You are Here : Home › Overview › How we have developed our JSNA

Introduction

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is a process that describes the current and predicted future health and wellbeing needs of our population.  It primarily informs commissioners within the local authority and NHS about population needs and priorities in order that they can improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.  As the JSNA is a publically available website it also provides our partners, providers and the public with an idea of our future commissioning intentions and provides the information on which these decisions have been made. 
The requirement to complete a JSNA was created under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.  Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Primary Care Trust therefore have a duty to work together with partners, to assess the needs of the local population.   More specifically it is listed nationally as a specific responsibility of Director of Children's Services, Director of Adult Services and Director of Public Health.  
This guidance is intended to assist service areas to carry out a JSNA and to understand the standard that is expected of a Newcastle JSNA and to provide some prompts to help your thinking.  As the JSNA covers a diverse range of issues it is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to a specialised needs assessment.  

What is a JSNA?
The JSNA can be thought of as both a process and a product. 
As a process, partners work together to understand need and develop shared priorities.  This work draws on both quantitative and qualitative (for example demographic data; service activity data; resident's views; literature searches) as well as legislation and policy guidance.  We also need to recognise unwritten knowledge so we need ways of working that draws together the understanding that stakeholders have.

Newcastle made the decision that the JSNA product would be available as a website rather than a hard copy document.  As a result the JSNA is more dynamic and updatable and has the potential to be an interactive tool for anyone who wants to know the background behind 'why' we have the priorities we have. 

JSNA governance arrangements
The Wellbeing and Health Partnership and Children's Trust Board have overall responsibility for the JSNA.  The JSNA Project Board manages the project on behalf of the Wellbeing and Health Partnership and Children's Trust Board. These governance arrangements and roles and responsibilities are illustrated below.

The JSNA Project Board
The JSNA Project Board oversees the project and includes the following people:

• Ewen Weir - Executive Director of Adult and Culture Services, Newcastle City Council (Chair) Has statutory responsibilities
• Meng Khaw - Joint Director of Public Health, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Primary Care Trust (Vice Chair) Has statutory responsibilities
• John Collings - Executive Director of Children's Services, Newcastle City Council Has statutory responsibilities
• Rachel Baillie - Director of Commissioning, Adult and Culture Services
• Richard Elliott - Head of Strategy, Planning and Performance, Chief Executive's Directorate, Newcastle City Council
• Phil Hunter - Head of Policy and Research, Chief Executive's Directorate, Newcastle City Council
• Martin Surtees - Director of Performance, Outcomes and Commissioning, Children's Services, Newcastle City Council
• Julia Young - Associate Director Commissioning (Newcastle), NHS North of Tyne
• Sally Young - Chief Executive, Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service (NCVS)

Governance groups

JSNA sections should be 'owned' and developed by an appropriate governance group.  This should be a group with a strategic leadership and / or commissioning remit.  The governance group should ensure that: 

• The section uses appropriate information from across partner organisations
• The section fully reflects partners' views, including those of the voluntary and community sector and those of the community of interest/identity/geography that the section relates to
• All partners share the priorities stemming from the JSNA and use these to inform individual organisational plans
• All partners are clear as to why the priorities are what they currently are and the reasons behind the decisions that have been made. 

Some JSNA topics do not have a 'natural home' within current partnership governance arrangements.  Some sections may also need to be owned by partnership groups set up with a North of Tyne remit, which are not in the Newcastle LSP governance arrangements. 

When there is not a governance group already in operation and the two organisations have not identified that such a group is necessary, then the lead usually establishes a time limited task group involving key partners to complete or review the JSNA.  

Engagement

Engagement should be undertaken in all stages of a JSNA rather than being restricted to commenting on final drafts.  The method will vary across the JSNA depending on existing arrangements and may include: 

• Engagement via the governance group, for example if there is one in place with community and voluntary sector representation  
• Regular engagement and consultation activity which takes place as part of the ongoing activity of a service. This information should be incorporated in the analysis at the next JSNA review.  
• Specific community engagement activity on the JSNA section may be deemed necessary, especially if no recent engagement on the topic area has taken place.