This case study highlights ScotlandIS member Informed Solutions’ work as digital delivery partner for the International Policing Assistance Service (IPAS), working under the authority of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the UK Home Office.
The International Police Assistance Service (IPAS), in partnership with Informed Solutions, has significantly enhanced its digital platform in recent years, revolutionising the coordination of support for international policing partners. With the recent renewal of this strategic collaboration, IPAS is set to further develop and refine the platform.
This next phase will build on its strong foundation, exploring opportunities to further streamline operations, empower informed decision-making, and provide robust oversight, all while adapting to evolving policies and the dynamic needs of international policing.
The International Policing Assistance Service (IPAS) works under the authority of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Home Office. It is the primary gateway for coordinating and providing oversight of international police requests, providing bespoke policing capabilities to global partner countries. It contributes to both overseas and domestic security by enabling UK policing, government, and arms-length bodies to work together to deliver evidence-based support and interventions (including assistance with global events, and sharing policing capability and training).
As its digital delivery partner, Informed Solutions worked with IPAS to transform platform functions and deliver new capabilities that significantly streamline operations through a single digital platform for managing international policing assistance requests with speed and at scale, providing efficiency of both time and resource
The IPAS digital platform now offers a one-stop shop for all international policing assistance enquiries, enabling the management, processing, and authorisation of police assistance requests, and supporting coordination through access to a wide range of expertise across His Majesty’s Government (HMG), UK and global police enforcement.
Enhancing Coordination, Support, and Assistance
The IPAS digital platform was enhanced using Informed Solutions’ Queen’s award-winning InformedTRANSFORM™ digital transformation methodology to accelerate and de-risk digital business change. By combining best practice agile and DevOps practices with collaborative user-centred design techniques, the IPAS platform has been transformed to deliver significant operational and business benefits and efficiencies including:
- Significant reduction in the time required to manage and deliver requests for assistance by removing duplication and streamlining workflows.
- Improved oversight, coordination, and auditability by IPAS and key stakeholders through the creation of a one-stop-shop with centralised and standardised records keeping that enables cross-organisational collaboration, removing the overheads associated with having to manage applications across email and paper channels.
- Increased usability through the application of user-centred design, resulting in intuitive and simple-to-use interfaces, supported by intelligent contextual guidance, reducing the need for user support.
Looking Ahead
The recently renewed partnership brings in the next phase of platform development, where Informed Solutions will build upon the robust foundation established through the current platform. Collaborating closely with IPAS and the NPCC, the focus will be on exploring further enhancements to the platform to ensure it remains agile and responsive to evolving policies and the dynamic needs of international policing.
Commenting on the transformation and further development of the platform, a representative from the Policy and Strategy team at the International Police Assistance Service said:
“The capabilities we have acquired through our partnership with Informed Solutions are delivering key operational benefits and efficiencies to a diverse group of stakeholders.
“The further digital transformation of the platform is allowing us to improve and scale the use of our service whilst also supporting oversight through improved data management. This user-centric approach and the technologies we are now operating are enabling us to align the platform with the needs of police officers and staff, as well as the needs of central government stakeholders – a real win for our service. And, as we build on this momentum, we look forward to delivering continuous improvements through further collaboration and partnership.”
Adding to this, Sebastian Uhlig, Managing Consultant, Informed Solutions and member of techUK’s Interoperability in Policing Working Group, said:
“The IPAS platform showcases how the intelligent application of technology can enable collaborative policing. We are very proud to be supporting IPAS to evolve the capabilities available through the IPAS platform and to help address the changing needs of the broad range of users across the policing sector, central government and with international policing stakeholders. These latest features will facilitate future data sharing and integration, improved user-experience, time savings, and joined-up planning.”