LEEDS CITY COUNCIL'S SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Requirements
Leeds Social Services wanted to find out what life was really like for these young people and encourage them to share their life and school experiences. RPA was tasked with producing a computer-based research tool to help gather the necessary information.
Approach
We decided to replace the paper forms that children in care were expected to fill in as they had a very low success rate and were met with much apathy. Instead, we created an animated consultation tool on a USB memory stick that social workers could plug into their laptops. To encourage greater engagement from the children, a series of character-based animated cartoon figures guided them through the form, talking to them about issues relevant to their lives. Once the questionnaire was completed, the results were graphically analysed via bar and pie charts and free-type responses captured. A website was also created fro the project that continued the theme and allowed Social Services to communicate with the young people in care, in an engaging manner.
Outcome
By pitching the content and design at the correct age ranges, we were able to create sites that were trusted and broke down the massive stigma barrier of Social Services. We used the voices of some of the children in care to bring the cartoon characters alive and offered games where you could create your own Cyber Social Worker. This increased empathy among the users for the process and encouraged them to fill in the questionnaire. As a result the ‘brand’ of Leeds Social Services was aligned with Leeds United and Leeds Rhinos and valuable data was gathered that enabled Social Services to have a greater understanding of those in care within their region.
