Clarifying the scope of work of the Icehearts Europe Manager

We have asked the implementing Icehearts Europe pilot managers to share their views on the central character of the Icehearts Europe manager – the position that you may take after following this course.

The following video provides hints on the role and tasks of an Iceheart Europe manager as well as crucial learnings and tips from current implementing managers.

Establishing a core implementation team – The ideal organisation chart: Roles and responsibilities.

Set up a core implementation team of experts within your organisation dedicated to the implementation of the intervention, including monitoring, supervision, and mentor support. 

Icehearts Finland has provided the following ideal organisation chart – you can see it as in inspirational one that you can aim for in the mid-term:

Remember that you can and should also build on your network of stakeholders and existing services in your context. Some of the roles you will identify within your core implementation team might be played by experts outside your own organisation. Advises from implementing Icehearts Europe pilot are in fact to:

• Identify stakeholders and community services relevant to the implementation of the programme and decide on the best way to involve them.  
• Use the expertise and experience of stakeholders to refine the intervention and strengthen their support. 

Identifying a LEAD contact person for the network of stakeholders

All countries have acknowledged the importance of maintaining good relationships with supporting stakeholders. This must go beyond the initial contacts and gaining permission or tacit or expressed support but must be ongoing with stakeholders appraised of the programme as it rolls out, taking part in (or being consulted about) key decisions and included in the final assessment at the end.

Within the territorial services identified as relevant for the success of the intervention, the core implementation team should identify a contact person within the organisation who is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the local network of stakeholders and who interfaces with it in the event of situations deemed particularly complex. 

Adapting the interventional model to your context

While Icehearts Europe offers an implementation guide and a clear presentation of the model of intervention, it is also very clear that there is no one-size fits all model. 

It is strongly advised to adapt the intervention to the local context. 

As an example, each Icehearts Europe pilot country has made some innovation or other, in the light of their previous experience of running similar programmes. These ideas may be of inspiration for you and might be adopted and/or adapted if appropriate. The visual below provides an overview of the different countries approaches: