Lifeboard

We have developed an online digital support tool for the Life team and the families they support to interact in new ways. This is not a complex system to use, think Facebook - families post how they feel, what's on their minds and their frustrations, as do Life team members.

Families can track and see their own progress. They can keep a diary, upload photos and video, and use a range of applications, e.g. to set their own goals.

For Life team members, the Lifeboard also provides a simple way of administering the programme. They avoid spending 80% of their time filling out forms. They can track a narrative of change, see easily how families' capabilities are growing over time, and where they are being held back. If they can see how people are changing, they can figure out how to allocate resources, and this brings great efficiencies.

Because it is a shared platform between families and team members, the Lifeboard starts to break down the traditional barriers between people and professionals. Families themselves keep their own records, for example, and comment on what team members write. Instead of the team 'reporting', the families start to take ownership of what is recorded.