Background
Fortia Insight (previously part of RSM UK Consulting LLP) continues to provide expert programme management for the South Tees Changing Futures Programme to drive system-wide transformation for individuals facing multiple disadvantages across Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland.
Funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and The National Lottery Community Fund, the programme brings together statutory services, voluntary sector organisations and people with lived experience to improve outcomes for those experiencing multiple complex challenges such as:
- Homelessness
- Substance misuse
- Mental health issues
- Domestic abuse
- Repeated contact with the criminal justice system.
The South Tees Changing Futures Programme represents a bold and collaborative effort to reshape how services respond to individuals facing multiple disadvantages. Through its ongoing programme management role, Fortia Insight, working alongside the Changing Futures Board, continues to provide strategic leadership, operational coordination and reporting to funders.
Despite the challenges of multi-agency coordination, embedding trauma-informed practice and driving system-wide change, Fortia Insight remains committed to delivering a programme that is inclusive, responsive and impactful. Their work ensures that lived experience is at the heart of service design, that innovation is fostered through action inquiry and that the programme remains accountable and transparent.
As the programme progresses, Fortia Insight’s focus on sustainability, legacy planning and continuous improvement will be key to ensuring that the South Tees Changing Futures Programme leaves behind a lasting transformation in how support is delivered to those who need it most.
Fortia Insight works alongside the Changing Futures Board to:
- Coordinate multi-agency delivery and ensure strategic alignment across services and organisations
- Embed trauma-informed and person-centred approaches into service design and delivery
- Involve local partners in developing ideas in response to the housing issues impacting Changing Futures clients
- Facilitate system change workshops and action inquiry groups to innovate and share learning
- Support the development of a prevention-based model of delivery
- Evidence the impact of key workers
- Complete all reporting duties, including quarterly progress updates and budget management.
With funding secured for 2026, Fortia Insight remains committed to supporting the South Tees Changing Futures Board in delivering meaningful change, ensuring transparency with funders and building a sustainable legacy of improved support systems across South Tees.
Challenges
- Multi-agency coordination – Bringing together diverse organisations, including local authorities, NHS services, voluntary sector partners and lived experience representatives, requires continuous alignment of priorities, language and working cultures. Ensuring consistent communication and collaboration across these groups is a significant but essential challenge.
- Maintaining trauma-informed practice – Embedding trauma-informed approaches across all levels of service provision involves ongoing training, reflection and adaptation. Ensuring these principles are not only understood but also actively applied by frontline staff and leadership teams is a continuous effort.
- Navigating complex needs – The individuals supported by Changing Futures often face overlapping and compounding challenges. Designing services that are flexible, responsive and genuinely person-centred while also scalable and accountable is a complexity of the programme.
- Stakeholder expectations and governance – Managing expectations across funders, delivery partners and community stakeholders requires clear governance structures and transparent communication. Fortia Insight plays a key role in ensuring that strategic decisions are informed, inclusive and aligned with the programme’s vision.
Impacts
Recent achievements include:
- Hosting a Changing Futures conference to share learning and co-design future priorities
- Launching a book of stories and poems to amplify voices of lived experience
- Coordinating local research to inform future planning of services
- Working closely with VCS representatives to understand issues across South Tees and coordinate priorities.