Every quarter, without fail, our delivery partners submit their monitoring returns. This cycle has happened like clockwork four times a year for over six years and the penultimate monitoring round has just ended. I’m sure everyone involved will have mixed feelings about this (and there may even be a small collective sigh of relief). On the one hand it’s good to end a task and have a bit of extra space in the diary, but on the other hand it’s a clear signal that the programme will be ending soon.

The learning shared over the years has been invaluable. As a programme team we are indebted to our delivery partners and really appreciate the time and energy that they have taken to articulate and share their insight, stories and descriptions, and collect and share accurate data. This helped the team, and our local evaluation partners at the Centre for Loneliness studies (at the University of Sheffield), to really understand the vital work that our delivery partners do and the current challenges facing older people in the city.

This quarter I’ve gathered together the key points made by delivery partners in their most recent monitoring returns to produce a six page learning briefing. It’s purpose is to share the learning that delivery partners have identified, using their own words where possible, and to celebrate the rich tapestry of support available to older people in Leeds during these unprecedented times.

Lisa Fearn
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Time to Shine