A commissioner’s guide to developing and sustaining local user-led organisations
What do I do next? Scenario 2: Your area has one embryonic ULO that has been developing for some time but still has some way to go
Governance
| Meets all ULO design criteria? | Some |
| Governance arrangements in place? | No - but emerging |
| Management committee? | Not typically - but emerging |
Funding and business-readiness
| Established for how long? | Typically 6 months to 3 years |
| Permanent staff? | No - maybe some part-time staff |
| Infrastructure in place (e.g. IT, HR, finance, own premises)? | No - though some small elements in place (for example, dedicated computers, some HR policies, hosted in building owned by public sector or civil society organisation) |
| Business plan in place? | Possibly |
| Funding arrangements? | Small or medium core grant from commissioner |
| Provides more than one service? | No |
| Provides services in more than one area? | No |
Funding and business-readiness
| Covers all impairment groups? | No (but possible) |
| Members? | Not formally - usually a group of many interested people |
| Effective mechanisms for engaging service users? | Yes – but tends to be on a micro scale |
| Networking? | Doesn’t typically have relationships with other ULOs, BME/LGBT/carers/older people/civil society organisations or wider than social care |
Essential actions to move to next stop on the 'ULO journey'
- identify key areas of work that emerging ULO can undertake uniquely, and fund it to do these
- provide as much infrastructure support for as little as possible
- provide core-grant to emerging ULO, aligned to outcomes of a robust business plan
- support external ULOs to provide expert advice and mentoring
- ensure your role is one of facilitator: ULO members must be firmly in control
