Imagineer Development UK CIC & Support Brokerage Network

We were recently heard from someone we currently support which spent some time really considering, they have gavin permission to share because they hope others may relate to this and consider this in the future

Here is one sentence that really got our attention:

"I don't know if I would have continued pursuing my path to living independently and well if I hadn't had someone in my corner."

This is possible when we work alongside people, 'with' not 'to'.

The person described their experience of the support Imagineer provided as being:
• Going at the pace of building trust and genuine relationships.
• An effort to build real understanding and never making assumptions.
• Focused on getting to where the wanted to be, whilst also noticing barriers before they became crises.
• A feeling of being in partnership and how this developed confidence, skills and self-belief rather than dependence.
• Focused on their choices, strengths and aspirations.

What we learnt together aligned with Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which advocates for the right support, at the right time, in ways that enable people to exercise choice, control and full participation in their communities.

Too often, support is measured by hours delivered, tasks completed or forms filled in. But the real measure is whether people feel more confident, more connected, more in control of their own lives, and more able to pursue the future they want.

That's why we need to invest in the values, relationships and skills that make truly person-led support at the heart of how we work together.

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new chapter, with Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister. Like many working across health, social care and communities, we'll be watching with hope.
At Imagineer, we've long believed that real transformation doesn't start in services, hospitals or institutions, we believe and we know it starts in communities.
It starts with people, everyone, having strong relationships, being people they love and care about, meaningful lives, where people have the chance to find what is purposeful for them and to be able to make this part of the life and where people are able to shape the support they receive.
For a long time, our approach to the provision of care and support has been built around services.
We know have the opportunity to build around people, where investment can be made in neighbourhoods, not just buildings and services, to support communities to be places of belonging and connection.
To be able to relate to each other as citizens with strengths, aspirations and contributions and to build relationships based on reciprocity whilst ensuring that co-production isn't an aspiration but the way decisions are made.
Andy Burnham has spoken for many years about bringing health and social care closer together and closer to the communities they serve. He has also made adult social care an early priority for his government.
This moment can be a significant step towards a society where everyone has the opportunity to live an ordinary life with purpose, connection and dignity.
Our hope at Imagineer is that this isn't simply about integrating or restructuring services.
It's about reimagining the relationship between people, communities and the state, where support enables people to live the lives they choose, with rights, opportunities and a sense of belonging at the heart of it all.
The future of health and social care should be built with people, not for them.

Last week was Co-production Week, and our team also had a rare chance to catch up in person and talk about all things Imagineer.

So much of our work happens online, across emails, meetings, documents and systems, that it felt really valuable to have time together. It gave us space to step back and think about what co-production actually means in practice, not just as a word or a principle, but as something people should be able to feel in the support they receive.

For us, co-production is not just about asking people what they think once most of the decisions have already been made. It is about taking time to understand what matters to someone, what gets in the way, and what support needs to look like so they are not left trying to navigate complicated systems alone.

We were recently sent some incredibly kind feedback, which described support from Imagineer as feeling “clear, empowering and human” at a time when things had felt overwhelming.

That really matters to us.

Good support is about knowledge, experience and advocacy, of course. But it is also about noticing when something might be difficult before someone has to ask. It is about making information accessible, working alongside people in a way that builds confidence, and creating space where people feel understood rather than judged.

Real co-production is relational. It is built through listening, trust, consistency, respect and shared problem-solving. It recognises that people are experts in their own lives, and that support should strengthen someone’s voice, choice and control, not take over from them.

Thank you to everyone who trusts us to work alongside them. Feedback like this means a great deal, and reminds us why co-production cannot just be a principle or a process. It has to be something people can feel in the support they receive.

At last, we are rebuilding the Imagineer website and we are aiming for a fabulous website, which means we need your help before we start the rebuild.

We have put together a short activity to be able to gather people input and this is called a tree test.

It takes about 10 minutes and asks simple questions based on where would you expect to find certain information on a website.

There are no right or wrong answers we are asking you for what you think makes senses.

The people who visit the Imagineer website are families, professionals, and community members. We want the new site to make sense to everyone. The only way to know if it does is to ask real people, like you, before we build it.
If you've ever landed on a website and not been able to find what you were looking for, you'll know why this matters. We want to make sure that doesn't happen on ours.
Your input and 10 mins of your time will help us a lot, and you don't need to know anything about websites to do it.
Click here to test - https://imagineer-treetest.vercel.app/
Open until midnight on 3 July 2026. Thank you!

Imagineer — Website Navigation Study Help us improve the Imagineer website by completing a short navigation test.

We're rebuilding the Imagineer website and we want to get it right — which means we need your help before we write a single word of copy.

We've put together a short activity called a tree test. It takes about 10 minutes and asks one simple question: where would you expect to find certain information on a website? There are no right or wrong answers. We're not testing you — you're testing us.

The people who visit the Imagineer website are families, professionals, and community members. We want the new site to make sense to all of them. The only way to know if it does is to ask real people — people like you — before we build it.

If you've ever landed on a website and not been able to find what you were looking for, you'll know why this matters. We want to make sure that doesn't happen on ours.

It takes 10 minutes. It helps us a lot. And you don't need to know anything about websites to do it.

👉 Imagineer — Website Navigation Study

Open until midnight on 3 July 2026. Thank you!

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

LinkedIn This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn