Experiences of a ‘Welfare-to-Work’ Scheme/ Lewisham Strategic Partnership

Background:

Another one of our older, yet still relevant projects. This project explored people’s experiences of the Welfare-To-Work system in Lewisham. Previous mapping of the provisions to help people into sustainable employment revealed a complex, cluttered marketplace. The proliferation of many different funding streams, projects, and programmes targeting the same citizens, had little overall co-ordination. This meant a series of incoherent and repetitive support pathways for the customer. As such, the client wanted to know: what have been the experiences of people accessing the welfare-to-work scheme? And what would help improve those experiences and the employment outcomes?

Result:

In this ethnographic study, we spent time with five different participants, to explore and document a meaningful picture of their journeys back to work from long-term unemployment. The resulting ten-minute film complemented a written report by the Office for Public Management (now called Traverse). Further details of the report can be found here.

Testimonial:

“You were responsive to deal with, and able to build honest, trusting relationships with a range of people, providing a safe place for them to share their views and experiences. The work helped us to get under the skin of the issue and informed a successful national pilot that we carried out in Lewisham.”

Joel Hartfield – Principal Policy & Projects Officer, LSP