EOI - Expression of Interest Request

Social Prescribing Trials – Project Control Group

– July 2022 to July 2023 –

Engagement Opportunities| Project Control Group Member Role | Project Control Group Tri-Chair Role

Download this information as a flyer - Project Control Group.pdf

Overview and opportunity details

The Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing Promotion Office (MHWPO) is seeking support from the VMIAC and Tandem Participation Registers to engage two Consumers and two Carer-Supporters for roles in the Social Prescribing Project Control Group (PCG).

Background

The final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System (Royal Commission) was tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 2 March 2021. The landmark final report outlines changes to create a future mental health and wellbeing system that provides holistic treatment, care and support for all Victorians. The Victorian Government has committed to implementing all recommendations, which set out a 10-year vision for a future mental health and wellbeing system where people can access treatment close to their homes and in their communities.

Recommendation 15.4 of the Royal Commission’s final report recommends that the Victorian Government establish one social prescribing trial per region in the Local Adult and Older Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Services (Local Services) by the end of 2022. These trials will support healthcare professionals to refer people experiencing psychological distress or mental illness into non-clinical community groups and supports.

Meaningful social connections and relationships are critical to the health and wellbeing of all people, particularly those living with a mental illness or experiencing psychological distress. As such, the trials will test social prescribing as a model to strengthen pathways between Local Services and initiatives that support community participation, inclusion and connection.

The three-year trials will be overseen by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Promotion Office in the Department of Health, and rigorously evaluated using an evaluation framework that is sensitive to local contexts. They will consider models of social prescribing which have been tried and tested and which have demonstrated efficacy and evidence of success. The outcomes will then be assessed to determine whether further roll-out is warranted.

Purpose of the Group

The purpose of the Social Prescribing Trails Project Control Group (Project Control Group) is to provide insight, advice, direction and oversight on the design, implementation and evaluation of the social

prescribing trials recommended in the Royal Commission’s final report.

Role of the Project Control Group

• It is anticipated that place-based implementation groups will be established once the service providers for the Local Services in each of the six locations have been confirmed. However, the Project Control Group will provide advice on the statewide development and implementation of the trials.

   

  Roles within the Group

  To support development of a robust trial, membership of the Project Control Group will include people with lived experience, academics, people with experience working in mental health services and social prescribing, representatives from local government and community organisations. Membership will also include a representative for older adults as the Royal Commission recommended that older adults be one focus group of the trials. Diverse representation will be provided across the membership of the group.

  The Project Control Group will comprise of no more than 20 members. Members, other than representatives from the new Local Service providers, will be directly appointed by the Chairs and are invited as experts in their own field or experience, not as representatives of affiliated organisations.

   

  The Chairs may invite additional attendees to support discussions for part or all of a meeting. Invited members may include technical and subject matter experts, departmental representatives, members of related governance groups and observers

   

  About the Lived and living experience (LLE) Roles and Time Commitment

   

