The aim of Local Area Coordination is to support residents in the local community to ‘get a life, not a service’, empowering individuals to find community based solutions instead of relying on traditional services.Thurrock Council and Derby City Council both implemented Local Area Coordination as part of a driver for wider change to deliver community based person focussed services. The service has proved successful in both of the unitary authorities and has since expanded to nine wards in Thurrock and ten wards in Derby over the past few years.A forecast Social Return on Investment Analysis was commissioned by each Council independently to better understand and start to quantify the impact of the service together with demonstrating how Local Area Coordination is effecting real change in the community. The analyses completed for Thurrock and Derby demonstrate that Local Area Coordination is delivering significant benefit to the local community and other stakeholders with up to £4 forecast for every £1 invested. Furthermore, the service has the potential to influence wider cultural change and a shift to community based services longer term; decreasing the reliance on traditional services.Although the specific calculations are not directly comparable due to the differing quantities, recording methods and assumptions made in each, the overall recommendations and approaches of each Council to delivering Local Area Coordination – both at a strategic and operational level – can inform learning to further enhance the service in both authorities. This report summarises the two analyses and recommendations from both to share best practice and optimise the social value delivered in Thurrock and Derby, ultimately to the benefit of the individuals receiving the service.The key outcomes are comparable between Thurrock and Derby demonstrating how Local Area Coordination across two differing authorities is having a similar impact. This highlights how the principles of Local Area Coordination can effectively be applied across areas. The understanding and upholding of the principles driven by strong leadership is critical to enabling this and is being achieved in both Thurrock and Derby.

The analysis was initially completed for Thurrock Council based on nine Local Area Coordinators (LAC) in July 2015. Then followed by an analysis for Derby based on ten LAC in November 2015.

The findings our available in two reports: Social Value of Local Area Coordination in Derby – Social Return on Investment (SROI) Analysis, and the Learning Outcomes from Thurrock Council & Derby City Council SROI Analyses.