Two local authorities have created a re-usable prototype for online services for people to request support during the coronavirus crisis.
Buckinghamshire County Council and the London Borough of Camden have created the code working with digital transformation consultancy FutureGov and made it available for other local authorities to use.
It is based on code originally written for Buckinghamshire’s tool for finding support in adult social care. Both councils have used it to develop a service for isolated people to request support for different purposes such as obtaining groceries and prescriptions and dog walking. They tick a relevant box, enter their postcode and are then directed to services close by.
The open source code has now been made available on GitHub for authorities to use, and FutureGov said it is available for support.
Emma McGowan, Camden’s head of digital transformation, and Ben Unsworth, head of digital at Buckinghamshire, said in a shared blogpost that the data has been brought together from customer experience and voluntary services across the boroughs.
“Applying open data principles to building the directory, this platform is available and open for re-use by the rest of local public services,” they said. “While specific to the current coronavirus-related needs, it can be easily adapted to all services in a local area.”
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
