Improving outcomes for vulnerable children through better
information sharingNicola Underdown
Head of Engagement
Who we are• Neutrally positioned between central government and local public
services
• Actively working with local places to identify their information sharing issues, co-design and share solutions
Our vision is to improve service delivery and outcomes for people as a direct result of improved
information sharing between partner agencies.
Governance(legal)
Technology(systems)
Behaviour(people)All three needed to
solve information sharing challenges
Three lenses on information sharing
Two questions:
1) Why does information sharing “go wrong”?
2) What have been the previous responses to the problem?
Technology(systems)
Cultural(people)
Governance(legal)
“You can’t share that – it’s data protection”
“Legally we’re not allowed to share that”
Presenting issue: Legal
Resolution: LegalAdditional legislation
Publication of (contradictory?) guidance
Necessary… but not sufficient.
Cultural(people)
Governance(legal)
Technology(systems)
“Systems don’t talk to one another”
“If only we were all on the same system”
Presenting issue: Technology
Resolution: TechnologicalBuild a big database
Make systems interoperable
Not sufficient… not necessary (?)
Governance(legal)
Technology(systems)
“Information sharing varies across the country”
Presenting issue: Inconsistency
Resolution: SystematiseIntroduce a MASH
One size doesn’t fit all
Cultural(people)
Governance(legal)
Technology(systems)
“Practitioners lack confidence”“There’s a lack of trust between partners”
“I’m not sure what you want to do with that data”“I don’t have the resource to clean the data / extract and send the data…”
Presenting issue: BehaviourCultural(people)
Information sharing is part of a system – behaviour does not exist in a vacuum, but is a response to the system (and also acts on the system)
So to address information sharing behaviour, you need to look for points of leverage where a small change can make a big difference (aggregate value)
In practical terms…
• Embed information sharing activity into the REAL work• Involve practitioners in the design process – ask “what
information do you need?”• Reduce the process to the minimum necessary• Find a coalition of the willing to try something new• Understand the organisational implications of doing
something new• Evaluate your impact• Find champions (at all levels) • Tell stories
Another problem I’m thinking about!
• Humans as rational actors…• But the evidence is that unconscious barriers to
information sharing exist (new idea for information sharing!)
• How do we build information sharing interventions which make the most of our mental shortcuts or address those problems?