Home Improvement Agency Awards 2017

May 2017

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About Foundations

Our Mission

To share the magic about what makes good home improvement and adaptation

services

Our Vision

A thriving range of home improvement agencies – supporting people to live safe,

independent and happy lives in the home of their choice

Our Objectives

Identify and meet the training needs of the sector

Engage with stakeholders, providers and commissioners and facilitate networking opportunities

Represent and promote the sector

Develop tools and resources for providers and commissioners

Monitor activity, quality and performance and find out what good looks like

Develop and promote quality assurance systems

Provide an information management and workflow system

For more information visit: www.foundations.uk.com

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Our Services

We’re continuing to expand our range of training courses – and have launched a new

partnerships that brings a suite of affordable online training to the sector and will feature

new bespoke courses later in the year.

We provide a range of consultancy services to local authorities and providers of HIA

services. This can be anything from service design and specification right through to

complex appraisals and audits.

The Foundations Quality Mark sets the standard for sector and will be revised this year to

provide access to full accreditation with the Advice Quality Standard. We will also be

introducing a DFG Quality Standard which sets out the 10 key aspects of a well

commissioned service.

Research has shown the most agencies rely on getting multiple quotations for each project

they manage. This can be time consuming and not necessarily result in the best results.

We’ll be introducing new procurement tools for level access showers and stairlifts.

HIA Case Manager is a versatile, web based case management solution. Used by many

local authorities, housing associations and charities, it’s the #1 solution designed

specifically for Home Improvement Agencies. A new DFG module is under development

incorporating a portal for receiving referrals, standard forms and a mobile test of resources.

Disability Confident

Thousands of companies like ours are benefitting from a diverse workforce. Being Disability

Confident helped us recruit and retain the right mix of people to help our business grow.

Find out more at: www.gov.uk/disability-confident

The #1 cloud-based case management system for Home Improvement Agencies and Local Authorities handling Disabled Facilities Grant applications.

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Introduction

The Awards

The Home Improvement Agency Awards are a celebration of the achievements and

successes of the sector, recognising the passion and commitment of the people who work

in it. The awards aim to ensure that the teams who show dedication, leadership and

innovation are rewarded for their contribution in making our sector so vibrant and caring.

This year's ceremony will be held at the House of Lords on 14 September 2017 and will

be hosted by Lord Best.

The 2016 award categories are:

HIA Service of the Year ....................................................................................................... 6

Handyperson Service of the Year ....................................................................................... 7

Adaptations Service of the Year .......................................................................................... 8

The Innovation Award ......................................................................................................... 9

The Collaboration Award ................................................................................................... 10

HIA Commissioning Award ............................................................................................... 11

FILT Delivery Partner of the Year ...................................................................................... 12

How to Enter

The applications forms are available on our website. Please send completed forms via

https://www.judgify.me/hiaawards2017

There is a separate entry form for each award, please check carefully that you are

completing the right form.

Categories are focused on five question areas and all entrants should respond with no

more than 200 words per question. Please note we do not accept any supporting evidence

(images, documents etc.) and will only consider the answers submitted as part of your

application.

You can enter as many categories as you wish, provided that each entry is different.

By entering the awards, entrants give permission for entry material to be used for publicity

purposes. Please ensure you have retained all necessary permissions from the subject(s)

in any material/s submitted.

The closing date for entries is Friday 11th August 2017.

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Judging

A panel of expert judges will be appointed to assess the entries. The independent judging

panel will meet in August and three finalists will be shortlisted in each category.

Details of the finalists will be published on our website and the winner for each category will

be announced during the awards ceremony.

Foundations will publish a special extended feature that highlights each of the successful

teams.

2016 Highlights

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Main sponsors PROCare is a well-established specialist adapted shower

and less abled bathroom supplier which focuses on

the manufacture and distribution of stylish products that provide

the best quality solutions to specifiers, contractors and end users.

As a business we are proud to be sponsoring the HIA Awards 2017 because over the last

17 years PROCare have brought a range of products to the Home Improvement Agencies

that are not only stylish, easy to install, easy to maintain, but also easy to use for our

clients. In addition, PROCare are able to provide innovative products with maximum

usability, raising levels of customer service, and enhancing the lives of those we serve.

We are recognised throughout the industry for the quality service that we provide,

distributing less abled bathroom products that meet unique specifications, whilst providing

good aesthetic value for the end user.

We employ a specialist team of experienced sales advisors, and an in-house technical

team that is capable of producing CAD drawings, undertaking detailed site surveys where

necessary and providing onsite assistance as and when required. We also offer all of the

UK’s Home Improvement Agencies and their preferred contractors training on all of our

products which can be delivered as a working lunch session, tool box talk or onsite training.

As we operate both within the public and private sector, our customer base includes some

of the largest local authorities, housing associations, construction companies and national

procurement frameworks across the UK.

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Mira Showers is proud to be the UK's number 1 showering

manufacturer.

With over 90 years of innovation, investing in the latest research and

technology, Mira has developed award-winning products with

genuine user benefits. The brand is well-known for the Mira Advance

- the ultimate specification solution with a heritage of 20 years. Recognised as a brand you

can trust, Mira Showers has a commitment to genuine Service excellence, with an award-

winning UK based call centre and over 50 Service Engineers to offer complete peace of

mind.

