Sigma, a leading UX design agency, has won a new two-year contract to design and implement a digital workplace for Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
The non-departmental public body, which reports to the Ministry of Justice, helps over 125,000 young people every year. Whether they are going through care or adoption proceedings, or their parents have separated and are unable to agree future arrangement, Cafcass’s role is to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children as they move through the family justice system.
Sigma has been appointed to develop a new intranet on the Microsoft Office 365 platform, using its own proprietary Core Workplace software. This will deliver a functionally rich and easy-to-use interface for Cafcass staff all over the country to access intranet content and the core Office 365 suite, so they can share information and carry out daily tasks whether they are in the office or out in the field. Sigma’s Core Workplace solution focuses on enabling users to categorise information and tools according to their own working preferences, whilst Office 365 provides the key productivity applications for the vast majority of office workers.
The new solution will replace Cafcass’s existing intranet built using an older version of SharePoint. It is currently used to host news and content pages including HR policies and IT training guidance. The new solution will overcome previous difficulties in the organisation of information, navigation, and search as well as improve mobile use for remote working.
As such, Sigma will also provide comprehensive design, content strategy and migration, project management, change and communications management services to support the delivery of the project and ensure the new intranet is a success.
The project will run from February 2020, with an initial six-month design and implementation period, followed by a support and ongoing development period of 18 months. In total, the contract is worth £120,000.
Shaun Gomm, commercial director at Sigma, said: “We’re excited to be working on this project for Cafcass. The work they do is so important, and we know that an updated digital workplace will have a huge impact on staff’s ability to do the best by the children the organisation exists for. The existing intranet is a classic case of a solution which has gradually become outdated and difficult to manage over time, and by replacing it with our Core Workplace and O365-based solution, we will be able to get the right apps and information to every member of staff, anytime, anywhere.”
Teresa Williams, director of strategy at Cafcass, added: “It is absolutely the right time to update our intranet and move to a solution which supports our staff in both their office and increasingly mobile working practices, with up-to-date and optimised content so they have at their fingertips everything they need to support their work with children and families. We were impressed with Sigma’s expertise in user experience from the beginning; the new intranet should enable each member of staff to organise their tools and information in the way which best suits their individual working practices, which is really exciting.”