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SiRD - Inspiring Scotland

Support in the Right Direction

Helping people to have choice and control over their lives.

Self-directed Support empowers people to be equal partners in their care and support decisions and to participate fully in all aspects of life. The Support in the Right Direction (SiRD) programme provides local independent support, advice and advocacy in line with Scottish Government’s vision for Self-directed Support.

Independent support is integral to social care and without it, care users and carers would struggle to access the support they need and make use of it in the way they would like.

With expertise in self-directed support and a good knowledge of local resources, independent support organisations ensure a person-centred approach and respond flexibly to individual circumstances. They work with people at every stage of their social care journey and provide direct, end-to-end, independent support for all social care user groups. This support includes personal outcome and social care planning, putting plans into action and providing support to manage a social care package, as well as providing social care information provision.

About the programme

We believe everyone should have control over their own life. Some people need additional support and care and require help to make important decisions and exercise that control.

The SiRD funding programme was launched by the Scottish Government in 2018 with the aim of increasing the delivery of independent support for people who need social care.

The purpose of independent support is to help people and carers make informed decisions and plans for their social care and maximise their choice and control over those arrangements using self-directed support (SDS) options. Independent support plays a key role in the delivery of social care and without it many people would struggle to access the support they need and make use of it in the way they would like.

Inspiring Scotland is the strategic delivery partner for the programme and works with funded projects to provide support ranging from strategic engagement with the local context, sharing learning and relationship building through peer networking.

Currently, 29 organisations across 31 local authority areas in Scotland are funded by Scottish Government through the SiRD programme.

This map shows the areas where SiRD-funded projects provide support.

October 18

SiRD start

£11.1m

invested since 2018

70,802

people more informed

14,125

people and families supported

Year 5 progress report 2022

The latest ‘Support in the Right Direction’ progress update is now available. This report looks back over the last six months of the SiRD programme, April 2022 – September 2022

More information

What is Self-directed Support?

Find out more about the different ways Self-directed Support can work and what services are available.

Find out more

Projects across Scotland

This map shows the areas where SiRD-funded projects provide support.

View the map
Support in the Right Direction (2021)

Portfolio of charities

Support in the Right Direction (2021)

Advocacy Orkney

Advocacy Orkney provides the local community with SDS advocacy services, enabling them to participate fully in their assessment process and make informed decisions about their SDS options and rights. This also involves supporting a client to increase their confidence, ability to speak up, to be active contributors to their lives as opposed to passive recipients

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Support in the Right Direction (2021)

Advocacy Service Aberdeen

Advocacy Service Aberdeen provides independent advocacy support to people and/or their carers who have a care and support need and wish to have this assessed by the local authority. The project also provides independent advocacy support to those who already have a care budget and want support to look at alternative options around how this

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Support in the Right Direction (2021)

Advocacy Western Isles

Advocacy Western Isles provides independent advocacy throughout the Western Isles, to carers/the cared for who require support to access self-directed support. Trained/experience and specialised Advocacy Workers in Lewis/Harris and Uist/Barra support clients to understand information, working alongside them, enabling them to make informed choices about personal outcomes and to take greater control of their care/the

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