`As we move towards the future with more emphasis on individual need and preference, the challenge for managers will be to deliver quality, efficiency and value in ways that are flexible and innovative, in an environment where policy, professional boundaries and resource levels are often conflicted. In this book, Trish Hafford-Letchfield gives managers and leaders the tools to navigate their way to solutions. At a time of rapid change within the social care sector, the organisations that innovate and manage well will be those that survive, and this book provides a very useful and practical route map to success.'--- Martin Green, Chief Executive, English Community Care Association`This is a text grounded in social care policy and practice which provides the base for the discussion of social care leadership and management. The message is about participative management, the medium is engagement with people across the organisation, and the means are the tools and techniques introduced, described and made relevant with examples of their use within social care. It is wide-ranging and practical and is both an introductory text to read and a reference book to browse.'--- Dr. Ray Jones, Professor of Social Work, Kingston University and St George's, University of London, UKSocial Care Management, Strategy and Business Planning is a comprehensive guide to strategic social care management, covering all the knowledge and skills that managers in the 21st century must have, and showing how to make theory a practical reality.The book aims to make business planning a more accessible and user-friendly process, offering practical advice on how to tackle the everyday tasks that good social care management should involve. Topics covered include strategic planning, business development, commissioning and contracting, project management, decision-making, risk, and evaluation techniques. The book also acknowledges the challenges of working collaboratively within a complex legislative and policy framework and juggling different aspects of the management tasks whilst retaining professional identities and ethics. Also included are practical examples and lively tips and comments from practising managers on their experiences in different areas of business planning.This book will be essential reading for anyone involved in managing or leading practice either in the front line or at a more strategic level. It will be useful to post-qualifying social work students and is particularly valuable to anyone following a management training programme.