Much of the work involved in implementing personalised care and support planning is about getting the organisation alongside the culture right.

Based on our experience, a local steering group to set up, make local links, monitor progress and make adjustments accordingly is one of the most important success factors for embedding and supporting personalised care and support planning.

The most successful local steering groups usually include:

• Managerial/operational lead
• A local credible clinical ‘champion’ of personalised care and support planning 
• Representative user involvement
• A member of the Year of Care national team 
• Individuals with primary care facilitation skills
• Access to IT expertise
• Your local trainers, once trained
• Administrative support

The main functions of the steering group are to ensure momentum behind implementation and roll-out, financial requirements are met, the required infrastructure is in place and an evaluation and monitoring framework exists.