Progress so far 2014/15 1
Uncovering barriers
to information sharing
Progress so far 2014/15
2 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
Introduction from the Chair
There is no doubt that the transformation of public services is a
fundamentally important factor for saving money and improving
outcomes for people. Across the country we are seeing local
places take a more innovative approach to service delivery, from
the alignment of policing and mental health practitioners, to the
integration of health and social care. Information sharing is at
the heart of this transformation. The inception of the Centre of
Excellence for Information Sharing in October 2014 was a step on
the road to support service transformation, and an acknowledgement by its funding
partners of their commitment to ensure better outcomes for service users through
more integrated services.
It is just six months since the Centre’s formation. Already barriers have been identified at both a national and local
level, across our policy areas. Learning is now being shared through case studies, blogs, articles and tools. This will
help to influence and shape information sharing approaches in local places and within national policy.
This report has been designed to provide a flavour of that work, and an insight into some of the emerging themes.
The value of information sharing at this point in time cannot be measured simply in terms of financial costs and
savings. Recent reports, such as responding to child sexual exploitation,demonstrates the sad cost of not getting
information sharing right. One of the greatest challenges is creating the time and space for staff to explore what
impedes good information sharing and how to resolve this. The Centre’s work is highlighting the positive impact this
has on the transformation of public services.
This is why I hope that the Centre continues to develop and flourish. Its work – as a catalyst for cultural change
around information sharing – will not be completed over night. The learning will enable policy makers and localities
alike to take a more pragmatic and informed approach, realise rewards sooner, release pressure on budgets and
improve outcomes for service users.
I am also proud that the Centre is itself such a powerful, albeit relatively informal, collaboration between a number
of Local Authorities and Government Departments. Long may that continue.
Mark Fisher
Director, Government Innovation Group and Office for Civil Society
Chair, Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing Steering Group
Progress so far 2014/15 3
Introduction
Information sharing is changing across public service delivery.
All too often, in the past, the response to a serious case review
has been to implement a technological solution, with little
attention paid to how organisations actually work together,
what information they need to share, and how they change their
approach to supporting the vulnerable. The wrong focus can create
a barrier from the outset.
The local places we support are focussing on the integration of services to ensure better outcomes for users.
Although many are in the early stage of their information sharing journeys, those that began by looking at the
relationship between the organisations involved in the service transformation from the outset, are moving towards
solutions more quickly. Sitting alongside this approach, we find that strong leadership empowers staff to challenge
the norm, while simultaneously removing the fear of taking more educated risks when tackling barriers.
Our ethos is to work with local places that are ready to work with us – those who are willing to learn from across
the range of policy areas. Feedback from these local places demonstrates that they value our approach and our
ability to span the boundaries between local places and national policy makers – a viewpoint that we have also
heard from the policy leads we work with.
Our way of working is unique. We are a national organisation funded by multiple government departments. We
work in local areas while retaining good lines of communication with our funding partners. We have a mixture
of staff on fixed term contracts and secondments, and aim to be a good employer with a strong focus on staff
development and a culture of collaborative working – both internally and with our partners. We are hosted by
Leicestershire County Council, to whom I would like to extend my gratitude for their continued support of this
innovative model.
We are in a privileged position and recognise that it is this which enables us to provide an impartial point of view,
affecting change at all levels and bringing about sustainable transformation. But, we need this role to continue so
information sharing becomes more than a shift in language – rather, a total shift in the working practices of public
service providers.
Stephen Curtis
Director, Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
“It is vital the Centre’s
work continues.”
4 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
Geographical focus
The Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing is funded by the Home Office (HO),
the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Communities and
Local Government (DCLG) and the Department of Health (DoH).
Our work focusses on overcoming
information sharing barriers in the
transformation of services covering:
Ending Gang and Youth Violence
Domestic abuse
Mental health and policing
Up & coming
The role of Multi Agency Safeguarding
Hubs (MASH) in information sharing
Health and social care integration
Welfare reform
Working with
This map details the local places
where our skilled team of Engagement
Managers are currently working to
uncover and challenge information
sharing barriers. It also displays the local
areas where we are exploring or have
recently secured opportunities to work.
