The Self Management Awards are the highlight of Self Management Week, a national awareness raising week hosted by the ALLIANCE, with a range of events and activities showcasing the broad range of self management work taking place across Scotland. The Awards are a celebration of the achievements of people and projects that have contributed the most to self management in Scotland over the past year.

Self management is a way of living and working that means people living with long term conditions are more in control of their health and wellbeing.

Winners were announced at a ceremony in Edinburgh on Wednesday 24 September.

Family Recovery College, run by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs – were awarded the award best Self Management Resource (in partnership with ALISS (A Local Information System for Scotland) and sponsored by Thistle Foundation)

SFAD’s Family Recovery College a 12-week online course, Understanding Substance Use and Holding on to Hope, for anyone in Scotland concerned about someone else’s alcohol or drug use.

The Virtual Reality (VR) project, involving the MS Society, Glasgow Caledonian University and Glasgow School of Art – received the award for Self Management Digital Innovator (in partnership with the ALLIANCE Digital Hub and sponsored by Third Sector Lab). This project is Glasgow based – but covers Scotland more widely.

This innovative VR project is supporting people with MS to participate and engage in rehabilitation and manage symptoms through the use of technology.

Every child has the right to equal access to education – National Deaf Children’s Society took home the Sensory Impairment: Positive Self Management Award (in partnership with the Scottish Sensory Hub)

The NDCS was chosen for its work supporting a Deaf teenager to set case law in Scotland, winning a prolonged legal battle for the right to have BSL interpretation in school.

Talking is Mental CIC – were delighted to win the Peoples Choice award – the Self Management in the Community Award (in partnership with the ALLIANCE Links Worker Programme).

The Glasgow based CIC exists to combat social isolation and loneliness in Glasgow through activity groups, including theatre, art, walking and football, to encourage dialogue around physical and mental health

East Lothian community group Sharing a Story CIC received the Self Management through the Arts Award, run in partnership with ALLIANCE Live.

The social enterprise uses creative writing, shared reading and other creative methods to reduce social isolation, working with other charities and individuals.

Paisley-based Bipolar Scotland received the Empowering Self Management Project award, in partnership with the Health and Social Care Academy and sponsored by Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland.

Bipolar Scotland run the national Self Management Training to empower people affected by bipolar to take control of their lives. Co-designed and delivered by people with lived experience, the courses are rooted in peer connection and practical self management tools.

And this year the Audrey Birt Self Management Champion, in partnership with Humans of Scotland, was awarded to Warren Berwick for his work through the Edinburgh based charity Thistle Foundation, to inspire others to believe in change, and raising the profile management in real, tangible ways

Sara Redmond, Chief Officer at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, said:

“Self management is at the heart of our work around health and social care, and the Self Management Awards give us a chance to celebrate the best of people and projects supporting self management across Scotland.

“Self Management Week this year focussed on ‘what I need to lead,’ and all the finalists exemplify approaches that empower people to become leading partners in the management of their health.”

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Over three Learning Day events, the funded projects within the 2018 Working Together to Strengthen Integration round worked together to come up with the best advice they would give to any new self management projects starting out. These are:

• Learn
  • One of the strongest themes that came through in the advice for new projects was to keep learning throughout the project – learn from what works and what doesn’t, learn from the people you work with, learn from colleagues and partner organisations.
  • When starting out, use the experience of partners to help you shape your plan, but make space in your plan to make changes as you learn and let the people guide you.
• Be Flexible
  • Being flexible in your approach allows you to implement learning as you go along, correct mistakes and make improvements. If you allow for movement in ideas and direction then you can pivot effectively if needed. Allowing the project to develop organically can take it in the direction it is most needed.
• Communicate
  • Take time to build relationships with partners, and make the most of their local expertise and knowledge to build a strong foundation for the project. Communicate with the people you work with, and trust the process of listening and responding to what people tell you they need.
• Check Outcomes
  • Try new things and learn from what works and what doesn’t, review your objectives regularly to ensure that they are still fit for purpose and that your project is progressing suitably. You shouldn’t be afraid to acknowledge what is not working as this is part of the process of learning from it.
• Take Time
  • Take your time to plan the project properly, but allow time for the project to develop organically – you cannot rush any part of it! Spend time building relationships with partners and grow at an achievable pace.

You can find reports related to this event along with other Self Management Fund learning towards the bottom of this page.

Self Management Fund funded projects regularly showcase their learning and impact through ALLIANCE Live Project Insights. These short, informative videos raise awareness, share good practice and distribute knowledge to strengthen good health and social care policy and practice across Scotland.

A full report on the learning days is available to download below.

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The Self Management Fund: Resilience, Recovery and Development Round One projects began on 1 June 2021, Round Two projects on 1 October 2022, with Round Three projects beginning on 1 October 2023 Flash reports on the first two rounds are available below.

