Introduction

About this resource

This resource brings together the learning from a collection of stories gathered by the Personal Outcomes Network (PON) throughout 2020. It was developed to share stories of the experiences of those working across a range of sectors to keep a focus on outcomes for people during an extended public health emergency. By presenting a detailed analysis of these stories and how experiences evolved throughout the year, we’re able to make sense of what this crisis has meant for outcomes for people and draw out implications to inform practice, policy and recovery.

This project collected the stories across three phases in 2020 which is reflected in the structure of this resource.

• Phase 1: Response to crisis - spring / summer 2020
• Phase 2: Continuity and endurance - autumn 2020
• Phase 3: Looking to the future and recovery - winter 2020 / 2021

The prompts in Phase 3 provide a practical aspect, helping you connect your experiences with those shared in this resource. Similar to our Outcomes & Co tool, these could be used as a framework for conversations in supervision, team meetings, partner discussions or for individual reflection.

Use of this resource contributes to the following outcomes:

• Increased awareness and clarity about an outcomes approach in general and in times of crisis
• Improved understanding of the experience of those striving to work towards outcomes for people through the pandemic
• Improved understanding of the conditions which support practitioners, promote resilience and facilitate personal outcomes
• Increased awareness and understanding of the implications of the stories to support planning and recovery from the pandemic
• Increased awareness and knowledge about story as a form of evidence

Evaluation

We’d love to hear your feedback on this resource, how you’ve used it and what, if any, difference it’s made. This short survey will take five minutes and will be really helpful to inform future resource development.

Why it’s unique

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a keen interest in gathering research and stories about the impact of the crisis on those on the frontline (eg Inspiring Care Stories and Stories of Promise). What makes this collection unique is that it focuses specifically on an outcomes approach during the pandemic and evidences how practice has responded to keep this focus through the crisis. It also took snapshots at three different points during the pandemic. The first point was during the initial crisis response in the spring followed by the second wave in the autumn. In winter we carried out in-depth interviews with eight of the storytellers to unpack their stories further, and held a workshop in early February 2021 with PON members and some of the storytellers to sense check key themes and capture further experiences.

This resource is also unique in the diversity of the storytellers. As with membership of the PON, our 41 storytellers come from diverse sectors including the NHS; social work and social care; the third sector; care home sector; and primary and higher education. It also included a carer whose mother with dementia moved in during lockdown.

Where some collections bring stories together, this resource goes further by providing an analysis and drawing out implications. It also includes a practical aspect with reflective prompts, and film and audio clips to bring the stories to life.