Collection

Apply for something

Research to understand the needs of users who want to apply for something. For example, help with adult social care or getting a bus pass.

  • Submit my planning application Live

    Research to understand whether user needs are being met by a new digital service that enable users to submit, view and comment on planning applications.

    May 2018 - present

    Phases: Discovery, Alpha, Beta, Live

    Part of collections for: Apply for something, Council staff and members

  • Carers engagement - where unpaid carers go for help

    Summary of 1:1 research sessions with unpaid carers, such as people who look after family members, to discover what they do when they need help or support.

    Phases: Discovery

    Part of collections for: Apply for something, Being / becoming a carer

  • Development of a temporary accommodation service Discovery

    Hackney Council has around 3,000 families in temporary accommodation, living within the Borough and beyond. The current process for identifying and inspecting the accommodation, allocating it to families and managing their rent is unnecessarily complex and time-consuming. As part of our move away from Universal Housing, we want to develop a digital service to better support residents and the staff that serve them.

    July 2018 - November 2018

    Phases: Discovery

    Part of collections for: Apply for something, Council housing tenants

  • Rebuilding Hackney Housing Register

    Hackney Council updated their social housing Lettings Policy, moving from 5 bands to 3 to provide a clearer system for eligible residents and support those most at risk of homelessness to find settled accommodation. Hackney wanted a simpler, more transparent housing register in line with this new allocations scheme. Supporting Hackney, FutureGov delivered a new housing register tool that manages expectations and encourages residents to self serve, allowing the council to continue to focus resources on the most complex cases.

    April 2021 - November 2021

    Phases: Alpha, Live

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Discovery phase for a user-centred back office (town) planning system

    Authorities lack a user-centred solution providing back-end case management, transactional functions and database necessary to manage a Planning service. We want to understand how a cross-authority solution could unlock wider transformation of the planning system. Planning services are dependent on proprietary solutions that are developing slowly and resistant to interoperability. The market is dominated by just two providers. This software does not meet the aspirations set out in the Local Digital Declaration. The commercial incentives to support innovation are low. The practical problems associated with poor quality software create challenges for the effective administration of the national planning system. The project builds on existing work by Hackney and Southwark to validate the common and widespread need to solve problems of digital pre-application, digital applications (minor) and consultation from a front end user perspective. Both authorities have already demonstrated significant commitment to working openly in a way that benefits the whole sector. Unboxed have been appointed to support Southwark with the delivery of this project in close collaboration with Hackney and the GLA.

    February 2019 - April 2019

    Phases: Discovery

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Applying to the social housing register

    Resident research on the social housing register to inform Hackney Council’s service design.

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Improving the understanding of the cost of social care

    Project shaped around improving the understanding of care costs for users and people who support them. Our vision for the project was a service that supports people to make good choices about [paying for] their care, based on accessible, easy to understand information and a transparent process.

    June 2021 - March 2022

    Phases: Discovery, Alpha

    Part of collections for: Pay for something, Apply for something

  • Van Permit- phase 1 Live

    Digital van permit to replace previous paper permit- allowing 12 tip visits per annum to dispose of household waste using a van/pickup/trailer.

    May 2018 - September 2018

    Phases: Live

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Van Permit- phase 2 Alpha

    Improvements to the van permit system

    July 2019 - August 2019

    Phases: Alpha

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Improving the process for applying and renewing a Blue Badge

    A brief discovery to better understand the needs of people who apply for and renew Blue Badges in Hackney, as well as staff who provide the service. We wanted to identify and explore the pain points they experience so that we can suggest improvements to the service.

    January 2021 - March 2021

    Phases: Discovery

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Adult social care - Local gov user research collaboration

    A cross-local government user research discovery into how councils can collaborate on user research. We wanted to understand the process people go through when they ask local government for help with adult social care. By doing this, we learnt about how one council can use research from another council to make a service more user-centered. We also learnt about the needs of people who carry out user research in local government.

    October 2019 - March 2020

    Phases: Discovery

    Part of collections for: User researchers, Apply for something, Being / becoming a carer

  • Making it easier to apply for a disabled persons freedom pass

    A freedom pass helps residents to travel for free on buses, trains and other public transport in London. You can get one either when you reach pension age or if you have a disability. We pulled together a new online application form that we hoped clearly showed what evidence an applicant needed to supply to support their application; Has more accessible, inclusive wording whilst still making sure we still do and say what we need to; and made it easier for people to save the form so applicants were able to dig around to find the documentation they needed

    Part of a collection for: Apply for something

  • Residents providing documents to use council services

    This research focuses on a product to allow council officers to request evidence from residents securely, and for the residents to provide the evidence digitally. For example, providing a photograph of your passport so that you can use Housing services.

    October 2021 - present

    Phases: None

    Part of collections for: Pay for something, Apply for something, Customer Services, Register for something