Case study
Connect Torfaen: Reviewing an online platform for promoting more resilient, thriving communities
“
Basis brought a new, fresh, user focused approach to the review. The team were enthusiastic, efficient, responsive and came with lots of personality, keeping the sessions interesting and engaging”.
Bethan McPherson, Head of Communities and Renewal, Torfaen County Borough Council
Why we helped
Connect Torfaen is a digital platform designed to strengthen the Torfaen community by meaningfully connecting residents to activities and services in their area.
Although Connect Torfaen has been around since 2021, Torfaen County Borough Council and its partners, the Torfaen Voluntary Alliance (TVA) and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, believed it had not yet realised its full potential as an online community hub.
The partners saw an opportunity to invest further in the platform to support the borough’s Community and Wellbeing Strategy. They believed it could provide the infrastructure needed to improve early intervention and prevention and foster ‘whole system delivery’ across community partners. Before making that decision they wanted to understand if the platform was fit for purpose.
To that end, we were brought in to work with the partners, residents and community organisations to identify whether the platform could serve their emerging needs and meet the broader aims of achieving a healthier, more resilient Torfaen.
Our approach to the review
We knew we would be learning constantly throughout the project and thought an agile approach would help us to:
In practice, this involved putting in place a two-week sprint cycle, having regular stand-ups with the core team doing the work as well as biweekly show and tells providing progress updates to a wider group of stakeholders.
In addition to a consistent working rhythm, we organised larger workshops at key moments during the project to do more intensive work in collaboration with the partners.
"Working in an agile way meant that there weren't any surprises since we were involved all the way through."
- James Vale, Head of Customer, Digital and ICT Services, Torfaen County Borough Council
How we conducted the research
To carry out our review in a holistic way and not only evaluate the Connect platform itself but the larger context around it, we needed to be comprehensive in our research approach.
This meant surveying and interviewing a variety of user and non-user groups of residents and community organisations. We also talked to key stakeholders from the partnership, held discussions with the platform provider, Made Open, and interviewed other localities both in Wales and England that use the ‘Connect’ platform. All of this in addition to desk research and a review of existing data and materials provided by the partners.
One innovative approach we tested was to train staff from the Council and TVA to conduct user research themselves. This meant we were able to reach a much broader sample of residents and cover every single postcode in the borough.
By combining multiple approaches we were able to gather a rich array of data from residents, community organisations and key stakeholders. We were also able to illustrate how another locality in a similar position to Torfaen was able to improve adoption of their Connect platform and make it a meaningful tool for community engagement.
"It was also great to be a part of the resident interviews and a brilliant way to engage with members of the public, building trust, collaboration and valuable insights"
- Natasha Wright, Connecting Torfaen Engagement and Data Officer, Torfaen Voluntary Alliance
Collaborative sense making and prioritisation
At this point in the project, we had a mountain of data. Rather than review the information and put our findings in a slide presentation, we opted to synthesise the data in an accessible format on a Miro board. In doing so, we were able to make sense of the research alongside the partners so that everyone was on the same page about the needs of residents and community organisations.
After collaboratively making sense of the data we defined the challenges and opportunities together so we knew what was most important to prioritise and could start brainstorming potential solutions to meet those challenges.
"Working with Basis provided us with an external perspective that allowed us to fully appreciate the platform's potential and rebuild important partnerships. Additionally, we had the opportunity to explore and implement some innovative visionary tools that were entirely new to me."
- Aimi Morris, Operational Executive Officer, Torfaen Voluntary Alliance
What we discovered
Overall, we found there was a clear need for the platform expressed by residents, community organisations and key stakeholders. However, to increase its use several things need to happen:
To ensure these recommendations could be acted upon we worked with the team to develop an action plan with immediate next steps and guidance on establishing an agile working rhythm to maintain momentum.
While there is a lot of work still ahead for the partners to realise their vision for what Connect Torfaen can be, this piece of work has given the team validation that the platform is a worthwhile investment and has provided a tangible plan of action for how to make that vision a reality.
Going through this work in an agile, collaborative way has also helped build momentum and galvanise the partners to work more closely together to drive this work forward.
We plan to update this case study as our partners in Torfaen put this plan into action and we learn more about its impact over time.
You too can deliver faster outcomes with lasting results
Secure your place to become an Agile Master by the Public Service Transformation Academy. Or get in touch by emailing us on comms@basis.co.uk