Imagineer Development UK CIC & Support Brokerage Network

The NHS landscape is changing rapidly as Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) continue to merge across England,

While much of the discussion has focused on organisational restructuring and financial savings, there is a more important consideration in how do we ensure that people's voices remain heard as systems become larger and more complex?

At Imagineer, we see every day how difficult it can be for individuals, families and unpaid carers to navigate health and social care systems. As commissioning structures become bigger, the need for trusted, community-based organisations that can bridge the gap between people and services becomes even more important.

The NHS continues to place emphasis on prevention, reducing inequalities, personalised care and supporting people to live well in their communities. These are areas where the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector can make a significant contribution.

For organisations like Imagineer, the challenge is not simply to deliver good support, but to help systems understand what life looks like from the perspective of the people they serve.

As ICBs evolve, we hope to see continued investment in community-led approaches, advocacy, support brokerage, co-production and meaningful engagement with citizens and carers.

Large systems need strong community connections.

The future of integrated care will depend on both.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated, shared, and supported our recent appeal for Yorkshire wheelchair basketball athlete Alison Schofield.

Thanks to your generosity, we have already seen donations coming in and we're incredibly grateful. Every contribution is helping to make it possible for her to represent Great Britain on the international stage.

For many athletes, being selected to represent their country is the culmination of years of dedication, training, and sacrifice. For disabled athletes, there are often additional costs that can make competing at this level a real challenge. Travel, accommodation, specialist equipment, training, and competition expenses are often self-funded.

This campaign is about more than sport. It's about opportunity, inclusion, determination, and ensuring talented people are not held back by financial barriers.

We're not there yet, so if you've been thinking about donating, sharing the campaign, or helping spread the word, now would be a wonderful time.

Together, we can help a Yorkshire athlete wear the Union Jack with pride and show what's possible when communities come together to back someone's dream.

Donate or share here:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/represent-gb-bucket-list

Thank you for being part of her journey.

At Imagineer, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their ambitions, contribute their talents, and be recognised for who they are.
That's why we're proud to support this fundraising campaign for a Yorkshire athlete who has been selected to compete for Great Britain in wheelchair basketball.
For the past seven years, wheelchair basketball has been more than a sport for her. It has been a pathway to health, confidence, independence, friendship, and belonging. After overcoming significant health challenges and rebuilding her life, she now has the opportunity to wear the Union Jack on court and represent her country.
Like many disabled athletes, the costs of training, travel, specialist equipment, accommodation, and competition are largely self-funded. Community support can make the difference between an opportunity being realised or missed.
If you're able to contribute, every donation, large or small, will help make this well deserved opportunity possible
Please consider supporting and sharing the campaign

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/represent-gb-bucket-list

We are really pleased to share an article written by Liz Leach and published by Citizen Network called 'A Framework for System Leadership'.

It’s something Liz has been reflecting on for a while, thinking about how we lead across systems, organisations, and communities in ways that are relational, collaborative, and genuinely focused on people.

If you’re interested in leadership, partnership working, or creating change in complex systems it would also be interested in hearing people’s thoughts and reflections.

https://citizen-network.org/library/a-framework-for-system-leadership.html

Citizen Network: A Framework for System Leadership Creating the right conditions for system change using the circles of concern, influence and curiosity.

The Outsiders are a band made of people who use their Direct Payment to run and manage their own band, covering rehearsal space, storage, equipment, tuition and other things based on what they decide they want or need. They recently played at a Direct Payments event and shared their story of what they have achieved as a band as individuals through Direct Payments, from this they were asked to write a story to share with Skills for Care and here it is https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/news-and-events/blogs/celebrating-social-care-music-and-celebrations

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Have your say on the future of disability support

The government has opened a Call for Evidence on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as part of a national review.

This is a chance for people with lived experience, families, and communities to share what’s working and what isn’t.

PIP hasn’t had a full review since it was introduced, and the aim now is to make sure it better reflects people’s real lives and supports independence in a changing world. ()

At Imagineer Development UK CIC, we believe:
People are the experts in their own lives
Systems should adapt to people not the other way around
Listening deeply leads to better, more human support

If you’ve ever interacted with PIP, supported someone who has, or work in this space your insight matters.

Take part in the Call for Evidence and help shape a system that works better for everyone.

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/timms-review-of-personal-independence-payment-call-for-evidence #:~:text=This%20Call%20for%20Evidence%20is%20open%20from%2019%20March%202026,in%20consolidating%20the%20evidence%20received.

At Imagineer we understand that support brokerage at its best is not about managing a budget, It’s about understanding a person’s life.

At the heart of Support Brokerage is Person-centred planning which invites us to start in a different place, not with services, systems or funding streams, but with the persons story; their relationships, their hopes, their daily routines, and the things that give their life meaning.

When support brokerage works well, it becomes a bridge between those aspirations and the practical realities of organising support.

It helps translate “what matters” into “how it happens”.

That might mean building creative circles of support, exploring community connections, or designing arrangements that simply work better for someone’s life.

The challenge for systems is to hold on to that original intention: that planning and brokerage exist to serve the person - not the other way around.

What have others seen that makes person-centred planning truly come alive in practice?

Come and join us on a workshop where we can share some great examples of the use of Direct Payments and also some solutions finding Accessible Calderdale Skills for Care

Finding Solutions

A problem shared is a problem halved.

For anyone receiving a Direct Payment or Personal Health Budget

Monday March 2nd registration at 11am and finishing at 2.30pm

The Main Hall at The Kings Centre Park Rd, Halifax HX1 2TS

Join us for this session where we will hear about new ideas around using your Direct Payments whilst gaining some support from other disabled people and family members.

Guest speakers: We are delighted to be joined by The Outsiders who are a Leeds Band and will speak about how their members have used their Direct Payments creatively.

Lunch and light refreshments provided.

For more information and booking please contact:[email protected]


Imagineer Development UK CIC & Support Brokerage Network
Skills for Care

Jo answers the question 'What is Support Planning?'

Support planning doesn’t always happen across a desk with a notepad and a formal agenda.

Sometimes it’s practical, creative, and responsive to what’s happening in real life.

Sometimes it starts with rescuing a slightly traumatised pigeon after an unexpected feline delivery. It continues in the car on the way to a wildlife rescue. And it unfolds while painting a shed in the afternoon sun.

Between gently gathering feathers from a flat and carefully applying wood stain, we talked about what really matters, what feels overwhelming, what feels possible, and how support can work in ways that fit real life, not just paperwork.

For some people, direct questions in formal settings can feel intense or exposing. Side-by-side conversations, shared tasks, and moments of gentle distraction can create the safety needed to explore difficult topics honestly. When hands are busy, minds often open.

Person-centred support isn’t about ticking boxes in a meeting room. It’s about meeting someone where they are, physically and emotionally, and using what matters to them as the starting point.

This time, that looked like a rescued pigeon, a freshly painted shed, and meaningful progress.

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So often Support Brokerage gets talked about as a “role” or a “function”. But at its best, it’s a mindset.

Our training with Imagineer focuses on Support Brokerage as a relational practice, one that centres people’s lived experience, strengths, aspirations and right to live an ordinary life on their own terms.

This work is about shifting power, challenging service-led thinking, and supporting people to build lives rooted in community, belonging and choice - not just access to services.

If we want different outcomes, we need different ways of thinking and working. Support Brokerage, done well, can be a real lever for culture change.

Are you interested? Email [email protected]