  Project Group Member Role	Project Group Tri-Chair Role
  1 x Carer-Supporter - Tandem Register 1 x Mental health Consumer representative   About the LLE role Consumer and Carer-Supporter members of the project control group will support elevating LLE voice in the design, implementation, and evaluation of social prescribing trials in the first six Local Adult and Older Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Services (RCVMHS Recommendation 15). This will build on an initial co-design process to develop a LLE-led social prescribing experience in the mental health and wellbeing context.   Members of the project control group will contribute ideas and provide advice to the MHWPO on the design, implementation and evaluation of social prescribing trials. Papers will be provided to all members in advance.   Support: Content pre-brief by MHWPO, ongoing supports provided Tandem.	Tri Chair arrangement: 1 x Mental health Carer-Supporter representative - Tandem Register 1 x Mental health Consumer representative  1 x Mental Health and Wellbeing Promotion Adviser via Dept Health About the LLE role In addition to the Group member roles, the Consumer and Carer-Supporter Tri-Chairs will work in collaboration with their Tri-Chair, the MHWPO Advisor, and the MHWPO Secretariat to lead the project control group so that it supports design, delivery and evaluation of the social prescribing trials that meet the recommendations of the RCVMHS and include LLE at the centre.   Support: Content pre- and de-brief by MHWPO, ongoing supports provided by Tandem.
  Monthly engagement commitment 2 hours meeting time for the first month and up to 1.5 hours meeting time each month thereafter + up to 2 hours pre-reading per month   See ‘Initial Meeting Schedule’ for more detail	Monthly engagement commitment Up to 4 hours meeting time + up to 3 hours reading/prep time per month   See ‘Initial Meeting Schedule’ for more detail
  Renumeration - Co-design/Co-produce rate •     $218 half day rate (up to 4 hours) •     $435 day rate (up to 8 hours) Half day/full day rates per meeting include renumeration for in-session meeting time and any pre- and post- session meeting time commitments such as pre-session preparation and post-session obligations

• Initial Meeting Schedule (virtual meetings)

   

  Project Group Member Role

  Project Group Tri-Chair Role

  Onboarding: Monday 18 July, 1:30 – 2:30pm Meeting 1: Friday 22 July, 10am – 11am Meeting 2: Tuesday 16 August, 2-3pm   Ongoing monthly meetings for 12 months and some out of session reading/preparation.

  Preparation meeting with co-chairs: Friday 15 July, 2-3pm   PCG Meeting 1: Friday 22 July, 10am - 11am Preparation with co-chairs: Wednesday 10 August, 2-3pm PCG Meeting 2: Tuesday 16 August, 2-3pm   Ongoing monthly meetings for 12 months and some out of session reading/preparation.   The sessions will be held virtually however there may be opportunity to attend some preparation sessions in person if desired

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  • Next steps – How to Express your Interest as a Tandem Participation Register member:

   

  Email your expression of interest (EOI) with subject line "EOI - Social Prescribing Trials - Project Coordinator to [email protected]

   

  Please submit your EOI by COB Thursday 7 July 2022, including:

  1. 1. A brief explanation of your interest in joining the Social Prescribing Trials - Project Control Group

  2. 2. Your preferred role:

     1. a. Project Group Member (1 x role) OR

     2. b. Project Control Tri-Chair (1 x role)

  3. 3. Your community engagement and/or professional experience relevant to the preferred role (a or b)

  4. 4. You understand and commit to the monthly engagement obligations for the preferred role (a or b) over a 12-month period from July 2022 to July 2023 (as per the Initial Meeting Schedule table)

   

  Not a member of the Tandem Participation Register? Know someone who might be interested? Please share this flyer …

  Join a community of people who are supporting someone with mental health challenges and use their lived experience to improve the Mental Health and Wellbeing System and the experience of families and carers within it.

  Eligibility to join the Register

  To join the Register, you are expected to:

• • Be at least 16 years of age

• • Have lived experience of supporting a person with mental health challenges

• • Have lived experience of the mental health system or other systems of support, such as the NDIS, preferably in Victoria

• • Be able to provide a carer/family perspective at a system advocacy level, or be willing to acquire these skills

• • Have communication and interpersonal skills, capacity, and willingness to learn new skills such as conflict resolution, or advocacy skills

  We recognise that you may have a busy life and won't be able to engage with every opportunity that comes up. How much you do is up to you. Once you join the Register, you can leave at any time, or you can remain on it during periods when you're not active.

   

  Join online - Complete the Participation Register new member application form  

   

  Contact

  If you have any questions about the EOI process for this Register engagement opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact:

  •  

  • Elissa Stanovic (she/her)

  • Tandem Participation Register Coordinator

  • Available: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

  • E  [email protected]

  •   P 03 8803 5555

The Tandem Support and Referral Line provides support, information and referral to the family members, friends and carers of people living with mental health challenges.