Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to general questions about our products and their functionality.

What are the benefits of using Formulate?

The following information covers some of the key benefits of Formulate for Adult Social Care. These have been captured from both our own analysis and from local authority business cases:

  • Provides a systematic financial and quality assurance tool to support delegated decision-making at various levels.
  • Provides clarity for frontline staff and individuals in understanding the money available for support planning and personal budgets.
  • Empowers individuals to exercise choice and control at the support planning stage, allowing for greater creativity.
  • Consciously targets money according to need, demonstrating fairness, consistency and transparency.
  • Generates a range of outputs and additional information alongside the estimated budget, meaning that a broad range of options and ways to meet need can be considered.
  • Local configuration reflects provider fee markets, enabling accuracy and ensuring the estimated allocation is sufficient to meet the assessed need, whilst remaining within the overall financial envelope.
  • Formulate is informed by best practice assessments, meaning estimated allocations are driven by needs and outcomes, rather than a focus on just cost.
  • Designed to support all cohorts and living situations, meaning Formulate can be more widely used than other systems (e.g. points-based RASs may only cover up to a certain cost level, or be usable only for those living in independent community settings).
  • Enables a move to needs-based budgets for residential and nursing home placements, promoting sustainability in the market and helping with readiness for the 2023 funding reforms.
  • Provides a robust evidence basis for decision-making.
  • Provides a quantitative measurement of outcomes, making it possible to analyse the effectiveness of particular interventions or commissioning decisions (e.g. reablement, community brokerage).
  • When used alongside Formulate for Children’s Social Care, supports easier transition of young people from children’s to adults’ services due to compatible budget calculation methodologies.
  • The national benchmarking programme allows local authorities to compare their decisions and costs to others using the tool - to understand the national vs local picture.
  • Imosphere actively facilitates sharing of best practice and networking across the country.

We also offer expert advice and support through every step of the implementation process. This does not change after go-live, with day-to-day support and regular ‘health checks’ included.

We believe that collectively, these benefits easily outweigh the costs, especially when considering the local cost of developing, implementing and maintaining an alternative local solution.