Testimonials

"We needed to understand poor return rates for routine outcome measures in children's mental health services (CAMHS), so that we could determine where to invest to improve.

Mace & Menter brough enthusiasm, expertise and a clear methodology to the project. They had a good understanding of the problem space and involved the service delivery team in the planning of the project. Their work left us with an evidence-based plan to improve ROMs effectiveness and reported outcomes. Reported paired outcome measures had even increased by the end of project.

I’d recommend Mace & Menter because recommendations were clear, relevant and achievable. Importantly, not all the proposed solutions were dependent on additional resources or funding."

"We needed help understanding what would help young people access mental health services. We also wanted to know how to support people while waiting and explore ways to improve experiences.

Mace & Menter’s rigorous research and user centred design process answered these questions and identified where to invest to have impact. The service they designed is simple and effective.

I’d highly recommend Mace & Menter, their pace of work, outputs and approach to collaboration is excellent with good team working. They are flexible, open to questions and encourage feedback."

"We needed to uncover how different user groups engage with our digital platforms to find the information they need. Mace & Menter's work provided us with evidence that confirms some things we already suspected and highlighted areas to improve.

They identified things we can fix easily and helped us rethink our approach to multiple platforms. They have a simple and effective approach. They bring knowledge and expertise in this field.

I'd definitely recommend Mace & Menter, they are organised, knowledgeable, understanding, patient, thorough and eloquently distil insight."

"Working with the superb team at Mace & Menter has been an absolute joy. They delivered a superb alpha phase of our elective care educational project that has helped us devise strategies around the long-term future of educational video content in the NHS.

The team is flexible, reliable and diligent and we appreciated the openness of their approach."

"It has been a brilliant experience working with Mace & Menter, I have learned so much and feel like we have made a giant leap forward in our autism work."

"Our ICS is delighted with the outcome of this project and the four digital products, once developed, will make a significant and sustainable contribution in supporting our young people with social communication challenges and their families and in our efforts to move the focus from diagnosis to a “needs led” approach"

"As an organisation we were looking to work in a person-centered or user-centered way but we lacked the knowledge, skills and understanding for how to translate an ambition into action and work more collaboratively with people in the development and design of our services. We were looking for an external partner to come on board and help upskill our teams and deliver demonstration projects to show how it can be done within the NHS.

There were two main reasons Mace & Menter stood out. Firstly they were the only agency to spend time discussing the brief and our needs with us and this was really reflected in the proposal. They understood where we were as an organisation and what we needed from a partner, demonstrating enthusiasm and also flexibility to work within our restricted budget and ambiguous timelines.

Secondly they challenged our assumptions of what we needed and so offered alternative solutions to deliver the training and upskilling via delivery of demonstration projects and on the job training and development.

We have delivered two projects together to date. The first project - North Somerset SEND Local Offer - has provided a depth of understanding about parent carers current experiences of using the Local Offer website and service that was previously missing and also engaged a variety of stakeholders in the potential solutions and concepts (delivered in form of sketches).

This has led to the team immediately implementing the feedback and considering how to transform service around user needs in the longer term.

The second project - NHS 111 First - has exceeded our expectations. The approach we took was quite innovative for us - testing a conceptual pathway or prototype service with people - and the interest and impact this research has had cannot be understated.

For the first time we engaged senior leaders, clinicians and operational staff around our insights and the potential implications and the insights have been taken on board at all levels around what we are trying to deliver in terms of an experience for people when using a new service and encouraging a change in behaviour. The recommendations have been carried into action in our communications, messaging and long-term developments for the service.

The best thing about working with Mace & Menter was the fact that the team really spend time immersing in the service or business challenge or need and work openly and collaboratively with stakeholders to plan, execute and act on the research and design.

This is so important when you are looking to transfer skills into the organisation and unlike other agencies or consultants we have worked in the past they do not exclude clients from the process or take specific parts of the project, work on it and then deliver a finished product.

They spend time to include you at each step of the way and work collaboratively where appropriate. In true partnership, they are also open to working in different ways, flexing budgets and making the work go further which is crucial when you are working with limited budget and looking to make a case for working in a different way.

I’d recommend Mace & Menter because service design and user-centred design are new concepts within the NHS but having delivered the two demonstration projects successfully I am now sure this is increasingly the way engagement and programme managers need to work to help bring the principles of co-production and co-design to life. We need to spread this way of working and mindset."

"We needed a detailed understanding of our customers and how we could support them, so we commissioned Mace & Menter to run a discovery and alpha.

Their understanding of our business, the pace of work, the clarity, the communication, the attention to detail and the team ethos - were all brilliant. The brutal simplicity of the approach and the clarity with which complex problems were addressed was superb.

We now have absolute clarity about how we take forward our digital infrastructure and what impact this will have on us and our customers. I can't envisage a business or situation where Mace & Menter wouldn't add significant value. Their work has created a seismic shift in the business."

"The prototype looks absolutely awesome and that’s down to the great work you guys have been doing. Your efforts and ideas are helping to create a platform which we can be proud of. You guys really helped kick off the user experience and frame the importance of great UX design as being integral to development."

"Mace & Menter are the most remarkable team to work with – collaborative and intelligent. We had developed innovative technology and they helped us define our product design strategy around the needs of the customers and take a research-led approach. Experts in service design and great fun to work with!"

"I’m not just blowing smoke when I say that working with Mace & Menter was the easiest experience I’ve ever had. They delivered and absolutely exceeded our expectations."

"We’re really good at building the system but Mace & Menter bring the ability to ensure we’re building the right system."

"Your research entirely turned around the future of the project and will inform our thinking for a long time to come. The service and the outcomes exceeded our expectations. The work has re-energised the project and given a clear focus for the future with our users at the forefront of everything we do."

"Mace & Menter provided an exemplary discovery and alpha project to NCSC. By having seasoned and independent researchers and designers assist us, we were able to canvas the community comprehensively in order to construct a long term development plan for the service. Mace & Menter are highly professional, reliable and rigorous in their methods."

"If you’re thinking of dramatic change, Mace & Menter provide the empirical basis on which to direct your resources appropriately. They’re very much a tool of due diligence for dramatic technological change in the work place. I’ve been thrilled with the work, they’ve been fantastic. I definitely felt a very great deal of trust."