About Praxis Care

Praxis Care supports individuals with mental ill health, autism spectrum conditions, intellectual disabilities, and dementia, providing innovative, professional, high-quality support services to people across the spectrum of need and particularly at the higher level of complexity. A registered charity since 1984, Praxis Care offers bespoke care, support, and accommodation services to 1,500 people across the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Isle of Man.

As part of our strategic planning process the Praxis Senior Leadership Team (SLT), led by the CEO and with full support of the Board, is embarking on an ambitious innovation program. We are looking to identify key areas of the organisation and in the lives of Praxis services users where we can bring new approaches and thinking to deliver a step change in performance to address challenges and problems faced by our stakeholders.  Establish a roadmap of opportunities where through the introduction of innovation approaches and solutions we can make a material difference to the lives of our key stakeholders.

To lead kick-off this program, we are looking for an experienced Senior Innovation Consultant to lead a strategic project to scope, plan and deliver a one-day innovation workshop for the SLT.  The outcome of this project will be a prioritised Praxis Innovation Roadmap of projects to be scoped, developed and delivered across the Praxis organisation for the next 36 months planning period.  There may then be the opportunity for the successful consultant to return on an annual basis to work with the SLT to update on progress and refresh the Praxis Innovation Roadmap for the following year based on the evolving needs of the organisation and, most crucially, our service users.

Project Brief – Praxis Innovation Workshop

The Praxis SLT is seeking an experienced innovation consultant to lead this strategic project from the front, working with the SLT and Board Innovation Committee to refine the project brief based on a clear proposal for services, then deliver that proposal with a team of key stakeholders. As a non-for-profit organisation, Praxis is looking to effectively leverage the experience of its SLT and suggested other key stakeholders to arrive at a clear roadmap which can be prioritised and actioned over the coming 36-month period.

Key elements of the consultant’s proposal for service could include:

Pre-Workshop Preparation:

• Refining the project brief via a 45-minute phone interview work with the CEO and key members of the SLT to confirm key deliverables, approach, resources, and timeline.

• Pre-event information request and interviews to gather the required background information and scope parameters for the workshop.
• Background reading to understand key Praxis functions and services.

Workshop Day:

The consultant may decide to include in their proposal some of the following elements, based on their professional experience in leading effective innovation workshops:

• Icebreaker activity to create a positive and inclusive atmosphere.
• Creative thinking exercises to generate ideas for innovation across key functions.
• Overview of emerging technologies which may be of relevance to developing innovative solutions.
• Group discussions and brainstorming on potential opportunities for organizational improvement.
• Focused ideation on improving services for learning disability, autism, and mental health service users.
• Breakout sessions for each key function to brainstorm service-specific innovations.
• Emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility in service design / co-production.
• Cross-functional collaboration session to synthesize ideas and identify innovative solutions for service users that span multiple functions.
• Prototype development or scenario planning for selected ideas.
• Identify common themes and potential cross-functional collaborations.
• Prioritize and select the most promising ideas for implementation.
• Develop initial action plans for implementing selected innovations.
• Agreement on a draft innovation roadmap or prioritised projects, including indicative project owners, timelines, and key next steps.

Budget, timeline & workshop resources

• A proposed budget for the preparation and delivery of the above brief.
• An indicative timeline to prepare for and deliver the workshop, including a clear documentation of agreed next steps for the SLT to then action.
• The option for a bi-annual “check-in” with the SLT to assess progress by project and help guide any required redirection of effort.
• Travel to / from Belfast or Dublin Praxis offices where the workshop will take place, assuming a nights accommodation prior to the event.

Application

Proposals written to the above project brief can be submitted directly on the TPC platform to Jason Rance