Case Study - Children’s Commissioner (Scotland)
Customer
Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People (SCCYP) is responsible for promoting and safeguarding the rights of children and young people in Scotland. The post was created under the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2003. The Commissioner had been in post for just over a year and had recently moved to custom-designed premises when the project began.
Business Issues
The Commissioner had identified a need for a Management Information System to support the organisation in fulfilling the functions of her office. Her key requirements were a system to assist with:
- the provision of an effective enquiries and information requests service
- promotion of awareness of the rights of children and young people
- provision of feedback to providers of children’s services to promote best practice
- providing reports to Parliament and providing public accountability
CAS Solution
CAS worked closely with all SCCYP staff to understand each of their roles and document their requirements. The tailored application was then installed in Edinburgh, users trained and CAS support the application. The project was managed using PRINCE 2 methodology to ensure that it was delivered on time and within budget.
Benefits
- Efficient Enquiries and Information Requests Management allowing fast and efficient signposting to relevant organisations and, provision of information regarding procedures etc. Correspondence can be stored against each enquiry.
- Media Contacts Management for more effective communication e.g. publicity, interviews etc.
- Categorised Contacts Lists for improved targeting of publications and other information
- Performance reporting allows the organisation to report on key performance indicators (these are linked with their goals)
- Configurable system with flexible reporting to look at areas of interest e.g. child protection, bullying, asylum seekers, social inclusion etc.
"We required a system to support staff in carrying out their respective roles effectively e.g. the policy development team and the participation workers need to have knowledge of all the enquiries made to the office. This allows them to spot trends, highlight issues and drive future policy and participation work. The system means that we can swiftly and easily signpost people to the relevant and accessible services e.g. Social Work, Education and Voluntary Agencies. The ability to record contact with the media allows us to monitor publicity, identify ’spikes’ of media interest after ‘events’, spot trends and areas of interest, all of which focus our work internally. We were very pleased with the service provided by CAS and their willingness to adapt the product to meet our specific requirements." commented Elizabeth Foster, Chief Executive Officer at Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People.
