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The publication of Supporting People (Department of Social Security 1998) has given urgency to discussions around needs analysis, planning, user voice and the development of 'normal' housing for people with support needs. This paper explores a project, which aimed to design a collaborative model for identifying supported housing needs. We provide an overview of the research background, local imperatives and findings, and point to the probability of increasing conflict between the policy of developing 'sustainable communities' and the development of housing for people with support needs.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate key organisational processes in managing ''safeguarding'' in relation to the independent sector, the local authority delivery arm for care.Design/methodology/approach -The methods employed were a telephone survey (one in five random sample of all residential and domiciliary providers in a local authority area) and follow up focus groups (n ¼ 2) of local authority staff and independent sector domiciliary and residential providers, in an action research framework. The survey was developed through expert members of a multi-agency Project Reference Group.Findings -Three survey domains (on ''information'', ''training'' and ''support and advice'') indicated high satisfaction, but ''experience of investigations''' low rating raised questions for further exploration and were followed up in detail in the focus groups selected from providers with experience of safeguarding alerts. A number of issues were raised for local policy and for safeguarding more broadly.Research limitations/implications -The paper only assesses one local authority area. A more balanced systems approach is needed to manage safeguarding.Originality/value -The involvement of the independent sector in safeguarding is under-researched and the development of processes that encourage a research culture and a systems approach are exemplified.

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SUPPORTING PEOPLE HAS GIVEN a new urgency to discussions of needs analysis, strategic planning and the user voice. This article explores a two‐year research project developed by Manchester City Council, Manchester Methodists Housing Association and the Housing Corporation, which aimed to design a model for identifying supported housing needs, based on a collaborative, interdepartmental approach to needs assessment.