Imagineer Development UK CIC is a social enterprise based in the North of England with a national reach.
In our first ten years we have:
In the past 10 years, we have developed as a skilled and knowledgeable organisation, providing Support Brokerage and Brokerage Management support to people who wish to plan, arrange and Self-Direct their own care and support arrangements using Direct Payments, Individual Service Funds, Personal Health Budgets or other Personal Budgets.
Through the Consultancy and training, we offer in Support Brokerage, Person-Centred and Strengths-Based Approaches as well as coaching and mentoring for Independent Support Brokers.
Together with our Graphic Facilitation Services using visual thinking and creative planning processes and through our work and championing of community-based solutions, we strive to help bring about a fairer society.
The first seeds for Imagineer were planted when our Founder Liz was designing and delivering a Person-Centred Planning project. This experience showed how Person-Centred Planning can make a real difference in unleashing people’s imagination about what a good life looks like for them.
Although some very innovative ideas and solutions were found in the community, the Social Care and Health system structures were initially very slow in engaging with these conversations. When these conversations did start to happen, it resulted in trying to fit people into processes and provision which already existed; rather than embracing what could be possible and exploring new ways of doing things.
Liz’s initial work demonstrated that the existing systems were locked into the limitations of what was available, and the constraints of the existing structures and processes. After learning about Local Area Coordination, Asset Based Community Development and Support Brokerage, she soon realised that adding the principles of these approaches together with the practice she had been developing could be the key to unlocking the fuller potential of the community.
Imagineer was born! Since its establishment, Imagineer has developed a team and a network of many people who have supported innovation, new ways of working and developing proof of concept- bringing on board skills and experience of many others from around the sector.
Our name, Imagineer, was chosen because of what it represented: to use your imagination to think about what is possible and then to engage with people’s skills, knowledge and connections to engineer the way to make those ideas become reality.
Imagineer’s social mission is our reason for why we exist and the foundation upon which all our work is built.
It provides us with our ongoing point of focus and it both inspires and challenges us to always be the best we can be for the people we support and drives us towards the vision we have for a fairer society.
Togetherness: We like to get together with the right people, both in the direct support and training we provide and in our own team, to support Imagineer’s ongoing development. We will work collaboratively, ensuring everyone’s thoughts and views are heard and respected. We know that it is together that we can all achieve so much more than we can on our own.
Empowerment: We know people are the experts in their own lives and should be able to lead on making their own choices to make real change happen. We also live out empowerment within our team too. We trust in our team, embedding the confidence and freedom to think creatively and take chances in a supportive, mission-focused environment.
Positivity: We believe that anything is possible if we are determined enough to find the right solutions. Some people we support may not easily be able to tell us their story but they do have a story to tell and we will help them do this in their own way. As a team, we will create a positive working environment that recognises and accepts difficult situations. We will not dwell in them but encourage each other to find our way to the answers.
Integrity: We won’t make promises that we can’t honour and will be willingly accountable to those we support, to each other and to all those who support us. We know we are deliberately seeking to support people who may feel quite vulnerable and so we will always be honest, open and transparent in how we work so that mutual trust and long-term relationships can be built.
Please feel free to click on our annual reports and have a read of what we have managed to do within each year.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 forced us to develop new ways of working; via online platforms.
In the past year, as a result of working in this way; we have been able to increase our reach and capacity for supporting more individuals and organisations around the UK, which enables us to meet our social mission and make a greater impact through the work that we do. It means less travelling, and more time to focus on our social mission. This is better for the environment, better for everyone’s budgets, and better for work/life balance! Now the majority of our work is conducted online via the Zoom platform, although we do still meet with people and spend time with them too.
Want to Work with Us?
If you would like to find out more about who we are, what we do and the type of creative community solutions we help put into action, simply get in touch via Telephone: 07572 322200 or Email: info@imagineer.org.uk
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
© 2023 Imagineer Development UK CIC | Company Number 8243143