Up & coming
Blackpool
Up & coming
Troubled families
Lincolnshire
Staffordshire
Working with
South Devon
& Torbay
Up & coming
London
Boroughs
Central
London
Forward
Up & coming
Surrey
Working with
Up & coming
Up & coming
Bath & North
East Somerset
Dorset
Cornwall
Leicestershire
Up & coming
Working with
Working with
Working with
Sandwell
Nottingham
City North
Margate
Progress so far 2014/15 5
Uncovering information sharing
barriers in local places
Our approach
We co-locate our team of Engagement Managers in local places so that they can work intensively with them to
uncover and challenge the barriers that are preventing effective information sharing in service transformation.
Through conversations and working groups, each Engagement Manager seeks to understand what the local place
is trying to achieve, then reflects the learning back to partners. This approach supports key players to identify what
is limiting their approach and to develop solutions that will unblock the flow of information.
Learning is then shared through our website in the form of case studies, blog posts and tools. It is also promoted
through a wide range of channels – from media and newsletters to speaking opportunities at national events and
facilitation of local workshops.
Our current focus
Nottingham City North
Rebalancing the Outer Estates programme is seeking to improve prospects for people living in the North
of the City of Nottingham.
The programme aims to tackle multiple social and economic issues by bringing together voluntary, public and
private sector partners to develop a more integrated approach, and to establish a culture that focusses on local
people being in work.
Our role: Information sharing is seen as the key to supporting multiple agencies in working together and is being
built into the fabric of the programme from its inception. Early interactions with partners have highlighted the
following focus for our work:
• Support conversations between the programme and the Department for Work and Pensions to enable the
development of economic and skills schemes;
• Develop good information sharing practice between education, health and other local partners to increase
attendance and support safeguarding in schools;
• Support the delivery of a project for young people that empowers its participants to take charge of their
information and its transfer between agencies;
• Capture and share learning from a project that will
bring together multiple agencies to tackle domestic
violence in the Aspley area – supporting agencies
involved to identify and tackle the information sharing
challenges that arise.
“We value being supported and
challenged, rather than being
audited and inspected.”
Feedback from local place
evaluation undertaken in 2015.
6 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
Surrey
Responding to the Mental Health Crisis Care
Concordat, Surrey is working to ensure people
get the help they need when they are in mental
health crisis. They are doing this through the
implementation of a Single Point of Access
– where users can access support through
a central place or telephone number – and
Safe Havens for people to access when feeling
vulnerable.
Working in Surrey
The challenge: Surrey identified that variation of
awareness and understanding among partners of the
information sharing challenges could be an issue in
developing the programme and establishing robust
information sharing approaches. Through conversations, the Centre identified there was a
strong commitment to the project, but the understanding
around the barriers and enablers for information
sharing were less well developed.
Our role: The programme will be supported by
a single spine of information – bringing together
knowledge and data from partners, including
the police and mental health workers. Surrey
recognises that the implementation of this is far
greater than putting in place a database and has
been working with the Centre to explore the type
of culture needed to make this work.
The approach: An initial workshop was organised by the
Centre for key partners to develop a shared understanding
of the information sharing issues that needed considering
when scoping a design for an element of the new service.
The workshop focussed thinking on what a new service
might look like; understanding what service users would
expect from it; and what needed to be put in place to
support information sharing to deliver the service.
Working with the Centre, Surrey has identified the
need to engage with a wider range of partners to
ensure the service’s successful implementation
and has developed a six month plan for how the
Centre can support them in facilitating these
conversations. A four-month pilot, which includes
the co-location of a mental health worker in the
police contact centre, will provide learning to
inform the wider programme’s roll out.
The outcome: This meeting opened up conversations
between partners and Surrey which has continued through
their regular programme meetings and has contributed to
strengthening the positive working relationship. Surrey is
now looking at how information sharing is working in their
pilot work, including the co-location of mental health and
police staff and the development of a community based
place of safety for those in mental health crisis.
Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES)
B&NES is taking a holistic approach to transformation and service delivery through early intervention in support
of better safeguarding, outcomes for troubled families, employment and community health services. The aim is to
support local people before crisis point and reduce the cost of services in the long term.
The transformation programme focusses on three key areas: developing a Multi-Agency Intelligence Sharing Hub
which will enable partners to share information about low-level risk situations more effectively; developing Your Care
Your Way which is a patient-centred, integrated care approach, designed by residents and community services that will
go live from 2017; and a joint project between the Connecting Families and customer service teams to provide a more
joined-up approach to supporting individuals and families claiming welfare support, through multi-agency working.
