Blueprint for a web-based service designed to orientate newly-arrived women to life in London

May 2007

Development of this demonstrator tool has been Funded by WestFocus

How to live in London

How does it feel?

You don’t understand the language

You don’t understand the system

You don’t understand the way of life

But you can’t go back…

How do others feel?

“When I arrived at the airport, I didn’t know where

to go and what to do.”

“Everything was strange and different. I felt like an alien. It was so hard to get used to it.”

“When we got to London, everything was different. I

couldn’t understand anything. The houses were

different.”

“I was scared that anything would mean my children and

I being sent back. I was always fearful. Always.

Always thinking: ‘They’re going to see me.’”

How does it feel?

I'm worried about my child

How does it feel?

I don't understand what the letters say

How does it feel?

I don’t know what help I am entitled to

Problems faced by the women

They are isolated, disorientated, and lack a ‘narrative’ of life in the UK

The way in which information and services are organised and delivered makes no sense to them

They are mistrustful of ‘officialdom’

Language is a barrier—they are anxious about their ability to understand and be understood

Solutions to these problems

Deliver information using stories grounded in lived experience

Use an intuitive, ‘issue-based’ structure to organise relevant information

Demonstrate deep understanding of their difficulties to build trust

Use a visual language to drive engagement and understanding

Principles underpinning development

A new way of delivering information and services Traditionally, information is grouped according to bureaucratic or administrative categories.

To access the information, one first has to know which category to look in.

This way of categorising information relies on people knowing the category to which the piece of information they are looking for belongs

“Is my issue a housing issue or a health issue?”

More recently, search technologies have advanced so that whilst information is still stored according to this logic, people are able to search for it much more intuitively using combinations of search terms.

However, whilst this mode of searching is more flexible, it still relies on people knowing how to use search terms and fields effectively

“Which search words will generate the result I want: ‘housing’ + ‘landlords’ + ‘I smell gas’?”

This tool recognises that people will not necessarily come to it knowing where to look or knowing how to look. People will come to the tool with a problem that needs to be solved. The tool aims to get people as quickly as possible to information that can help them.

Information is organised into intuitive, accessible categories that reflect the things that matter to the target group.

Information is presented within stories that reflect aspects of people’s real lives and with which they can identify and engage

This joined-up approach to categorising information enables people to have useful serendipitous encounters with information, following on from their initial request

“I found the answer to my question about my landlord, and then I saw this bit about home security and how to make my flat safe…”

Traditional categories Categorisation based on real-life issues

A new way of delivering information and services

Looking after your children

Understanding paperwork

Knowing your rights

Caring for yourself

Staying safe

Managing money

Health

Housing

Crime

Education

Leisure

Transport

Finances

What to do if you are ill

Problem landlords

Reporting a crime

School meals

Green spaces

Travelling at night

Help with debt

Green spaces

Help with debt

Reporting a crime

Help with debt

Women who are accessing community groups or ESOL classes

Women who are in contact with others who sometimes help them

Women who are newly arrived and isolated and who have no access to – or are indeed shunned by – their community. As well as community-based organisations themselves.

These women may be reasonably well-served by services. There is an opportunity for the tool to develop IT skills and build confidence in approaching services.

These women may not be well-served by services. The tool provides an opportunity for building confidence in approaching services, albeit with assistance from someone who has knowledge of the tool and IT skills.

The tool could offer a pre-text to a conversation if interpreters are not to hand. The tool could help services in signposting to local services.

Reaching the socially excluded

Potential audiences Engagement approach

Benefits for the women

• Provides orientation to life in London

• Builds confidence

• Develops language skills

• Builds familiarity with ICT

• Offers opportunities to become involved in and feel part of something

• Develops peer networks

Benefits for service providers

• Creates a pretext for a conversation and facilitates interaction with vulnerable women

• Supports communication with clients for whom English is not the first language

• Offers a context in which women can familiarise themselves with ICT and develop relevant skills

• Inexpensive means of publicising existing services and driving uptake

Benefits for London

• Builds engagement and inter-community understanding

• Supports community integration and social inclusion

• Provides standardised ‘welcome pack’ information

• Effective information channel for communicating with socially excluded communities

Benefits of this approach