Alder Advice helped to organise and facilitate a three-day gathering of Appreciative Inquiry practitioners in Findhorn, Scotland on 12th–14th Sept 2025.
The gathering was the first of what we hope will be many similar International Alliance for Appreciative Inquiry (IAAi) gatherings in the next few years. The aim was to enable open and generative conversations around how to further develop Ai thinking and practice.
READ MOREIn the Summer of 2023 we began to enable a co-productive Appreciative Inquiry process at Portsmouth to explore the scope to implement strengths based practice across adult social care. This recently completed project has involved a:
ADASS Eastern Region – Improving Support for Working Age Adults in the Region
On 10th October 2025 Alder Advice presented the findings from its research for East England ADASS into how to best meet the needs of adults aged 18-64 with complex needs cost effectively.
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Rob jointly founded Alder Advice along with Dan Short in 2009-10.
He has been a wonderful colleague. His hard work, creative abilities, strategic thinking, and networking prowess have all helped make Alder Advice what it is today - a highly respected external adviser to the social care and health sectors.
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Published on Wednesday 3st March 2023 by Dan Short
Outcomes and Improvement Framework for Learning Disability Support
In December 2019 the LGA/ADASS CHIP Programme appointed us to work with it, local councils and other stakeholders to develop an outcomes and improvement framework to enable improvements in how people with learning disabilities (including people with learning disabilities and autism) are supported. Although COVID slowed the pace of the underpinning research and development work this outcomes and improvement framework was commissioned by the LGA and the Association of Directors of Adult Services (ADASS) is now available. It aims to help directors of adult social services work with their colleagues and partners to identify how they can improve how they support adults with learning disabilities and/or autistic people. For further information please contact chip@local.gov.uk
In summary the framework provides a range of resources that will help Directors of Adult Services work with their partners and other stakeholders to improve how people with learning disabilities and autism are supported. The draft framework comprises a:
The framework is currently being piloted by local authorities with LGA/ADASS and Alder Advice support.
An easy read version of the framework and self evaluation tool is also available.
To find out more about this project contact Dan Short from Alder Advice on 07748-180-390 or e-mail him at Dan.Short@alderadvice.co.uk