“In Brighton we piloted E-CINS with ASB only, we’re two and a bit years in and we want to get it completely right in that area of business before we start rollling it out into other areas such as DV which is likely to be the next area we use E-CINS for.
Overcoming Barriers
I am a reluctant or accidental E-CINS evangelist. I have found myself reflecting on what I think of it and speaking with colleagues in local authorities and doubters, helping them to understand how it can be a really effective way of working for us.
You really have got to engage with people who are the biggest doubters and allay their fears. Both at a front end level and at a senior level as well and you need a different process for both but it is essential to do it from both sides.
What the naysayers are worried about are multiple software systems – yes you will have them – yes there is an element of double keying but cutting and pasting is a better way through it – we’ve heard about how APIs can help, I’m told its complicated but isn’t a barrier to us moving forward.
You need to have frontline teams having reasonable access to E-CINS. one of the things I’ve done particularly with colleagues in Social Care who aren’t necessarily using it on a daily basis is to ensure they have a Champion or someone in their team who can access and put information on it on behalf of their team. It is unrealistic to expect every officer to have unfettered access to E-CINS. They won’t use it on a regular basis and we all know that if you don’t use it you lose it. You just have to acknowledge that and make sure you have someone who is an evangelist.
It is very rare in my experience to hear front line staff saying “I like using this IT system”, in fact it’s unheard of! However E-CINS is not without its foibles and Empowering-Communities are very good at picking up the phone. You need your practitioners to come together and agree how they are going to use it.
Finance
Money – you can’t escape it. E-CINS isn’t expensive compared to other systems but it does have a cost and here are a couple of ideas on how you might work it through:
In the first instance you need to look at how you are going to fund it to get it off the ground. There is an ongoing cost but it’s not expensive. Try to get your key statutory officers to sign up in the first instance, whether that is in a locality which is easier if you are going for a district rather than a whole county. We got Police, Council Housing and Community Safety Team to sign up for the first two years and its free to any other partners at the moment. One day we might need to renegotiate that but in terms of the efficiencies and effectiveness in some of the things that Mark was talking about earlier it is a no brainer really.
You need to get those that have signed up to confirm their commitment. By signing up and offering free access to your third sector providers you get maximum buy-in.
Practitioner Input
Practitioner input is important in developing the service. Listen to what they want, reassure them that E-CINS will improve their efficiency, get them to speak to people who are using it in other areas. It is completely understandable that officers will think it will be ineffective based on their experiences before but you can work through that. Their bosses and their partners need to buy into it as well which is where you need that top-down and bottom-up approach. Give practitioners a say in how you shape the service but ensure they follow whatever you have universally applied within your own locality.
I am interested in hearing about national training for E-CINS because I want to ensure that everyone in our locality is using it the same and, ideally, that would be the same as everyone is using it in the country. I know we are not in that place yet but I know it will become increasingly obvious when we see clients – victims or offenders moving around districts and counties around the country and I can see some real benefits there.”
Read more summaries of the speakers’ presentations in Related Posts here.