The Festival of Ideas was sponsored by the North West Joint Improvement Partnership, a regional agency that is supporting the transformation of health and social care. The Festival was primarily about Personalisation in mental health services, which whilst difficult is very important. Across the North West, people in the public and third sectors are applying their passion and ingenuity to supporting and empowering people. The Festival was also supported by the Cabinet Office and was held on 4th September in Manchester. The focus of the event was for high-potential third sector innovations that personalise mental health support, including but not limited : Tailored provision for minority groups Bespoke support for those with more serious mental health Smarter responses to crises Prevention and early recognition, including for young people Social networks, mentoring and peer support.
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Given the aim of the Festival of Ideas, I entered my bespoke Coaching Interactive programme for Depression and Anxiety and was selected to attend the event as an innovator. Also invited were investors and commissioners, from Government bodies, responsible for health care in the region. This lead to the opportunity for all three groups to meet one another, learn about and critique the innovations presented and work together to develop them. The format of the event was that each innovator (8 in total) had to present their product/service to the investors and commissioners in 5 minutes slots with 10 minutes for questions and answers to 8 separate groups. At the end of this, the investors and commissioners were asked to vote for the most interesting new innovation and I was fortunate enough, and delighted, to be selected. This then involved me giving a 40 minute presentation to the whole group giving more detail and providing the audience with an extended Q&A session at the end. I received lots of useful feedback and contacts on the day and firmly believe that there are many opportunities for further discussion and dialogue with many of the commissioners and investors leading to clients for the Coaching Interactive platform. They were particularly impressed with the accessibility and the cost of the programme and, in addition, that the platform is robust, had been rigorously trialled and tested and is being used worldwide. Steve Scott Click here to find out more about Steve's programme | 
