a recurring theme in the Council's wider transformation efforts. One interviewee pointed out that,

“The Council’s data maturity survey revealed significant lags in real-time decision-making, with metrics often 12-14 months out of date”.

This disjointed approach has made it difficult to substantiate the impact of initiatives like the FWP. As one interviewee said,

“We have stories and anecdotes of success, but without robust data, it’s hard to show trends or demonstrate long-term outcomes.”

It is worth noting that the Council’s Planning and Performance team has seen a reduction in staff and organisational capacity to collect, interpret and support the Senior Leadership Group with data. They operate as an internal Business Support Team providing Directorates with tools and resources but there is an expectation that Directorates themselves will produce the required data to support their Business Plans. There are ambitions to bring more analysts together from across Directorates into a central team to improve data collection and management.

Efforts continue to align directorates under the One Plan, One Report framework to foster integrated practices. Some have suggested that even the Directorate structure itself is a barrier to progress. To support the One Plan, One Report, organisational structures could be more fluid, to break down barriers between directorates to promote innovation and collaboration. While progress has been made, there is a need for cultural change and leadership alignment to fully realise this ambition. The gradual integration of roles and responsibilities within the FWP approach is a promising step toward this systemic transformation.

5. Data and monitoring

Consistent data collection and monitoring is key for understanding impact, and for guiding innovation. In Clackmannanshire, the challenge of starting from a low baseline for many indicators has made comparisons to national averages an unhelpful measure of progress. Of course, when working in complex human systems, data must not be used just for accountability, but as a learning tool that builds understanding of the lived realities of communities. This context necessitated an approach to data and monitoring that prioritises understanding local needs and capturing nuanced impacts. In its early stages, the FWP used a mix of quantitative and qualitative data to understand family needs and evaluate programme outcomes. Practitioners collected data through methods such as surveys, case studies, direct feedback from families, and participation records from various activities.

Working in a preventative and individualised manner with numerous families has broadened the notion of systematic data collection. As one interviewee explained,

“The numbers tell part of the story, but we also need to understand how families are experiencing these changes.”

This highlights the importance of combining numerical data with lived experiences to capture the full impact of the FWP’s initiatives.

From interviews with practitioners and managers, there has been feedback that the FWP encountered frustrations with, what they saw as, at times, overly bureaucratic systems that demand definitive data to demonstrate long-term success. There is a system tension at play here. While the reasonable demand for data collection is present, as discussed above, practitioners also argue that these approaches often fail to capture the nuanced, individualised progress of families. Progress for one family might be as simple as a parent attending a school event for the first time, while for another, it might mean securing stable housing. These are small but significant material changes that resist easy quantification. From the FWP theory of change, we can see that measuring short term outcomes for families is important to better understand how families are experiencing services and having an evidenced base to make changes but it is also important to put in place other data collection methods to measure longer term outcomes.

Information sharing and ongoing feedback was integral to the FWP’s monitoring process, enabling practitioners to adjust activities based on family input. For instance, changes in family confidence and resilience were often documented through case notes and interviews. However, these outcomes were often not systematically centralised or analysed, leaving gaps in the broader data picture. Over the system, a significant barrier has been the lack of integrated data systems across sectors. Practitioners often relied on manual data-sharing processes that were time-intensive and prone to errors. Some programmes lacked the resources to conduct longitudinal studies, limiting the ability to assess their sustained impact.

The FWP has begun exploring solutions to these challenges. As discussed above, plans to centralise data analysts across the Council, creating a corporate data team to improve data quality and coherence is being considered. A unified system could ensure meaningful, real-time metrics that allow the FWP to measure success more effectively. Moreover, the development of the One Plan, One Report framework streamline reporting and reduce silos, enabling a clearer understanding of progress against outcomes, across ten plans. Investments in integrated data systems and longitudinal evaluation would position the FWP to better articulate its impact and adapt its strategies.

In summary, while data and monitoring within the FWP remain a work in progress, the FWP’s focus on blending quantitative and qualitative insights, real-time feedback, and long-term investments in data infrastructure is designed to ensure ever-improving and meaningful, evidence-based impact measurement.