This project planned to bridge the gap between public sector services and the wider community. The aim of the platform is to allow multiple professionals to refer individuals in-need, and alert volunteers that are able to help via a smartphone notification.
For this Beta, the team worked hard on the completion of two key areas in Spring 2022. First was the finalisation of its architecture and approach on triaging requests for support, whether they should be handled by primary care: general practitioners; secondary care: NHS and council support; or to local volunteer groups: Magpies in the Community, Good Gym and others. This was essential in ensuring requests were received correctly.
The second was familiarising participants with the app and its software, but also to test it to the point of breaking. This was crucial for establishing trust and confidence in the platform.
Following a thorough testing process, the project successfully went live and started serving its community in July 2022.