About us
shop4support is a unique shopping experience for people who have a disability, are getting older and/ or need support to live their life. We believe the help people need should be designed in a way which makes sense to each individual and their family, so that people can direct their own support. shop4support enables you to shop around so you can find information, the support or services you need, see what other people think, then order and pay for these as required.
“ shop4support will enable me and my family to choose the support I need by providing me a market to shop where other customers tell me what they think so I can make an informed choice. A great idea.”
Individual Budget User, Lancashire.
The organisations behind shop4support
Launched in 2003, the In Control partnership is helping to transform the current system of social care into one of Self-Directed Support, enabling people to get control over their own support – and their lives – and become full citizens. In Control was the first organisation in England to use individual budgets for self-directed support in a project for people with disabilities. The success of this work and other subsequent pilots has been key in directing government policy towards a system of self-directed support.
Find out more about In Control here.
Valueworks are the technology partner behind shop4support. Having redefined eCommerce in a number of sectors including Social Housing and Construction, with shop4support, Valueworks have now applied their unique eMarketplace software platform to the Social Care sector, in partnership with In Control.
Valueworks software platform currently has over six hundred buyer and seller organisation clients. The company’s strengths lie in its ability to provide unique on-demand eMarketplace solutions without clients having to make a significant capital investment or change their IT and financial processes.
This impressive pedigree has resulted in Valueworks being identified by Deloitte in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as one of the UK’s top 50 fastest growing technology companies.
‘Our partnership with In Control to develop a national e-Marketplace solution has been tremendously exciting and through applying our technology we feel we can make a real difference in the social care sector.’
Jeff Dandridge, Valueworks Group Chief Executive.
shop4support has been awarded a three year Section 64 grant from the Department of Health. Section 64 grants are awarded to organisations in England whose activities support the Department of Health’s policy priorities. Competition for this funding is always very strong - in being awarded the grant, shop4support has been recognised as an innovative project of national significance that will complement statutory services and so help secure provision of high quality health and social care and promote the nation's health.