Jigsaw framework for change

In Control is constantly developing with local authorities the strategy and tools they need to change the existing system into Self-Directed Support.

Click on an area of the illustration to visit that page or read a short description of each area below.


It's a big and complex change process.

The jigsaw framework that you find on these pages can help leaders to make the changes by:

• developing a shared understanding of the challenges ahead
• identifying what needs to be done first, and what will only become clear later
• sharing solutions in ways that begin to define the pattern of what we want for the future.

Why a jigsaw?

The jigsaw puzzle is a metaphor for tackling change: jigsaw puzzles are easier to solve when you have a picture of what you want to achieve, when you identify the corner pieces early on and work together.

Use the Jigsaw pages in the menu on the left to help you make the change to Self-Directed Support. Each page has a library of resources.



Below is a brief description of each piece

Citizenship is the centre of the jigsaw - our starting point and our end point. The aim is to enable active citizenship and stronger communities.

A change programme must begin by thinking through who it aims to support and how those people and communities will be central to that programme.



'Entitlements' means citizens know what finance they are entitled to from the public purse, and what they must contribute themselves.

Attempting to implement change without being clear about entitlements leaves people as passive recipients. Entitlements is a corner piece.



Outcomes: change won't last or be valued unless the outcomes it achieves are measured and understood. The effort to change must be balanced with the effort to understand what has really happened in people’s lives as a result. Outcomes is a corner piece.



Supports: Self-Directed Support doesn't mean that people have to do everything for themselves. Supports and supporters need to be available to people.  Most people need help to plan, and to get what is in their plan. Supports is a corner piece.



Information: We cannot make good decisions if we don't know our options, the probabilities or costs. This is true for people and systems. It is an issue for many local authorities that have gone furthest in creating Self-Directed Support - particularly those concerned about self-funders and people ineligible under FACS. Information is a corner piece.




Rules and systems: New ways of working have to be turned into clear frameworks of rules that enable people - as citizens or as professionals - to understand how the systems can work, what is required, what is permissible.



Understanding: Systems can’t change unless there is enough understanding of what is wrong with the current one - and how it might be improved. Communicating the new shared purpose is vital.




Tools for change are processes and approaches that support local authorities to take the actual steps to a new system.



Leadership: Nothing happens for people or systems without leadership. People who are part of leadership in change take responsibility, seek support and show courage. Leadership cannot be taught but it can be nurtured, encouraged and celebrated.