What Think Local Act Personal does

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) is a UK government-funded sector partnership established in 2011 and hosted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in Egham, United Kingdom. Its function is to convene central and local government, people who draw on care and support, commissioners, regulators, providers, and social enterprises to make health and social care more personalised. TLAP does not sell software or commercial services; its core "products" are co-produced frameworks and content resources, most notably Making It Real (a set of statements describing good care, built into CQC's single assessment framework in 2023), the Jargon Buster plain-English reference, the Ladder of Co-production, person-centred thinking tools, and thematic hubs covering Choice and Control, Co-production, Language, and Asset-Based Commissioning. Distribution is via a self-serve website, partner networks, events and webinars, plus a Request for Support form for local authorities and providers.

The business model is grant-funded: TLAP receives UK government funding through SCIE, supplemented by partner contributions, and provides all resources and tools at no cost. There is no disclosed pricing and no commercial revenue stream. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on deep partnerships with bodies such as ADASS, CQC, Carers UK, Skills for Care, LGA, NHS, NCAG, Oxford University, and the University of Sheffield to embed its outputs into policy and practice. Customer-facing "segments" are local authority adult social care departments, NHS bodies, health and social care providers, commissioners, government agencies, research teams, and individuals who draw on care; none of these are paying customers in the conventional sense. Headcount is small at 7 staff, and growth signals come from mandate expansion (Time to Act Reform Board, AI ethics work with Oxford) rather than commercial scaling.

Name

Think Local Act Personal

Legal name

Think Local Act Personal

Website

https://thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) is a UK government-funded partnership hosted by SCIE that co-produces frameworks, tools and guidance to make health and social care more personalised for people who draw on care, local authorities, commissioners and providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Care Policy and Practice Improvement

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Care Management & Population Health Program Administration (HLAEALAG)

Keywords

• Social care personalisation
• Co-production frameworks
• Self-directed support
• Direct payments guidance
• Asset-based commissioning

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: TLAP is a government funded partnership. Think Local Act Personal is hosted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). Funding comes from UK government to support personalisation and community-based health, care and support initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) is a government-funded sector partnership that produces co-produced frameworks, guidance, reports, tools and events to help local authorities, the NHS, care providers and commissioners personalise health and social care in England. Its core deliverables include the Making It Real framework, thematic hubs on Choice and Control, Co-production, Language and Asset-based Commissioning, the Jargon Buster, a Resource Library, webinars and direct engagement with localities — all delivered free of charge through its host organisation SCIE.

Product overview

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) is a government-funded partnership organization, not a software product company. Their offerings consist of thematic content hubs organized around personalized care and support topics, including Making It Real (a co-produced framework of statements describing good care), the Choice and Control Hub, Co-production Hub, Language Hub, and Asset-Based Commissioning Hub. These are supported by a Resource Library containing reports, webinars, case studies, and tools. TLAP also provides a Jargon Buster reference tool and specific guidance documents on topics like Individual Service Funds and Direct Payments. Their work is delivered through a partnership model with NCAG (National Co-production Advisory Group) and various associates, focused on policy influence and practice improvement rather than a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Making It Real Framework A co-produced framework of "I" and "We" statements describing what good care and support looks like, organised into six themes. Built with people who draw on care and support, people who work in it, and carers; statements were incorporated into CQC's single assessment framework in 2023.
• Choice and Control Hub Central resource hub providing information, tools and inspiration to support people to live their life their way, covering topics such as person-centred planning, funding choices, and self-directed support.
• Co-production Hub Resources, stories and blog posts about co-production, including the Ladder of Co-production and practical guidance for organisations.
• Language Hub Resources and guidance on using human, everyday language in care and support, including the Jargon Buster with plain English definitions.
• Asset-Based Commissioning Hub Collaborative space bringing together people with lived experience, commissioners, and providers to share learning on asset-based commissioning approaches.
• Resource Library Digital library of resources including case studies, documents, webinars, podcasts, research, and videos covering topics such as direct payments, commissioning, and personalisation.
• Jargon Buster Plain English definitions of words and phrases used in health and social care, with reflections on language that does not belong in a human approach to care and support.
• Individual Service Fund Resources Reports and recommendations supporting local authorities to develop Individual Service Fund offers, based on research from Surrey County Council and six other local authorities.
• Direct Payments Learning Resources Bite-sized learning resources for social workers and practitioners on Direct Payments, designed to build confidence and embed good practice.

