FROM IDEA TO PRACTICE

Practical consultancy for organisations that want to turn a complex question, promising idea or evidence base into something people can genuinely use.

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CONSULTANCY WITH FAMILY3

Services and organisations often have strong values and worthwhile ideas but need additional capacity, specialist knowledge or an external perspective to develop them.

Family3 consultancy combines evidence, professional experience, consultation and practical design.

The purpose is not to produce a document that sits on a shelf. It is to develop proportionate, usable work that reflects the organisation, the people delivering the service and those who will experience it.

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CONSULTANCY MAY INCLUDE

• programme and service design;

• reviewing or refining an existing programme;

• child and family participation;

• developing practice frameworks;

• creating professional or participant resources;

• translating research, policy and theory into practice;

• facilitating staff consultation;

• reflective review of services or projects;

• implementation planning;

• developing proportionate evaluation approaches;

• supporting a pilot or proof-of-concept project;

• helping an organisation communicate its model of practice clearly.

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FROM IDEA TO PRACTICE

Family3 consultancy can follow five practical stages:

 

DISCOVER

Understand the context, people, needs, strengths and constraints.

 

DEFINE

Agree the real question, purpose, audience and desired outcome.

DESIGN

 

Develop a proportionate and practical response informed by evidence and experience.

 

TEST

Gather feedback from the people who will use or experience the work and refine what is not yet working.

 

EMBED

Support implementation, learning, evaluation and realistic next steps.

Not every project will require all five stages. The approach will be adapted to the size, purpose and resources of the organisation.

 

WHO FAMILY3 WORKS WITH

Consultancy may be suitable for:

• charities and voluntary organisations;

• family resource centres;

• community services;

• social care and family support organisations;

• education and care settings;

• organisations developing child and family services;

• services seeking to strengthen participation or relational practice;

• teams moving from an initial idea towards a workable programme.

 

CHILD AND FAMILY PARTICIPATION

Family3 can support organisations to move beyond simply asking children or families for their views.

Meaningful participation requires careful consideration of how people are invited to contribute, whether the process is safe and accessible, who will listen and what influence participation will have.

Where a project specifically uses The Bród Method®, the Lundy Model or protected Bród resources, this will be clearly identified and agreed within the consultancy proposal.

 

WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE

Depending on the project, consultancy may include:

• an initial discovery or scoping meeting;

• a written project proposal;

• consultation with staff or stakeholders;

• research and evidence review;

• facilitated development sessions;

• draft frameworks, tools or resources;

• feedback and refinement;

• implementation recommendations;

• a final written output or presentation.

The purpose, responsibilities, timescale and agreed outputs will be confirmed before work begins.

 

CONSULTANCY FEES

Consultancy is priced according to the scope of the work, including preparation, meetings, research, design, delivery, travel and agreed outputs.

Following an initial conversation, Deirdre will provide a written proposal setting out:

• the purpose and scope of the project;

• the work included;

• the proposed timescale;

• the responsibilities of each party;

• the fee and payment arrangements.

 

START WITH THE QUESTION

You do not need to have a fully developed project before making contact.

 

If you have identified a need, a challenge or an idea that requires further development, an initial conversation can help clarify the most useful next step.

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