SSKS blog

Socitm, a membership association for ICT professionals working in local authorities , and the public and third sectors, is holding its one-day national conference on 22 April at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel in the West Midlands.

The conference has been designed to offer a range of organisations experiences in pioneering new ways of approaching public service delivery. Morning keynote sessions will encompass vision, challenge and leading practice. Speakers will focus on painful and fundamental choices that lie ahead and share ideas for dealing with them. Four facilitated afternoon workshops will include: The council of the future; working with the third sector as a delivery agent; clouds on the horizon – challenges for delivery managers; and better customer experience – lower cost.

For further information visit the Socitm website.

The Directory of Social Change has published an analysis of its survey on the use of online social networking tools in working practice.

There were 301 responses, including 69 written comments. The responses are varied and thought provoking.

A DSC perspective on the results is also available.

Sharing Knowledge, Improving Practice, Changing Lives, an ambitious knowledge management strategy and action plan for social services in Scotland launched yesterday by the Minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram MSP.

Over 100 delegates gathered at the conference to consider the key role that knowledge management will play in underpinning the goals of Changing Lives in the future delivery of social services.

The Minister highlighted the strategy vision which is to share knowledge to equip and empower staff, service users and carers, to improve service outcomes and discussed the important role for the strategy in delivering effective outcomes for people who use services and their carers.  Launching the strategy, the Minister said,

“”This launch marks an important step forward for the sector – one which will make a significant contribution to the Scottish Government’s ambition for the delivery of high quality social services for vulnerable people across Scotland.  It will ensure services that are flexible to meet their changing needs and will promote collaboration with partners in other services to ensure service users and their carers get the right sort of co-ordinated help when they need it.

“The recent SWIA report on social work services in Scotland showed that the majority of people who use services and their carers value them and think they have made a positive difference to their lives.  This will help us build on that.” 

Alison Petch, Director of the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) echoed these comments  emphasizing that,

“…this strategy has two core aims; to give the workforce and the people they support competence by giving them the tools and skills to become familiar with what works, and also giving them confidence in what they are doing.”

Ann Wales, Programme Director for Knowledge Management, NHS Education for Scotland (NES), outlined the background to the strategy, stating that “access to knowledge has the power to transform working practices and transform the lives of people we support.”

She also noted some of the key outputs of the strategy, which include:

• a network of organisations known as the Managed Knowledge Network (MKN),
• a programme of information literacy used to develop skills in accessing, sharing and using knowledge
• and the Social Services Knowledge Scotland website (www.ssks.org.uk) which provides access to a range of information, learning resources and tools for sharing knowledge.

Harriet Dempster, President of the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW) recognised the importance of these outputs, stating that, “We should be looking at the SSKS site as a gateway, a treasure trove, an Aladdin’s cave of information,”

Representatives from South Lanarkshire Council, the Voluntary Sector Social Services Workforce Unit and Private Care Sector Workforce Initiative rounded off the day by delivering individual presentations on the practical uses of knowledge management in their own organizations – and how this can be used by others.

Download your copy of Sharing Knowledge, Improving Practice, Changing Lives here.

We are pleased to present the knowledge management strategy for social services.

The Strategy and Action Plan – Sharing Knowledge, Improving Practice,
Changing Lives -has been developed by NES (NHS Education Scotland) and
IRISS (Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services). It responds to
the Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review, Changing Lives, which set
out a future vision for future social services in which staff, people who use
services and carers are using different sources of knowledge as an integral part of everyday practice.

View or download the summary strategy here.

Request a hard copy

The Scottish Government has announced the launch of a new service for older people.

Care Information Scotland (CIS) offers a single point of information – through one phone number and web address – on the care available for older people throughout the country. It offers detailed information for older people and their families on the range of community care services available from local authorities, the private and voluntary sector.

IRISS is inviting proposals from those interested in undertaking a review of the evidence relevant to two of the National Indicators.

Please visit the IRISS website for further details. The closing date for receipt of proposals is the 23rd March 2010.