Case Studies
NHS Birmingham and Solihull CCG
Co-designing and facilitating a conference to kick-start the development of a system-wide cancer strategy for the next decade of cancer care
Offer: Strategy, designing and delivering workshops
Topics: Cancer; system-wide transformation; facilitation
The challenge
The recently established Cancer Programme Board had committed to developing a system-wide cancer care strategy for Birmingham and Solihull. To kick-start the process, a day-long visioning conference was planned for early 2020.
The aims for the conference (called Beyond Boundaries: Shared Ambition and Action) were to bring together the collective experience and expertise of multiple stakeholders from across the system to:
- Co-produce a draft vision for Birmingham and Solihull’s cancer care landscape
- Identify the actions that needed to be prioritised to achieve this vision.
The conference would mark the start of a journey. The ideas and outputs from the day would be used to lay the foundations of a long-term cancer strategy for Birmingham and Solihull.
What did my support involve?
- Holding one-to-one telephone discussions with each Cancer Programme Board member in order to understand their expectations and to ensure that the conference design reflected their needs
- Co-producing the conference agenda with the CCG and briefing plenary session speakers
- Chairing planning meetings, helping to ensure that the preparation for the conference maintained pace and focus
- Designing the structure and content for two facilitated breakout sessions, during which participants would work in small groups to explore what cancer care across Birmingham and Solihull should look like in 2030 and the priorities for action
- Facilitating two group discussions during the breakout sessions and supporting the other facilitators on the day.
Key outputs
- A facilitator’s guide and a briefing meeting for the six CCG facilitators to ensure that the discussions in the breakout sessions were a success
- A thematic analysis of the feedback from the conference and an engaging conference report to share with all attendees and wider stakeholders
- Practical recommendations for the next steps for the CCG to take in order to develop the strategy.
Results and value
The Beyond Boundaries conference, held on 21st January 2020, was attended by 47 stakeholders from across Birmingham and Solihull’s foundation trusts, primary care, local authorities, the voluntary and community sector, and from the CCG, NHSE&I and the West Midlands Cancer Alliance. The ideas and outputs from the conference have helped the Cancer Programme Board to lay the foundations to work with partners and stakeholders across Birmingham and Solihull (including people affected by cancer) to develop a system-wide strategy.
- 95% of delegates agreed or strongly agreed that the group breakout sessions were informative and useful; 86% of delegates agreed or strongly agreed that the focus and pace of the whole conference was appropriate
- On a scale of one to ten (with ten being very positive), delegates were asked to indicate how they felt about the future of cancer care in Birmingham and Solihull at the end of the conference: 81% of delegates scored this as seven or above
- Conference participants and wider stakeholders have access to an engaging summary of the conference and the findings from the group discussions including:
- a draft vision – going beyond a single ambition statement and setting out the desired characteristics that will define cancer care across Birmingham and Solihull in 2030
- the key priorities for actions that are needed to achieve that vision
- The CCG now has a tried-and-tested facilitators’ briefing pack, including general guidance on facilitating group discussions that can form the basis of guidance for any subsequent facilitating activity
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