Intitial Project Strategy
Our most important aim is to do something which just isn’t happening anywhere else in bipolar disorder. One of the secrets of success is careful planning, focus and not trying to do too much too soon. For this reason we are carefully balancing our project development plan along with the progression of the business plan.
In the first 12-18 months we are focusing on 3 main strands:
- Establishment of fundraising and development infrastructure.
- Development of a core clinical collaborative network, initially, with 2000 people in the UK with bipolar disorder.
- Implementation of a new psychoeducation program about bipolar illness in selected centres using a model which has already been shown to be effective.
The Foundation's goal is to become one of the largest empowering networks of people with bipolar disorder in the world, unique because of the two-way partnership we aim for between those affected and clinician researchers. Of the 2000 people initially being approached in the UK, most have already participated in a face to face interview and initial survey looking at current treatment practice and physical health issues in bipolar disorder. Given the very high response rate to this initiative we hope a high proportion of those approached will be interested in participating in the ongoing work of the foundation.
The Foundation's goal is to become one of the largest empowering networks of people with bipolar disorder in the world, unique because of the two-way partnership we aim for between those affected and clinician researchers.
The fact that the foundation will be aiming from the start to be actively improve treatment, for example by supporting the implementation of a psychoeducation program will, we hope, speak for itself.
The Bipolar Foundation program will be carefully balanced between examining biological, psychological and social factors important to bipolar disorder. In the first wave we are examining experience and attitudes to psychological interventions as well the pharmacotherapy and genetic susceptibility to bipolar disorder. One of our key aims is to interest people in participating in work in these areas as part of a long term partnership.
A pragmatic business plan
The Plan for the first 5 years of development of the Foundation’s program is balanced between ensuring a base of solid sustainable infrastructure support for ongoing education, outreach, research and clinical excellence-promotion programs and funding the component projects of these programs themselves. We see supporting a first rate program of fundraising and corporate partnerships with links into research and care channels as crucial to this. We want to fund projects and programs that make a difference to people.
