Scotland’s Healthcare Quality Strategy aims to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Quality Strategy set out commitments to improve the quality of people’s healthcare and experience of healthcare. In 2010 the Quality Alliance Board considered the third sector’s contribution to the strategy’s implementation and reported that the sector’s role in the public services reform agenda wasn’t always understood or recognised by statutory health bodies.

The Quality Alliance Board recommended that health boards would benefit from closer engagement with the third sector. The Scottish Government set up a short life action group of third and statutory sector partners, to consider how best to do this. Voluntary Health Scotland led this group and a wider Leads Network to develop a practical tool, the Engagement Matrix.

The Engagement Matrix is a template and guidance for health boards and third sector organisations to complete together. It is a tool for opening dialogue between agencies, and for building stronger understanding and working relationships. It enables participants to map where and how existing engagement at both strategic and operational levels is enhancing people’s health and care experience and outcomes. It supports agencies to identify where engagement could be strengthened and to action plan on this basis.

Following its launch in February 2013 by NHS Scotland CEO Derek Feeley, and its endorsement by the Quality Alliance Board and the Scottish Government, every health board has now tested out the new tool with third sector partners, with an emphasis on identifying ‘what is working well’ between them.

The Leads Network, made up of health board and third sector Matrix Champions, met in September 2013 and participated in a Share and Shine workshop to share learning from the Engagement Matrix. Organised by Voluntary Health Scotland and the Scottish Government, this workshop showcased and shared some of the experiences and results from the initial implementation of the Matrix.  Read the notes from the workshop here – Share and Shine Matrix Workshop – Notes – 19 September 2013

Download the Engagement Matrix tool, including explanatory guidance, as a pdf here – Engagement_Matrix_ed2_web

Download the Engagement Matrix  as an editable template Engagement_Matrix_Template_Editable_Word_Version_VHS_110213