Our role: With information sharing playing an integral role, B&NES has recognised the need to adopt a new culture
across its workforce in order to share effectively and appropriately. The Centre is supporting B&NES to create the
skills and capacity to bring this to fruition, providing guidance and evidence, facilitating conversations between
partners, including GPs and health professionals, and bridging conversations with national organisations, such as
DWP, to enable potential blockages to be addressed early into the programme’s development.
Progress so far 2014/15 7
Dorset
Dorset is developing an integrated approach to health and social care through its programme, Better Together.
The programme focusses on delivering improved health and social care services through implementing a
person-centred, outcome-focussed, preventative, co-ordinated care model.
Our role: The programme involves a complex group of partners that are committed to its success. Each partner
has different systems in place for collecting and storing information so an information sharing charter is being
developed by them. However, a critical barrier to its implementation is partner engagement and communication.
Dorset is currently working with the Centre to develop a more inclusive approach to internal engagement
and communication to ensure a balance across the partnership, with each practitioner taking ownership and
responsibility for the programme’s success.
Working in Dorset
The challenge: Dorset is developing a new information sharing charter that outlines how partners will share
information to support the delivery of the Better Together programme. The charter is being developed with the
support of the information governance teams from eight of the partner organisations, but it was recognised that
the charter alone will not solve the information sharing challenges for the programme.
The approach: The design of the charter provided an excellent reflection point in the programme and the Centre
used this opportunity to bring together the programme board to discuss what successful information sharing
looks like, internally and externally, through an intensive workshop.
The outcome: The workshop gave programme board members the chance to assess who within their
organisations needed to be involved in the roll out of the charter. They recognised that principles needed
to be reflected equally across internal communications, skills development and recruitment to ensure a
sufficient culture of sharing is adopted. They also identified the role they play in ensuring this within their
own organisations and that learning is to be shared with project leads across the programme
South Devon and Torbay
South Devon and Torbay is a Health and Social Care Pioneer area. Their programme – Joined Up – focusses on
integrating health and social care to create lasting changes to the health and wellbeing of residents.
Our role: Bringing together partners from different services to provide a more person-centred approach to care
requires consistent and appropriate sharing of information. In South Devon and Torbay partners are keen to make
this happen, but a fear of getting it wrong is limiting progress.
The Centre is helping to develop a strong and supportive
culture of sharing, to complement their robust information
sharing agreements. A trial ran in January to test
information sharing documentation and outcomes are
now feeding into the wider programme.
“We welcome the personal
approach and a focus on
relationships, rather than lots
of reports and documentation.”
Feedback from local place
evaluation undertaken in 2015.
8 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
Local places have reported that
they find it beneficial to receive
key messages, via the Centre’s
engagement, that it is important
to resolve cultural barriers to
information sharing.
Cornwall
As a Health and Social Care Pioneer area, Cornwall is developing a new approach to the way people and services
think about health and social care. The programme includes the integration of Age UK volunteers into the hospital
discharge process to support patients’ successful return back into the community, reducing the number of patients
who need to be readmitted back to hospital.
So far, Cornwall has successfully engaged with partners and residents to inform the development and delivery of
this new approach. Driving this forward is strong leadership, governance and influence, and the Centre is working on
case studies to capture the approach to share widely across its networks. The Centre is also working with Cornwall
to develop capacity to support the next phase of its programme, which looks at linking IT across the partnership.
Partnership working to break down barriers
The Centre is working in partnership with a wide range of organisations, from the Public Service Transformation
Network through to the Information Governance Alliance, to provide a seamless approach to supporting local places
transform their public services through integration and information sharing.
The challenge: A local place is developing a collaborative approach to reduce the number of callers to blue
light services. By identifying high-volume callers and using a robust process of monitoring, assessment,
information sharing and relevant service referrals, it aims to provide users with the support they needed
without burdening an already overstretched service.
The project aimed to include the sharing of frequent caller’s telephone numbers between emergency services,
enabling better signposting. However, as more details of the process were planned one of the partners called a
halt to further development as a Caldicott Guardian raised concerns that telephone numbers were personally
identifiable and the project’s approach potentially breached the Data Protection Act.
The solution: The Centre contacted the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on behalf of the local place
which wished to remain anonymous. The ICO clarified the law and provided clear guidance, which included the
development of a Privacy Impact Assessment, which would enable partners to have critical conversations to
collectively identify, understand and manage the privacy risks of the project appropriately.
The result: Partners found the guidance and tool invaluable and it meant that, despite concerns over capacity,
the issue was overcome. The project is now back on track.
