ASIST.

What ASIST. does

ASIST (legal name: Asist Advocacy Services) is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1048075) and private company (company number 3068125) founded in July 1994, headquartered at Winton House, Stoke Road, Stoke-on-Trent. The organization delivers independent, one-to-one issue-based advocacy services for vulnerable people — primarily individuals with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health conditions, looked-after children, people with dementia, parents with learning disabilities involved in child protection processes, and BAME community members with disabilities. Service lines include Care Act Advocacy, DoLS & Paid Representation, Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA), Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), NHS Complaints Advocacy, Children's Advocacy, Parental Advocacy, BAME Advocacy, Dementia Advocacy, and Independent Visitors. ASIST also co-delivers the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism with Staffordshire ICB.

The organization's core intellectual asset is 'The Watching Brief' framework for Non-Instructed Advocacy, developed in the mid-1990s and now referenced in the Mental Capacity Act codebook and adopted sector-wide across the UK. Technology footprint is modest: a Wix.com-hosted website for public information and referrals, plus an online secure database for case management and client records. ASIST holds the Quality Performance Mark (QPM) for Advocacy Services.

ASIST's revenue model is almost entirely public sector commissioning. Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and Staffordshire ICB are the principal funders; services are free and confidential to end users. A secondary Spot Purchase channel offers bespoke advocacy to other advocacy organizations on a capacity-available basis. Go-to-market is referral-driven (professional and self-referrals), with no direct-to-consumer pricing or commercial sales motion. In the most recent year, ASIST supported 6,211 individuals across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent with a team of approximately 28 employees.

Name

ASIST.

Legal name

Asist Advocacy Services

Website

https://asist.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ASIST is a Stoke-on-Trent-based UK charity, founded 1994, delivering independent advocacy services for vulnerable people with disabilities and mental health needs across Staffordshire. It is funded by local authority and NHS contracts, serving 6,211 individuals annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Advocacy Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autism Parent/Caregiver Education & Training (School-Linked) (EDAKAKAJ), Down Syndrome & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Childcare (HSAAAIAC)

Keywords

• Independent advocacy services
• Disability advocacy support
• Mental health advocacy
• Non-instructed advocacy
• Care act advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Stoke-on-Trent

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts: ASIST is commissioned by local authorities (Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council) and the Staffordshire ICB to provide advocacy services. Services are free to end users as they are publicly funded.
2. Spot Purchase Services: ASIST offers bespoke advocacy services to other advocacy organisations on a spot purchase basis when capacity allows, including Paid Representative, Community DoLS, Parental advocacy and Health based advocacy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ASIST provides one-to-one, issue-based independent advocacy for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health conditions, dementia, and children in care across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Services are commissioned by local authorities and the NHS, delivered free of charge to end users, and include statutory advocacy (Care Act, IMCA, IMHA, DoLS/RPR, NHS Complaints) as well as specialist programmes (Children's, Parental, BME/BAME, Dementia, Independent Visitors) and co-delivery of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism.

Product overview

ASIST provides specialist independent advocacy services focused on one-to-one, issue-based advocacy for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and/or mental health conditions in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. The organization operates as a unified service portfolio under a single charitable mission, offering distinct advocacy specializations including Care Act Advocacy, DoLS & Paid Representation, IMCA, IMHA, NHS Complaints, Children's Advocacy, Parental Advocacy, BME/BAME Advocacy, Dementia Advocacy, and Independent Visitors. ASIST also developed 'The Watching Brief' (Non-Instructed Advocacy) methodology, provides Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, and conducts Co-production work engaging people with lived experience in service design. All services are free and confidential, supporting individuals to have their voices heard in decisions affecting their care and lives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Care Act Advocacy

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,211 individuals supported across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent last year

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Staffordshire ICBcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023In September 2023, ASIST partnered with Staffordshire ICB to deliver the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. ASIST recruits and supports Experts with Lived Experience who co-deliver the training. Since January 2024, they have grown from 2 to 20 Experts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mind: Mind is a UK-wide mental health charity that, through local Mind associations, delivers IMHA and broader mental-health advocacy. It is a broad incumbent in the same disability/mental-health advocacy space ASIST occupies.
• Mencap: Mencap is the UK's largest learning disability charity, providing advocacy, family support and influencing policy. It operates as a broad incumbent that overlaps with ASIST's learning-disability advocacy work but on a much larger national scale.
• Disability Rights UK: Disability Rights UK is a national disability-led organisation working on independent living, rights and welfare support. While primarily policy/information-driven, it operates in the broader disability services and independent living space ASIST supports through advocacy.
• Rethink Mental Illness: Rethink Mental Illness runs advocacy, information and services for people affected by mental illness across the UK, including IMHA-relevant support. It is a broad incumbent comparable to ASIST's mental-health advocacy segment.

Direct peers

• POhWER: POhWER is a UK charity delivering independent advocacy including NHS Complaints Advocacy, IMHA, IMCA and Care Act advocacy in numerous local authority areas, commissioned by NHS England and councils in a near-identical model to ASIST.
• VoiceAbility: VoiceAbility is the largest specialist independent advocacy charity in England, delivering IMHA, IMCA, Care Act, NHS Complaints and Children's advocacy across multiple regions. It is the closest direct peer to ASIST, operating the same statutory advocacy portfolio under UK government commissioning.
• National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS): NYAS is a UK charity providing advocacy for children and young people in care, including Independent Visitors, children's rights and parental advocacy, directly mirroring ASIST's looked-after children, parental advocacy and Independent Visitors service lines.
• The Advocacy Hub: The Advocacy Hub is a UK advocacy organisation providing statutory and community advocacy services (IMHA, IMCA, Care Act, Children's) to multiple local authorities, comparable in service mix and commissioning model to ASIST.

Emerging players

• British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD): BILD focuses on workforce training, accreditation and standards in the learning disability sector, including advocacy workforce qualifications. It is comparable to ASIST around training, accreditation and quality standards for advocacy practitioners (including the QPM framework).
• Total Advocacy: Total Advocacy is a UK provider of independent advocacy services commissioned by local authorities, with an overlapping IMHA/IMCA/Care Act portfolio to ASIST. Listed as an emerging player with meaningful but partial regional overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asist-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ASIST.