The initiative aims to streamline the process of obtaining suitable local accommodation for people with complex health and social care needs, therefore providing an alternative to out-of-county residential placements or unnecessarily extended stays in hospital .  People take on a tenancy in a housing association property and receive care and support in their own home. 

Miller Research conducted a two-year formative evaluation of IOP, focusing on barriers to collaboration and delivery and highlighting what works, and in what circumstances, via knowledge-exchange workshops amongst partners, presentations and research reports.

The impact evaluation has included longitudinal case studies of individual service users, as well as a cost benefit analysis of this new way of working, using historical data on hospital re-admissions and residential placement costs, along with the current costs for IOP schemes.