Marketing Resources

History behind shop4support

"It's great to have choice about support, but how will people know what there is to choose from?"

shop4support was created in response to the government's Personalisation Agenda. Whilst the advent of personal budgets is undoubtedly a positive thing, as more people have begun to receive personal budgets it has become apparent that many do not know where to spend them, how to spend them or what to spend them on.

Caroline Tomlinson felt exactly the same way. Her son Joe has a complex learning disability and was one of the first people in the UK to receive a personal budget. As a result, in 2006 Caroline came up with the idea of an 'Amazon for social care' and set the ball rolling to create an online supermarket to help people with disabilities make purchasing decisions.

Six years on, plus £2.5 million pounds of investment, including a Section 64 grant from the Department of Health, shop4support is now a unique website that is miles ahead of it's time in terms of technology and most importantly, what it can do for individuals, families, councils and provider organisations.

shop4support is now partnered with several councils, providing an online community where people can:

• Shop around for their own support products and services
• Manage their personal budgets online
• Find information about local community events
• Find tips on support planning
• Share and receive advice from other shop4support users and an online expert panel

In 2008 shop4support entered into a partnership with Harrow Council, to implement an online marketplace for adult social care. Read about some of the practical experiences and lessons learnt during the implementation of the e-Marketplace.