Housing Information and Advice software What do we need to consider?

Where do we start from?  Existing software systems incompatible  Internet – poorly maintained  Intranet – poor relation  Incomplete electronic and paper manuals  Inconsistent staff training  No process planning  Partner agencies add complexity

What results from this?  Duplication of effort  Lack of credibility & sustainability  Staff confusion about ‘authenticity’  Silo-working mentality  No advice ‘backbone’ for staff  Poor quality of public advice

What do we want?  Good advice, delivered by confident, well supported staff  Quick access to information, for staff  Easy public access to Housing Options  Public should be encouraged to self-refer  All types of housing advice must be made available in varied formats from a single source

...but first  Decide how we want to help people  Do we need to insist on face-to-face contact?  Or does a lack of resources prohibit this?  How important is self-help and what are the dangers?  How much of what kind of advice, delivered in what way?

Practical considerations  How will we ensure advice is up to date?  Do we have the staff resources to maintain it?  If advice is given in different formats (e.g. Internet, leaflets, staff manuals) how do we keep them synchronised and... ...avoid inconsistency  Finally – not all LA’s have the same advice requirements– so how can we harmonise?

ELC Preferred Model Housing Information and Advice database Full Advice Procedure Manual for advisors and others Self-advising material at ELC Sites Self-advising material on ELC website Pdfs of topics for printing