How the ecosystem approach supports the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders

The NDIS is a person-centred initiative, and ideally, the processes and systems that we used to support participants should be as well. It’s something I refer to as an ecosystem approach.

An ecosystem approach assumes that participants are at the centre of a process. Too often, the options available to us are more like a brick wall, with participants on one side, and providers on the other with friction and blockers in between.

If we look at the ways in which money handling occurs, it’s very clear that the old way of doing things was very much the brick wall.

Cashboxes lock money away, creating a barrier between a participant and their money. Providers also have to do a lot of manual admin to manage this, which puts efficiency and ease on the wrong side of the wall for them.

Standard, non-specific expense tools sit on the provider side of the all, and to use them, you need to put participants personal money into it. This restricts a participants ability to access their money, slows down their choice on how they want to use money, and inhibits their ability to build their own capacity — often time actually leading to more dependence on their carers, rather than less.

The way we’ve design SpendAble puts the participant at the centre of the the system. Providers and support workers plug into the system so that they can appropriately access money when required to, and do so efficiently and really easily. Parents and guardians plug in so they have transparency over how the participant and their carers are spending money.

The ecosystem approach puts the participant at the centre of everything. It’s what gives the participant the best chance to improve their own skills, independence and confidence, while also creating the most secure, safe and accountable environment for everyone involved.

Is your business process an ecosystem, or a brick wall?