Founded by a consultant clinical psychologist with specialist expertise about the mental health of vulnerable children, BERRI is a digital toolset that can identify and support children's psychological needs, across the domains of Behaviour, Emotional-wellbeing, Relationships, Risk and Indicators of underlying conditions. Used by social workers, foster carers and residential care staff, BERRI can identify the psychological needs of children in public care, generating advice about how to support that child, and tracking their progress over time. BERRI produces individualised reports explaining the child's needs and effective strategies to support them, as well as data insights for managers and commissioners. This is a giant step forward compared to paper measures that take clinician time to score and interpret. BERRI has already demonstrably saved millions of pounds for local authorities. An independent social and economic impact analysis shows a return of £108 to the public purse for every £1 spent on our services. However, we have a wider vision for how BERRI can help children and families. It is estimated that around 1 in 10 people across the UK are neurodivergent. Parents concerned about the learning, development and social communication skills of their child often find it hard to access professional input, with long waiting lists for diagnosis and limited support post-diagnosis (impacting on children's mental health and long-term outcomes). One domain of BERRI explores neurodevelopmental/psychiatric symptoms, however the goal of this project would be to extend the scope of BERRI to early screening of neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. developmental delay, autism spectrum conditions, ADHD, learning disability) for a younger population. Specifically we would develop a pre-school and primary version (aged 2-7) of the measure that asks more about developmental milestones and signs of neurodivergence, and less about adolescent risks/concerns. Early identification can ensure children's needs are understood and unlocks support from additional services, improving future outcomes. The Design Foundations Grant would allow us to research the needs of parents, and consider how we would develop and market a variant of BERRI to address the needs of families with neurodivergent children. We would consider what messaging and channels would reach parents, illustrate the value proposition, and encourage them to use our tools to support the needs of their child. We could test social media marketing strategies, develop a short animated explainer, consider the appropriateness of crowdfunding as a means to launch the new product and plan the next steps towards commercialisation.

Founded by a consultant clinical psychologist with specialist expertise about the mental health of vulnerable children, BERRI is a digital toolset that can identify and support children's psychological needs, across the domains of Behaviour, Emotional-wellbeing, Relationships, Risk and Indicators of underlying conditions. Used by social workers, foster carers and residential care staff, BERRI can identify the psychological needs of children in public care, generating advice about how to support that child, and tracking their progress over time. BERRI produces individualised reports explaining the child's needs and effective strategies to support them, as well as data insights for managers and commissioners. This is a giant step forward compared to paper measures that take clinician time to score and interpret. BERRI has already demonstrably saved millions of pounds for local authorities. An independent social and economic impact analysis shows a return of £108 to the public purse for every £1 spent on our services. However, we have a wider vision for how BERRI can help children and families. It is estimated that around 1 in 10 people across the UK are neurodivergent. Parents concerned about the learning, development and social communication skills of their child often find it hard to access professional input, with long waiting lists for diagnosis and limited support post-diagnosis (impacting on children's mental health and long-term outcomes). One domain of BERRI explores neurodevelopmental/psychiatric symptoms, however the goal of this project would be to extend the scope of BERRI to early screening of neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. developmental delay, autism spectrum conditions, ADHD, learning disability) for a younger population. Specifically we would develop a pre-school and primary version (aged 2-7) of the measure that asks more about developmental milestones and signs of neurodivergence, and less about adolescent risks/concerns. Early identification can ensure children's needs are understood and unlocks support from additional services, improving future outcomes. The Design Foundations Grant would allow us to research the needs of parents, and consider how we would develop and market a variant of BERRI to address the needs of families with neurodivergent children. We would consider what messaging and channels would reach parents, illustrate the value proposition, and encourage them to use our tools to support the needs of their child. We could test social media marketing strategies, develop a short animated explainer, consider the appropriateness of crowdfunding as a means to launch the new product and plan the next steps towards commercialisation.