Equalities Workshop Delivers Key Strategic Themes

A landmark workshop covering the strategic elements of equality and inclusion was delivered by Equality Works at the Improvement and Development Agency’s (IDeA) LeadershipAcademy in the summer.

Co-ordinated by Senior Client Consultant, Dan Robertson, the workshop formed part of an ongoing relationship we’ve developed with the IDeA Healthy Communities Team.

The enthusiastic workshop participants comprised lead members and portfolio holders for adult social care or health, as well as chairs of health and social care scrutiny committees.  Their attendance at the LeadershipAcademy is part of a new approach by the IDeA to community wellbeing, adult services and healthy communities.

Why A Workshop?

The overall aim of the programme was to provide leaders with an overview of the national policy frameworks for improving health and wellbeing, as well as tackling health inequalities.

Given that the equalities agenda is central to health improvement, Dan Robertson looked at examples of best practice, an overview of the proposals in the Equality Bill and the way equalities can be mainstreamed through service provision.

Using the Equality Framework for Local Government as the national standard, our workshop focused on the strategic direction of the equality and inclusion agenda.  It also addressed the role that leaders can play in achieving positive outcomes for disadvantaged and marginalised groups in their local areas.

Workshop Themes

Core themes of the workshop covered:

• The need to use local data and research to help set equalities priorities and targets

• The need for leaders to understand when to offer targeted services within an overarching philosophy of providing universal provision for all
• The need to focus on equality outcomes.

The workshop built on Dan’s work with the IDeA’s peer review teams with the strategic aim of ensuring that equalities are mainstreamed through the Health Inequalities Benchmark.