In general, the funded projects:

• Strengthen the resilience of the people they work with and the organisations
• Increase the opportunities for recovery in communities and the third sector
• Develop the services that have been identified as required for the future
• Contribute to the purpose of the Scottish Government’s Framework for supporting people through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic (this link will take you away from our website) this link will take you away from The Alliance website
• Contribute to the resilience, recovery and development of people, communities and the third sector through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

In Round One, two grant types were offered, designed to:

• Test or investigate an idea
• Build on or develop existing work or knowledge
• Establish a service that is new to your organisation

In Round Two, grants were offered to projects to:

• Provide support to people experiencing multiple forms of marginalisation, including people with sensory loss; ethnic minority communities; disabled children and young people; people with learning and intellectual disabilities; people experiencing economic deprivation; and unpaid carers
• Focus on a hybrid way of working and supporting digital inclusion for those who have been excluded from the move to digital services.

In Round Three, grants were offered to projects to:

• Provide support for disabled people and people living with long term conditions and/or unpaid carers who experience disrupted care
• Address the wider determinants of health so that individuals are supported to live their lives better on their own terms, progress to employment, create and develop sustainable communities, and take a leadership role in preventing ill-health.

The majority of RRD grantees are still working to deliver activities and we will share more learning as projects continue to develop.

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The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) administers the Self Management Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, supporting third sector and community based organisations across Scotland to develop self management activities. Since 2009, The ALLIANCE has awarded over £29 million in funds to 495 projects. More information on the projects can be found in our Funded Projects section.

The Self Management Fund was created by the Scottish Government in response to recommendations made in the Gaun Yersel: the Self Management Strategy for Scotland (link will open in a new page). It was set up to support the development of co-produced, person centred, self management activity across Scotland. Learning from the experience of people living with long term conditions, and their unpaid carers, is central to the ethos of the fund.

Across all rounds of the Self Management Fund projects must show that:

• Work is new for the applicant organisation, or present a development of an existing idea.
• The idea has come from the people it is designed to benefit.
• Disabled people, individuals living with long term conditions and/or unpaid carers will be enabled to take a leadership role in the design, delivery and evaluation of the project.
• The capacity of disabled people, individuals living with long term conditions and/or unpaid carers to effectively self manage will be enhanced .
• The principles of self management identified in Gaun’ Yersel’: the Self Management Strategy for Scotland are at the heart of the project.

Alongside these core criteria each funding round has a specific focus, the priorities of Self Management for Life, Round 3 are below. Projects must demonstrate their project supports, guides and enables self management in one of the following ways:

1. Work that aligns with secondary prevention by working to embed self management soon after a long term condition or disability is identified, or early in someone’s unpaid caring role.
2. Work that seeks to address health inequalities while increasing the self management capacity of people with long term conditions, disabilities and/or unpaid caring responsibilities who experience these inequalities.
3. Work that develops the self management capacity of people living with long term conditions, disabilities, and/or their unpaid carers, whilst awaiting health or social care support.

Applications for Self Management for Life, Round 3 are open until 19 December 2025.

The fund aims to develop practice and share learning, this is done in a number of ways though our partners in the Scottish Government and through our own Self Management Network. You can find out more about our learning by clicking the learning tab in the sidebar.

Below is an overview of the projects which the ALLIANCE funded for five years. To find out more about any of these projects, simply select, click or tap on one of them.

The ALLIANCE published a podcast discussing the learnings from the Self Management Fund: Transforming Self Management in Scotland – you can learn more by visiting the ALLIANCE Live Roundtable post, or listening directly from ourAnchor.FM page. A flash report is available to download below.

View a list of the projects currently in receipt of a grant from the Self Management Fund (link will open in a new page).

Self Management is a way of living and working that means people living with long term conditions feel more in control of their own health and wellbeing. It supports people to live their lives better, on their terms.

Self management supports and encourages people living with long term conditions to access information and to develop skills to find out what’s right for their condition and, most importantly, right for them. Gaun Yersel: The Self Management Strategy for Scotland, was developed by the ALLIANCE with support from people with lived experience, and aims to work towards a situation in which everyone in Scotland living with long term conditions has access to the support they need to successfully manage their condition.

Together with health professionals and with those who provide support, self management can help people to make decisions that are right for their life.

Self management can mean people being:

• better informed about their condition(s)
• better prepared for everyday challenges
• better supported when they need it

The ALLIANCE works to embed this approach across Scotland through our self management work:

• The Self Management Fund for Scotland
• The Self Management Network Scotland, a network of over 1,000 organisations and individuals
• Delivering training and events to explore and support self management, such as Self Management Reflective Practice and Self Management Week and Awards.

To find out how to support your health and wellbeing through self management, speak to your GP or health professional or visit A Local Information System for Scotland (ALISS) to search for health and wellbeing resources in your area.

Here are some further resources and information on self management:

• The Self Management team’s video resources ‘Self Management 101’ on our YouTube channel ALLIANCE Live, on what self management can look like in a range of contexts.

• Opinion piece on self management, written by the ALLIANCE Self Management Team.

• Webinar on supported self management in stroke care, delivered by Professor Lisa Kidd, the learning from which is transferable to other situations beyond stroke care.
  
• Self Management resources for wellbeing developed by COPE Scotland.

• NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service helping the people in Scotland to make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.

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