Join the Enabling Environments network

Every service will follow their own timescale and development plan throughout their work towards Enabling Environments but all members will pass through the stages outlined below.

Stage 1: Self-Assessment and action plan

Your service will begin by completing a simple self-assessment involving recipients and providers and develop an action plan to address any areas identified for further work.

Stage 2: Development and quality improvement

Using the action plan developed under stage 1 of the process your service will begin a period of improvement working towards the EE Standards, particularly in the areas you have identified as needing most improvement.

Resources and support will be made available for you during this period and everyone in the environment is expected to work together to make cultural changes.

Stage 3: Building a portfolio of evidence

Your service needs recipients and providers to work together to gather evidence for each criterion and collect any necessary data. Guidelines on how to build the portfolio are included later in this document.

Stage 4: Questionnaire completion

Your service should request questionnaires from Enabling Environments project team, complete them and submit these back to the team.

Stage 5: Submission of pre-visit information

Your service is required to submit a Pre-Assessment report which the assessment team will use to prepare for the assessment day.

Stage 6: Portfolio and service assessment visit

Your service will host an assessment visit by a minimum of two people including a trained EE Assessor who will use questionnaire data, portfolio evidence and observational evidence to establish how many of the criteria and standards the service is meeting.  

Stage 7: Quality Assurance

The report from each assessment visit goes through our quality assurance process in order to provide consistency and high quality outcomes for the member services.

Stage 8: Award panel meeting

Once the report has been quality assured, the final report is submitted to the Enabling Environments Award Panel for a decision.

Stage 9: Maintaining the Award

An Enabling Environment needs constant attention in order to flourish. You should use the recommendations in the report from the Award Panel to help maintain your good work and to continue the development of your service.

You must remain a member of the Enabling Environment project to maintain the award and once your service has the Enabling Environments Award you are required to notify the Enabling Environments team of any significant events and/or changes during the period of the Award.

When your service formally receives its Enabling Environment Award you will be informed of the date of submission for your interim report. The interim report is required in order to show progress since the first assessment and identify further plans for maintaining the culture.

Who can join?

Anyone! The project has members from several different sectors e.g. health, criminal justice, homelessness, children’s services, social care; and the standards and values are designed to apply to any service from any sector.

Different types of membership

We offer a choice of contract length for full memberships and an Associate Membership option so there should be something to suit every service.

Terms of membership

How much does it cost?

There are several types of EE membership, with costs as follows:

• £7,000 + VAT upfront payment for a full three-year membership
• £2,480 + VAT upfront payment for a full one-year membership
• £640 + VAT upfront for an associate one-year membership (includes two places at EE events, membership pack, but no assessment visit)

Membership of the network gives you access to a range of support, resources and tools to help you make the cultural changes you wish to see in your environment.

Also see the training and events page for more information on upcoming opportunities.

If you want to become a member of the Enabling Environments network, please send your completed joining form to eeadmin@rcpsych.ac.uk.