What is the challenge your project is going to address and how does it connect to your chosen theme?

Buckinghamshire is an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and part of the Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire Berkshire West Integrated Care System (ICS).  A shared system vision as advocated in Developing People Improving Care is crucial particularly when taking into consideration the vastness of the region.  We already have a shared approach to improvement.  As a ‘Good’ organisation we are embedding our culture of improvement with the goal of becoming an ‘Outstanding’ organisation.  Our Library Services have held knowledge cafes identifying a number of barriers to shared learning including: silo working (inter-professional, divisional, corporate, clinical, organisational), communication, hierarchy, time, curiosity and interest.  Our challenge is to create a learning organisation and system by designing ways of addressing the barriers to learning.  Our ambition is to move towards a mindset of collaboration creating knowledge networks and ensuring a modern agile workplace.

What does your project aim to achieve?

Aim: to break down barriers to shared learning across the system by optimising communication structures, promoting sharing events and using social movement as a lever for change.

Objectives:

• Meet with key leads across the system to promote shared learning (within 3 months)
• To implement knowledge cafes across the ICP facilitating small group conversations and utilising the group’s collective knowledge to gain an deeper understanding of the issues involved (within 4 months)
• To introduce ImproveWell, an app-based platform to empower staff to identify improvement work, link with existing workstreams and gain support to implement their ideas (12 months)
• Hold an annual event to share learning and celebrate success (within 12 months)

The impact of this project will help staff to form links within the organisation and across the system. In turn this will lead to less duplication of work, improved communication and the ability to share learning and spread improvement and innovation.

How will the project be delivered?

• Engagement events with stakeholders, staff, the Q community and service users. Knowledge cafes hosted by Library Services (quarterly).
• e-Bulletin to celebrate improvement across the system (quarterly).
• A local platform to share ideas and learning and to allow staff to communicate and collaborate regardless of location.  This will be provided via the introduction of the ImproveWell app which is being used successfully in other trusts such as Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.
• An annual ICP wide event in conjunction with World Quality Day to promote learning, build relationships and celebrate success throughout the system.
• Utilise social media to promote discussion and cross sector collaborative working linking with the Academy of Fab Stuff.

Cultural change in relation to shared learning is a key cornerstone of Buckinghamshire Healthcare’s corporate objectives and has senior leadership and support.

What and how is your project going to share learning throughout?

Learning will be shared through the Q community special interest group (quarterly). Funders will also be provided with updates quarterly.  Locally, a system wide e-bulletin together with an ICP and ICS wide communication strategy will help to disseminate information.  The ImproveWell app will help to build the improvement funnel and allow us to identify trends, prioritise initiatives and publish reports to share learning and complete the feedback loop. Real-time reporting will help us to track idea themes and implementation progress.  Improvement themes and survey themes in the app can be directly linked to corporate and local objectives and reporting on this will be provided quarterly. ImproveWell also provides an annual impact report which assesses performance against agreed objectives. Thematic analysis from knowledge cafes will also be shared through local e-bulletins.   A system wide event in conjunction with World Quality Day will be held to showcase learning throughout the ICS.