Completed Projects

Early Action to Sustain Employment
(E.A.S.E) Project

SUSE were awarded a grant to run a pilot project from the Health & Social Care Alliance Self-Management Fund.

The project, which was completed in October 2021, was delivered by SUSE in partnership with one of our members Values into Action Scotland

Aim of the Project

We tested what happens if people who have gone into work have a tool that allows them to assess their wellbeing, highlight what is working and what is not and have greater control over the support they receive.

EASE is a proof of concept project to develop a self-management tool for employees who have a disability or long term condition. For the moment we are calling the tool the EASE Grid.

How We Did This

• We recruited  24 people with disabilities or long term conditions who have entered employment (trecruited from SUSE member organisations).
• We developed a monthly self-assessment survey which the participants will complete at home or at work.
• The survey was sent to SUSE’s Membership Co-ordinator (Michelle Ramsay) who collated them and shared them with the person’s employment worker.
• We analysed the surveys to look for patterns and anything we can learn from them – to see if using the tool has made it easier for people to self-manage.
• We used the knowledge gained to develop a final version of the EASE Grid and we will produce a report on our findings.
• If we can demonstrate that the grid works we will look for further funding to develop a version of the tool as mobile phone app.

Recruiting Participants

In order to run the project we recruited 24 participants, with help from SUSE members to identify suitable candidates – people who have a disability or long term condition who had recently entered employment (past few months) or were doing so before the end of the year. This included any type of paid employment including supported businesses and social enterprises in any part of the country. The participants were trained to use the EASE Grid and supported throughout the 12 month period by VIAS staff. We ensured that suitable systems were in place to maintain privacy and confidentiality and we met appropriate costs.

For more information please contact David at david@susescotland.scot

We are pleased that in 2024 we secured further funding from The ALLIANCE Self Management Fund to develop EASE as an phone app. Find out more about the EASE App.

SUSE has recently completed an innovative project supported by the Workplace Equality Fund.

In partnership with 3 of our members, Hansel, Momentum Scotland and Values into Action Scotland we investigated the impact of the move to digital recruitment by private sector employers on job seekers with disabilities or long-term conditions.

The aims of this project were to:

• Research the extent to which the move to digital recruitment has created new barriers for disabled jobseekers
• Investigate employers’ awareness of and attitude to this issue.
• Investigate what (if any) reasonable adjustments employers are making to the digital recruitment process.
• Arrive at recommendations on how employers can improve how they recruit to make it more inclusive.
• Arrive at recommendations on how supported employment services can better support clients to navigate the demands of digital recruitment.

The project has now completed and we will shortly be sharing our findings with employers, providers and policy makers. We anticipate there will be a need for a follow up project to support a wider group of employers who wish to make their recruitment processes more accessible for people with disabilities.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like any more information  – info@susescotland.scot
If you would like to read the report please click the link: Fair Chance Project Report (401 downloads) .

More than the sum of the parts Project

SUSE was awarded a four year grant by the Big Lottery fund to support this project. Its overall aim is to promote the employment of disabled people by supporting a range of related activities which engage and support employers, provide additional support for disabled people looking to progress into or in the workplace, and enhance the capacity of SUSE member organisations. Specifically, it aimed to ensure:-

1. Employers will have increased skills, knowledge and feel more confident about employing disabled people and supported disabled employees.
2. More disabled people will have greater opportunities for work of their choice, and have moved into employment or retained employment.
3. Support employment agencies will have increased ability to progress economically inactive disabled people into sustainable careers.

The Big Lottery Fund grant began in August 2014 and supported project activity until the completion of the project in July 2018.

You can download the full Final Evaluation Report below.

MTSP SUSE Final Evaluation Report

Throughout 2023/24, we continued to work with Inverclyde Council to create better opportunities for young disabled people and support employers.

The Economic Development Department of Inverclyde Council commissioned SUSE to undertake a mapping exercise of employability services for young disabled people aged 16 – 24 in Inverclyde. A key part of the mapping we identified Supported Employment opportunities. Findings from the mapping will feed into the Community Regeneration Fund Steps 2 Progression Project which will support 200 young disabled people aged 16 – 24 towards employment. It will also help shape thinking on the Investment Plans which are required to access the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) over the next 3 years.

Part of our research into the employability services and supported employment provision involved focus groups to gather feedback from families  and from supported employment practitioners about Inverclyde’s current employment services which support young people with additional support needs into work.

The great news is that they’re taking forward one of our recommendations and developing a new Project Search service that will add significantly to the local offer for young people. There are also welcome developments with Supported Employment services that we had recommended should be expanded and strengthened.

There are already some great initiatives in the area but we found that there is a real demand for building the capacity of employers to help them become more inclusive and better able to recruit and retain disabled employees..

It has been a real pleasure to work with public sector and third sector partners who are committed to making a difference for the people we support. With a wide range of high quality employment and community services Inverclyde can be an example of how to create an environment where every person who wants to has the chance to become economically active.