Scope | Embedding the needs of people with Cerebral Palsy in Scope’s future strategy
In 2023, national disability charity Scope partnered with Humanly to ensure that the needs of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families were at the heart of the charity’s future strategy.
Humanly was brought in to conduct user research aimed at better understanding the unique needs of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families. This led to vital recommendations for ensuring that Scope’s strategy, communications, and services are aligned with the needs and expectations of these specific groups.
The Process
Humanly employed a comprehensive research approach to gather insights from a diverse range of participants. Integral to this research was reaching people without prior engagement with Scope, and groups that are underrepresented in Scope’s current membership and customer base. This included younger people, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Humanly conducted a deep listening exercise, which consisted of in-depth conversations with 39 people with Cerebral Palsy and their families across England and Wales.
These conversations explored the specific needs of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families, awareness and engagement with Scope, current perceptions of the charity, and views on Scope’s future strategy.
A sensitive and inclusive approach ensured that all participants were able to participate meaningfully, with each research activity tailored to individual needs and preferences.
The Outcomes
Humanly uncovered valuable insights into the unique unmet needs of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families, and clear opportunities for Scope to meet these needs.
These included opportunities for targeted communication strategies to increase awareness and engagement among people with Cerebral Palsy and their families; services and support tailored specifically to the needs of people with Cerebral Palsy; key areas of advocacy to address the unique challenges faced by people with Cerebral Palsy; and partnership opportunities to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to supporting people with Cerebral Palsy and their families.
Key recommendations were developed for Scope to strengthen its relationship with, support, and represent the unique needs of people with Cerebral Palsy and their families.
The recommendations provided by Humanly serve as a roadmap for Scope’s future initiatives, ensuring that the needs of people with Cerebral Palsy remain at the heart of the organisation’s efforts.
The research findings and resulting recommendations were aligned with Scope’s wider strategic goals, to support the launch of the charity’s refreshed strategy.
The actionable insights and opportunities identified were integrated with Scope’s 3 priority areas of transforming attitudes, ending the disability price tag and closing the disability employment gap. This enabled Scope to refine its strategy, communications, and services to better serve people with Cerebral Palsy and contribute to achieving a more inclusive and equitable society.
The Impact
Scope’s new 10-year strategy was launched in October 2023, incorporating the findings and opportunities identified through Humanly’s research.
This ambitious new strategy, ‘An Equal Future’, sets out Scope’s aims for the coming decade, including a reinforced commitment to supporting those living with Cerebral Palsy and working with the Cerebral Palsy community to address unmet needs.
‘We invited Humanly to help us with a key project gauging stakeholder views on what our future offer should look like. Humanly’s insightful approach matched our needs perfectly. They quickly grasped the complex history and stakeholder landscape, reflecting a deep understanding of the work we required.
The final report and presentation were of exceptional quality, their positive approach and engagement encouraged an openness from participants that was essential to the work. Working with Humanly was a pleasure; their genuine interest, caring innovation and professionalism resulted in the collection of rich data, evidence and recommendations on which we will build our future offer.’
John McLachlan, Executive Director of Services at Scope