Progress so far 2014/15 9
Emerging locations
We are developing relationships with a number of new locations to support them with their information sharing
journeys.
Location
Transformation focus
Centre of Excellence involvement
Margate
Ending Gang and Youth Violence
Looking at challenges around risk in
information sharing.
Welfare Reform –
Nottingham City
North and London
Boroughs
As recipients of Transformation Challenge
Award funding, these areas are developing
their approach for supporting people back
to work and improve the life and health
chances of young people.
The Centre will be providing opportunities
to share knowledge and create an
information sharing peer network.
Central London
Forward
Welfare reform – the ESF funded Working
Capital programme seeks to support
4,000 central London residents that claim
Employment Support Allowance to find
long-term employment after leaving the
National Work Programme.
The Centre hosted a workshop in March
2015 to identify the information sharing
issues. Further workshops are planned
for 2015.
MASH – B&NES,
Birmingham, Camden,
Leicestershire,
Lincolnshire,
Staffordshire,
Sandwell and London
Councils
These areas have developed and are
developing Multi Agency Sharing Hubs.
Based on findings from the Home
Office’s Multi Agency Working and
Information Sharing Project report,
the Centre is running a workshop for
these areas to learn from one another,
develop a peer-to-peer support network
and investigate the role of information
sharing in MASH.
Blackpool
Through its Transience Programme,
Blackpool is supporting vulnerable
people into healthy, sustainable lifestyles;
its Domestic Abuse Pathway is looking
to re-model Blackpool’s domestic
abuse services to focus on prevention;
and its Positive Transitions Pathway
is developing new pathways to reduce
youth homelessness.
The Centre hosted a workshop in
March 2015 to identify information
sharing issues within the Transience
Programme. Together with the Public
Service Transformation Network and New
Economy, further workshops around this
programme and also Positive Transitions
are being held in April 2015.
Local places have reported that they feel valued and
supported when the Centre deploys a team member
to work with them.
10 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
Policy focus:
Ending Gang and Youth Violence
Our approach
In February 2015, the Centre brought a number of local places together, including Waltham Forest,
Nottinghamshire and Margate, to discuss the challenges they faced and explore some of the information
sharing issues affecting them in tackling gang and youth violence.
The one-day workshop, which was run in partnership with the Early Intervention Foundation and the
cross-government Ending Gang and Youth Violence Programme, was attended by 30 professionals from
a range of agencies, including the police, Jobcentre Plus, local councils and youth service providers.
Key findings
Participants at the event highlighted that, although many of the issues that cause young people to become
involved in gang and youth violence can be specific to the locality, many of the information sharing barriers
they face when joining up services to resolve them, are similar. These include:
The management and mitigation of risk by developing as full and clear a picture as possible of a situation;
The overreliance on police data, with more work needed to record information from more diverse sources;
A disparity between organisations in taking responsibility to share information about situations;
The role of education and childrens’ services in sharing information;
A desire for health to share information about vulnerable people, particularly when placing them in a
childrens’ home or bringing an ex-offender back into the community.
Next steps
Findings from the event are now being shared through the Centre’s channels and the Centre is exploring how it will
work with Margate more intensively.
Communication teams of funders,
partners and stakeholders have told us
they find great value in the information
sharing stories and evidence we are
collecting of real life experiences.
Progress so far 2014/15 11
National conversations
Behind the scenes, the Centre’s work is providing insight from local places and team
knowledge to inform national conversations around information sharing in public
service transformation.
November 2014
The independent Service Transformation Challenge Panel launch – Bolder, Braver, Better: why we
need local deals to save public services.
»Provided case study from Melton and general evidence of overcoming cultural barriers to
information sharing. Centre highlighted as a key player in the Government response to
recommendations.
December 2014
Cabinet Office data sharing proposal for legislation
»Supported development of proposal, recommending giving broader power rather than specific
legal gateways to information sharing.
January 2015
Better Business Compliance Information Sharing event
»Provided guidance on information sharing and led a presentation on findings from local places.
January 2015
Information Sharing: HMG advice for professionals providing safeguarding services to vulnerable
children, young people, parents and carers.
»Provided comments on guidance.
January 2015
DCLG Data Sharing Discovery Day
»Led workshops for participants to understand own barriers to information sharing and
participated in panel.
January 2015
Ending Gangs and Youth Violence workshop
»Ran workshop to bring local places together to discuss challenges.
12 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
February 2015
Public Service Transformation Summit
»Supported conference and raised profile of Centre with participants.