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Whale are a specialist UK manufacturer of pumped shower

drainage kits. Since 1996 over 250,000 kits have been

installed in the UK.

These enable level access showering in locations where

gravity drainage is not an option. In 2017 Whale are introducing new levels of performance

for service users of our kits. For the contractor, adoption of new technical advances will

make installation of Whale products even easier. We work as a design partner with leading

healthcare shower manufacturer Mira, using the latest technologies in this sector to provide

both the end user and contractor benefits. We look forward to assisting HIAs into the future

through continuing to invest in our products and service.

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HIA Service of the Year The winner of this award will be able to show that they understand their local

commissioning environment, deliver a range of services with consistently high levels of

customer satisfaction and a dynamic approach to driving their business forward.

Q1 Strategic Relevance

How have you developed your service to meet the priorities of local commissioners? What

does that mean for people living in your area? What’s your social value?

Q2 Business Acumen

How have you grown your service and how do you ensure its sustainability? How have you

balanced the risks?

Q3 Leadership

How have you supported and encouraged the improvement of HIA services in England?

Q4 Innovation

What do you do that’s different? What difference does it make? What are the key learning

points? How do you keep improving?

Q5 Collaboration

How have you enhanced your service by working with others? How did it come about?

What are the benefits for you and them?

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Handyperson Service of the Year This award recognises excellent practice in delivering handyperson services.

Q1 Strategic Relevance

How have you developed your service to meet the priorities of local commissioners? What

does that mean for people living in your area?

Q2 Business Acumen

How have you grown your service and how do you ensure its sustainability? How have you

balanced the risks?

Q3 Social Value

What social value does your handyperson service generate? Can you demonstrate how

handyperson visits can lead to other services and wider outcomes?

Q4 Innovation

What do you do that’s different? What difference does it make? What are the key learning

points? How do you keep improving?

Q5 Customer Satisfaction

What do your customers say about you? How have you developed and improved your

services as a result?

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Adaptations Service of the Year This award recognises excellent practice in delivering adaptations and DFGs.

Q1 Strategic Relevance

How have you developed your service to meet the priorities of local commissioners? How

do you contribute towards your local Better Care Fund plan?

Q2 Holistic Approach

How do you support people who have needs that can’t be met by a standard DFG? How do

you use discretionary powers under the Regulatory Reform Order?

Q3 Service Delivery

How does the public find out about your services? How well do you meet their

expectations? How quickly do you provide adaptations?

Q4 Innovation

What do you do that’s different? What difference does it make? What are the key learning

points? How do you keep improving?

Q5 Partnerships and collaboration

How do you work across tenures to deliver to ensure equality of access? How do you

collaborate with local partners to enhance your service?

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The Innovation Award This award recognises innovation in service design and delivery.

Q1 Strategic Relevance

How have you developed your service to meet the priorities of local commissioners? How

did you identify the need for your innovation? How is it different?

Q2 Business Case

How did you assess the business case? What risks did you identify and how did you

mitigate them? How did you get approval to proceed?

Q3 Project Delivery

How did you plan your project? How did you test that it would work? What went wrong, and

how did you respond?

Q4 Impact

What difference has your innovation made? How have you measured the impact? How do

you plan to improve?

Q5 Learning

What did you learn? What would you do differently if you started again? What tips would

you give to others?

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The Collaboration Award This award recognises agencies that have collaborated with other to enhance what they do.

Q1 Strategic Relevance

How have you collaborated to meet the priorities of local commissioners? What does that

mean for people living in your area?

Q2 Working with Others

Who are you collaborating with? How did you start? How do you keep the partnerships

going?

Q3 Sharing the Risks

How is your collaboration governed? How do you share risks and rewards? How do all of

the partners benefit?

Q4 Impact

What difference does your collaboration make? What’s different to before? How have you

measured the impact? How do you plan to improve?

Q5 Learning

What have you learnt about working with others? How will you collaborate more in the

future? What tips would you give to others?

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HIA Commissioning Award This award recognises excellence in commissioning HIA services

Q1 Strategic Relevance

How did you establish the need for a HIA service? How will the service support the wider

health and social care agenda in your area?

Q2 Business Case

How did you assess the business case? What risks did you identify and how did you

mitigate them? How did you secure approval from partners?

Q3 Project Delivery

How did you plan your commissioning exercise? How did you research and assess what

would work? Have you reviewed the commissioned service?

Q4 Innovation

What did you do that’s different? What difference does it make? What are the key learning

points? How did you incentivise continual improvement?

Q5 Learning

What did you learn? What would you do differently if you started again? What tips would

you give to others?

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FILT Delivery Partner of the Year This award aims to recognise the work of HIAs that have made a significant contribution to

improving the lives of vulnerable people by working with the Foundations Independent

Living Trust.

The FILT trustees will identify the agency that has consistently gone out of its way to

identify, reach and provide solutions for people facing the challenge of living in cold homes

or unsafe housing.

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The Old Co-op Building,

11 Railway Street,

Glossop,

Derbyshire, SK13 7AG

www.foundations.uk.com

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