SSKS blog

As part of IRISS’ ongoing commitment to support the social services workforce to access the information and evidence they need for practice, it is carrying out a short survey about how staff currently locate evidence and what can help to make that process easier.

Complete the survey and be in with a chance to win £30 of Amazon vouchers.

Socitm, a professional organisation that represents managers in local government who are responsible for ICT policy, offers networking and peer support, professional development, and access to research and consultancy on a wide range of policy and technology issues.

The organisation also concerns itself with the topical, and somewhat contentious, issue of blocking and restriction of access to social media websites by local authorities, and promotes the use of social media tools by actively encouraging ICT and related professionals to embrace them.

The launch of ‘Sharing Knowledge, Improving Practice, Changing Lives‘, the Knowledge Management Strategy for Scotland’s Social Services will take place on the morning of 17th March in the South Hall Complex, The University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh.

At the launch, representatives from local authority, voluntary and private sectors will describe how the new knowledge management tools and skills are helping, in a very practical way, to deliver care and support in their organisations. The launch will highlight how you can get involved in using these knowledge services to embed the use of knowledge at the heart of your organisation.

If you would like to book a place at the event, please enter your details into the online booking form

View the full programme for the event

We look forward to seeing you there.

A consultation paper, National Strategy for Self-directed Support in Scotland, has been published to help take forward the personalisation of health and social care services in Scotland.

This strategy responds to increasing interest in reshaping care and support in Scotland. It aims to set out and drive a cultural shift around the delivery of care and support that views people as equal citizens with rights and responsibilities. It recognises that for consumers and providers alike, tighter financial pressures, and demographic changes mean that improved outcomes cannot be delivered with more of the same.

Responses to the consultation paper should be submitted by 7 May 2010.

IRISS has commissioned Focused on Learning Ltd to write a report highlighting the kinds of problems encountered by public sector employees when trying to use social media and/or collaborative websites built on platforms such as Ning, YouTube, Flickr and Facebook.

We would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to answer some questions about your experiences and your organisational attitudes.

The survey can be accessed at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5JC5L69

It should take you no more than 5 minutes to complete, and your responses will be very useful in informing the final report.

Feel free to send the link on to any colleagues that may be interested in this survey/report.

The report will be published by IRISS in April.

A one-day conference entitled Communication Skills for the TwentyTens: Changing Literacies for a Successful Scotland, will be held on Friday 5th March at the Glasgow Metropolitan College.

Organised by the Glasgow Metropolitan College and the Media Literacy in Scotland Network, the event will be of interest to those involved in the development of skills for work, and will focus on the transition between school/college and work.

The conference is free of charge. For further information or to book a place, please email Clare Mack at Ofcom: claire.mack@ofcom.org.uk.

Dave Briggs of the Learning Pool has produced a useful guide to Twitter for people working in the public sector. In simple, plain English the guide explains what Twitter is, why its worth using and how to get started.
http://www.learningpool.com/resources/pdf/twitterguide.pdf

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS) has also produced a useful and short guide to using social media, including what steps to take if your authority’s firewall prevents access.
http://www.slainte.org.uk/slainte2/index.html