March 2015
Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation – Government response to Rotherham and information
sharing letter to local places
»Provided supportive communications to reinforce messages to local places
»Advised on content of letter to local places
»Centre mentioned positively in the response.
March 2015
Information Governance Oversight Group Information Sharing Summit
»Supported the development of the event, facilitated workshops and helped disseminate
learning.
March 2015
Better Care Fund
»Supporting the trial of the Better Care Exchange and ‘how to’ guidance.
March 2015
Ending Gangs and Youth Violence annual report
»Findings from January workshop featured in report.
Local places find it helpful to have
messages from Government through
the Centre.
Progress so far 2014/15 13
Informing the theory
Leading academics from the Universities of East Anglia,
Newcastle, Bradford, Leeds Metropolitan, Manchester
Metropolitan and Loughborough have come together
to form an Academic Advisory Panel. The Panel
sits alongside the Centre and provides academic
perspective to our work in local places. Our learning
can help shape theory on information sharing and
academic theory informs our day-to-day approaches.
Learning from our academic and operational journey is
being shared through a seminar series funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council. The three year
programme brings together academics, policy-makers
and practitioners to explore the changing landscape
of information sharing to contribute to a shared
understanding, and help to inform capacity building
academically and operationally.
Two seminars have run to date covering information
sharing in health and social care and families.
“The event confirmed the vital role
of information sharing within a
complex multi-agency regime of
welfare provision in the UK and also
drew attention to vital issues about
consent, ownership of information,
the purpose of information and
the differences in approaches
to information sharing between
agencies.”
“Listening to the academic
arguments presented has given me
a new impetus and focus on the
work I am undertaking.”
“The event validated what I am
experiencing as a practitioner –
I know our culture has to shift and
hopefully I can make a difference.”
“I am now going to work with
partners to ensure information
sharing takes place where needed,
regardless of the barriers that need
to be overcome.”
14 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
Sharing the learning
Uncovering the barriers to information sharing is just one aspect of the Centre’s
work. Sharing that learning widely to help other local places develop their information
sharing approach is the other.
We are finding that barriers which limit effective information sharing are rarely specific
to the policy area. Many are generic to most places – such as a lack of trust between
partners, or fear of repercussions reinforced by a misunderstanding of local or national
policy.
We are continually developing our dissemination channels to help local places access and
learn from across our focus area as easily as possible. Learning is published regularly
on our website, promoted through our social media channels and monthly newsletter
and used to support our attendance at events nationally. Our work and commentary also
regularly features in trade publications and in partner newsletters and the growth of our
networks of interest show that local places are starting to access our information.
To support the development of our network of interest, the Centre ran the “What’s
Your Information Story” campaign. The campaign focussed on capturing and sharing
personal stories of failed and successful information sharing to focus local places and
policy makers on the value of information sharing.
twitter
495 Followers
23%
London
6,700 monthly
visitors
website
Channel growth
3%
Leicester
2%
Bristol
newsletter
42% increase
since launch
New
visitors
2%
Amsterdam
73,531 Average
reach
921 sign ups
27.3%
Return
visitors
2%
Nottingham
72.7%
1
London
2
Leicester
3
Sheffield
4
Birmingham
Top 5 visitor locations
1
2
3
4
5
6
Tools: information sharing agreements
Tools: data controller and data processor
Case studies
Meet the team
Events
Blog
Most visited pages
51% increase
5
Leeds
Progress so far 2014/15 15
Focus for new financial year
After a positive start, we have big aspirations for 2015/16. Our aim is to enable sustainable public service
transformation through improved information sharing. Through this we will ensure:
That information sharing plays a coordinated role in local and national public service
transformation
There is local and national recognition that cultural and organisational factors are key
influencers on effective information sharing
We have developed evidence that drives local and national change to service delivery
Our work influences an increase in local capacity and capability to share information
Things to watch out for…
In the coming months the Centre will be:
– Holding a workshop to look at different approaches to Multi Agency Sharing Hubs and the models that
support this
– Sharing learning from across its key areas through a range of publications, made available on the website
– Launching tools to support local places in challenging information sharing barriers
– Attending the Local Government Association annual conference and the Public Sector Show, to share learning.
Partner organisations are keen
to deepen and strengthen links
with the Centre and establish
systematic ways of working closely
together to support local places.
16 Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing
We have a range of tools and case studies that we update
regularly on our website. Sign up for updates on the site
or connect with us to keep updated.
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