Our Digital Plan
Introduction
Digital technology has become ever more important in the provision of healthcare services and we have been working with Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) to help co-design an interactive and accessible version of their digital strategy to bring everyone along on the digital journey.
To help LYPFT get the best out of digital and drive engagement with their digital strategy we co-designed the ‘Our Digital Plan’ site which has been developed as a dynamic and interactive tool: ensuring the Trust is able to be responsive to both change and to the insights and experiences of the people who use, deliver, lead and partner with their services. The site is one of a number of plans that supports the delivery of the Trusts’ overall strategy, vision and three strategic objectives.
This is the microsite we developed for LYPFT to host their digital strategy on
What we did
Part of the discovery phase was to map out the digital strategy itself to understand the needs, barriers and points of implementation. To do this we ran two co-design workshops with the digital team and the senior digital decision makers. With exercises like mapping out user journeys to visualise their individual requirements, these workshops helped us to understand the different perspectives the Trusts varied stakeholders come from, which enabled us to generate ideas that create a better engagement experience.
Using these insights we developed a prototype and continued to work with the digital team to develop the navigation of the strategy from all perspectives.
We further developed this into an interactive asset on Google Sites which is quick and easy to access and use, and which can be adapted as people’s needs change and technology develops.
The site we have developed for the Trust can be used to:
Explore the digital strategy or ‘Our Digital Plan’ from different perspectives, including those: using services, delivering services, implementing digital services and by delivery partners
Understand the progress of specific digital projects
Contribute to the Trust getting the most out of digital technology
The site we have developed for this project will continually iterate and be reviewed to showcase the key highlights as the Trust delivers and evolves their Digital Plan.
The microsite allows different stakeholders to segment to parts of the strategy that impact them and how they interact with the Trust.
Impact
We have supported the Trust to begin to develop a new approach to the development of strategies aimed at engaging staff and other stakeholders in the initial stages and in the long run.
‘Our Digital Plan’ sets out current progress and provides an insight in to where it’s heading in the future with all the knowledge and resources currently available.
With new insights, ‘Our Digital Plan’ will continue to iterate to achieve the overarching aim of engaging stakeholders with digital strategy developments.
We have already had positive feedback from the Information Management Steering Group and the Finance and Performance Committee but this is just the beginning. The on-going deployment and engagement strategy will be important for the next stage, as will capturing the way it is being used by different audiences. It is a working asset and should be iterated as more is learnt about how people interact with it.
Understanding and engagement in digital is one of the key challenges of the digital transformation of health and care. People don’t necessarily understand the benefits or have the time, skills, confidence and motivation to change their practices and release the full potential of digital tools and resources.
People are far more likely to engage with something they have been involved in creating and if we co-design in partnership with people who are going to use and benefit from a digital innovation it will most likely be better tailored to their needs and behaviours.
Next steps, sustainability and scaling
The site is live and will be kept up to date as the Digital Plan is delivered by LYPFT. We have already replicated this approach with LYPFT’s Green Plan and the organisation is considering how to move beyond prototype with this type of co-designed, interactive and live strategy approach.
“I found the Thrive by Design team to be really helpful and engaging. They took time to really understand our objectives and added real value in helping us create an innovative approach to creating our new digital plan.”
Team members involved in the project
Pete Nuckley - Deputy Director of Design and Research
Sanah Ali - Evidence and Evaluation Lead
Roz Davies - Managing Director