Quantifiable outcome

• Making It Real statements were incorporated into CQC's new single assessment framework in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCIE hosts Think Local Act Personal. TLAP's work is delivered within SCIE's organizational framework. SCIE is the host organization providing administrative and operational support.
• National Co-production Advisory Group (NCAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCAG is a membership body made up of people who draw on care and support. It ensures co-production and what matters most to people is at the heart of TLAP's work. All TLAP work is co-produced with NCAG.
• Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerADASS Vice President Phil Holmes co-chairs the Advisory Group. TLAP co-produced a new vision for co-production with ADASS to embed it into everyday ways of working.
• Care Quality Commission (CQC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC built statements from Making It Real into their new single assessment framework in 2023. TLAP is working with CQC to ensure the assurance approach is grounded in Making It Real principles.
• Carers UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDame Philippa Russell DBE from Carers UK serves on the Advisory Group. Partnership supports the integration of carer perspectives in personalisation efforts.
• Skills for CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOonagh Smyth from Skills for Care serves on the Advisory Group. TLAP contributed to Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard work led by Skills for Care.
• Local Government Association (LGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSimon Williams from LGA serves on the Advisory Group. Partnership supports local government engagement in personalisation and reform.
• In ControlminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMartin Routledge from In Control serves on the Advisory Group. Previously worked together on POET surveys about Personal Budgets experiences.
• Social Care FuturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMartin Routledge from Social Care Future serves on the Advisory Group. Jointly established the Asset-Based Commissioning Hub. Partner in Time to Act Reform Board.
• Social Care FuturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly established the Asset-Based Commissioning Hub with TLAP. Social Care Future partners deliver webinars and share resources on community-led support and asset-based commissioning.
• Oxford UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTLAP is partnering with Oxford University to co-produce values statements for the ethical use of AI in social care.
• Centre for Care at University of SheffieldminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced research project with people with lived experience to explore how everyday tech supports independent living. People with lived experience led the work throughout.
• National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Asset-Based Commissioning Hub webinars on community-led support. Presented on community lounges in Stoke-on-Trent and Hartlepool community hubs.
• Community CatalystsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Personal Assistant employment status guide development. Contributed to Direct Payments resources on making purchases when nothing to buy.
• Frameworks UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative project to change how social care is understood and talked about - moving beyond crisis narrative to highlight social care as helping all of us live connected, purposeful lives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Centre for Care (University of Sheffield): The Centre for Care is a multi-disciplinary research centre at the University of Sheffield focused on care futures, workforce and lived experience. It is comparable because it is a current TLAP research partner (co-produced research on everyday tech supporting independent living) and operates in the same evidence-into-practice space, though its primary mode is academic research vs TLAP's policy/practice focus.

Direct peers

• Social Care Future: Social Care Future is a coalition movement for a future where social care enables everyone to live connected, purposeful lives. It is comparable because it jointly established the Asset-Based Commissioning Hub with TLAP, sits on TLAP's Advisory Group, and shares the same lived-experience-led, community-based framing of social care reform.
• Carers UK: Carers UK is a national membership charity supporting the UK's 6.5 million unpaid carers and advocating for carers' rights and recognition. It is comparable because it sits on TLAP's Advisory Group, shapes policy on personalisation and direct payments from the carer perspective, and engages with the same local authority commissioning audience.
• In Control: In Control is a UK charity and social enterprise pioneering self-directed support and personal budgets. It is a direct peer because it is referenced in TLAP's history (POET surveys on Personal Budgets), sits on TLAP's Advisory Group, and operates the same personalisation/self-directed support mission for the same local authority and user audience.
• National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi): NDTi is a UK charity that works on personalisation, inclusion and community-based support for people with disabilities and older people. It is a direct peer because NDTi partners with TLAP on the Asset-Based Commissioning Hub and works on overlapping themes of personalised care, co-production and community-led support, serving the same local authority and provider audience.
• Community Catalysts: Community Catalysts is a UK social enterprise supporting community-led micro-enterprises in care, including Direct Payments and personalisation. It is a direct peer because it has collaborated with TLAP on the Personal Assistant employment status guide and Direct Payments resources, working on the same personalisation and small-provider themes.

Broad incumbents

• Skills for Care: Skills for Care is the workforce development body for adult social care in England, sitting on TLAP's Advisory Group and partnering on workforce-related work (e.g., Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard). Comparable because it shapes practice, training and standards for the same provider workforce that TLAP's frameworks target.
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE): SCIE is the host organisation of TLAP and a broader improvement body for the adult social care sector in the UK, producing guidance, training and resources for councils and providers. It is comparable because it operates in the same sector-improvement space and shares operational infrastructure with TLAP, though its scope is wider (all of social care practice vs TLAP's personalisation focus).
• Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS): ADASS is the membership association for directors of adult social services across England. It is comparable because the ADASS Vice President co-chairs TLAP's Advisory Group, ADASS and TLAP co-produced a new vision for co-production, and ADASS represents the same local-authority commissioning audience that adopts TLAP's frameworks.
• Local Government Association (LGA): The LGA is the national membership body for local authorities in England and Wales. It is comparable because senior LGA representatives sit on TLAP's Advisory Group, the LGA helps TLAP engage councils on personalisation and reform, and LGA represents much of the same customer base TLAP serves with its frameworks and tools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHaQYctgVew9dfoYDD0ilUA
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• Facebookfacebook.com/thinklocalactpersonal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Think Local Act Personal