SSKS blog

We aim to make SSKS an easy to use, interactive and indispensable part of the social services world and to help achieve this we’d like the views of those who use it.

A consultation workshop is scheduled for 4 August 2009 (10am until 2pm including lunch) in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow to look at and comment on plans for the next phase of Social Services Knowledge Scotland

The workshop will include members of the SSKS User Group but we would like to include anyone with an interest in SSKS.  To book a place please use the online booking form.  If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute please contact Susan Lindner, or add a comment to this posting.

Background to the workshop
SSKS is part of the strategy to realise the visions set out in Changing Lives for an informed workforce, better use of evidence and a culture of lifelong learning.

Launched just over a year ago it was the first attempt to provide social services professionals, users and carers with a single source of information (evidence, research, policy, advice, guidance) drawn from a variety of sources.

SSKS has been successful in harnassing technology to allow access to information not previously available, e.g. journal articles.  But it could be better.

Consumer services (Amazon, Google, BBC, Facebook, YouTube, flickr) have shown that web based services can be easy and fun to use while providing high standards of quality and reliability.  And we have plans to develop SSKS to make it more interactive and easier to use.

We can set up licenses for journal access and we have the technology to search many sources at once.  And we have the technology to set up discussion spaces, communities of practice etc. In short we can set up an infrastructure that enables conversations and the sharing of knowledge and experience.

But we need the views of users on what the priorities should be for harnessing the technology to make SSKS an easy to use, interactive and indispensable part of the social services world.

If you have vision or an opinion then we’d like to you to join in the workshop and help shape the future of SSKS.