After a recent study visit to see the liberated method in action in Northumbria, Emyr Williams, our senior evaluation lead, attended a conference on relational working and Human Learning Systems. He was inspired to write this blog based on his learning and reflections.
Explanation of terms
Some of the approaches set out in this blog might be unfamiliar, so we’ve provided some simple definitions.
Human Learning Systems (HLS)
HLS
is an approach to public management, this means the management of public organisations. It was developed by a group of academics and partners within the public sector. The approach helps us work effectively within complex environments.
The liberated method
The liberated method is an approach to public service delivery that's based on HLS principles. It was developed by Changing Futures Northumbria. Its focus is on relationships, learning and freeing up the creativity and compassion of frontline workers to respond to the needs of individuals in complex environments.
Relational working
This means relationship-centred social work that values the individual. It considers each person as a whole and builds on their strengths and what matters to them to help them grow confidence and resilience.
Complexity theory
This theory comes from the study of complex adaptive systems. This means systems that include interconnected, interacting parts that adapt to changing environments. Unlike traditional models of management, which focus on predictable, cause-and-effect relationships, complexity theory recognises that systems like social care are naturally unpredictable, diverse, and constantly evolving.
How can these approaches support social care?
The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 emphasises the importance of well-being and enabling people to have control over their lives. This involves a relational approach that focuses on people’s strengths. This fits with HLS, which advocates for a strong focus on relationships, continuous learning and understanding the system to improve people’s lives.
Evaluation of the Act in 2023, found that turning policy into practice isn't easy:
“…it has been limited in reaching its objectives by traditional, embedded systems and processes that cannot cope with the dynamic, relational and responsive ways of working under co-production.”
The conference in Northumbria highlighted the challenges of creating the right environment for relational working to flourish within the current systems and processes. Managers and senior leaders echoed this when I observed them applying the liberated method.
So, if we want social care work that's truly relational and strengths based, we need management and governance structures that recognise and reward this.
How does an HLS approach work within social care?
Social care is complex. It’s difficult to measure and monitor straightforward cause and effect because there are many factors that affect individuals, organisations and systems.
Traditional monitoring and reporting mechanisms can create barriers that make it difficult for staff to provide the relational care and support they feel could make a real difference.
Complexity theory and the HLS approach recognise and embrace complicated systems. HLS promotes a management structure that encourages relational working by changing the emphasis in monitoring, reporting and governance to recognise the complex world of public services.
“…real outcomes in people’s lives aren’t ‘delivered’ by organisations (or by projects, partnerships or programmes, etc). Outcomes are created by the hundreds of different factors in the unique complex system that is each person’s life.”
Rather than trying to measure impact through traditional outputs or indicators, the HLS approach is about focussing on what's important, and what we can influence. This includes building relationships, understanding the system and continually capturing learning to improve outcomes.
How can social care adopt these principles?
Adopting the HLS approach so that it works effectively in social care, means changing the reporting and quality assurance frameworks for individuals, teams and entire organisations.
This approach has to be recognised and valued by the whole organisation and all its accountability processes. It moves us from a mostly process driven culture to one that puts the emphasis on building relationships, understanding the system and sharing learning that’s reflected and encouraged at every level.
There are three areas where adopting the HLS approach in social care could be transformative:
Governance: connecting people, organisations, and the system
Traditionally, governance has been about oversight and control, making sure that individuals and organisations comply with regulations and meet their targets. But this approach can often feel disconnected from the realities of social care and sometimes prevent people working in social care from fostering effective relationships. When it comes to governance, HLS challenges us to think differently about accountability.
We can do this by:
- creating a more cohesive and responsive system that’s accountable for relationships and learning
- managing social care workers in a way that mirrors relational and reflective practice
- embedding an outcome focused approach to supervision.
Embracing uncertainty and encouraging experimentation
Social care systems are constantly affected by unpredictable factors like changes in demographics, economic conditions, and the personal circumstances of individuals accessing care and support. Instead of trying to remove this uncertainty, HLS encourages us to embrace it.
We can do this by:
- encouraging experimentation and innovation at all levels
- adapting and finding effective ways to share that learning across the sector
- making governance structures less rigid and placing more emphasis on learning and flexibility.
Evaluation and learning: continuous reflection and improvement
Traditional evaluation methods often focus on measuring outputs or outcomes, using data to determine success or failure. But HLS encourages a different approach, one that’s based on continuous learning and reflection. This cycle of learning and improvement can help us adapt to the complexities of social care. And make sure we’re always moving towards better outcomes for the people we support.
We can do this by:
- making evaluation an ongoing process that captures learning throughout a project or programme
- co-producing evaluative practices
- identifying how services might need to change and allowing time to reflect on changes needed.
Moving forward and building on existing practices
I’ve learned a lot about how HLS, the liberated method and complexity theory can support relational working. I’m struck by how much of it feels like a natural extension of what we’re already trying to do in social care. We don’t need to start from scratch. We just need to be more intentional about how we support and reward relational working through our management and governance structures. We need to make sure we continually capture learning and take time to reflect on the implications for the wider system.
Many of you will already be working in this way. However, how many of your monitoring, reporting and governance structures truly reflect this? From conversations I’ve had since the conference, this does seem to be an issue for a number of organisations.
I’m currently working with some quality assurance managers to explore if, and how, this could change. As well as how we provide opportunities to improve processes and accountability to allow relational working to flourish.
Get in touch!
Does this blog echo your own experiences? Have you found any barriers in your own systems and processes that prevent more relational working? Do you have any success stories to share? We’d really welcome your thoughts and feedback. Email: research@socialcare.wales.
Find out more about our evaluation support.
Some examples of innovative and experimental approaches can be found on our project finder.
