So, to get everyone up to date on our projects and the more general activity of BCL, we will have to do a few retrospective posts. But, once we have [...]]]> We’ve had a busy summer at BCL, lots of changes and new projects starting, but as a result we haven’t kept our blog up to date.

So, to get everyone up to date on our projects and the more general activity of BCL, we will have to do a few retrospective posts. But, once we have done that, you can expect regular post from the team on all our activities. SO, watch this space!

Thanks

All at BCL

STREAM Safe and Sound is the next major enhancement of STREAM Personal TV which integrates a set of lifestyle sensors around the home. The service allows relatives, carers and service providers to [...]]]> STREAM has been in the national news again, this time in the Daily Mail which has run a feature on STREAM Safe and Sound.

STREAM Safe and Sound is the next major enhancement of STREAM Personal TV which integrates a set of lifestyle sensors around the home. The service allows relatives, carers and service providers to get a clearer picture of the individual’s lifestyle and can show trends over time.
The service is being piloted in three homes in Hull, after a technical trial was completed last year. A wider roll out is planned for April 2009 onwards.

Steve Fleming, Chair of the Digital 20/20 Public Sector Special Interest Group, looks at technology’s role within public service transformation, and the significant economic opportunity it presents for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

‘Technology shouldn’t just automate existing processes, it should change them.’ There are two sets of things to consider when looking at [...]]]>

Steve Fleming

Steve Fleming, Chair of the Digital 20/20 Public Sector Special Interest Group, looks at technology’s role within public service transformation, and the significant economic opportunity it presents for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

‘Technology shouldn’t just automate existing processes, it should change them.’ There are two sets of things to consider when looking at public sector transformation: How and What.

The How involves changing the model to move away from a management view towards a customer view, so that services are focused on citizens. The key question is, can broadband technology really change the way that public services are delivered, and how the citizen engages with those services, or are we just using technology to automate bits of existing processes, rather than transforming them in the real sense of the word?

The What involves a wide range of important issues, such as health, education, competitiveness, worklessness and inclusion. These issues are all big areas of public expenditure, so it’s important to ask the question, is it effective enough? In particular, I’m interested in how we can connect. The Digital Inclusion agenda is an important one for Hull, and one in which we are engaged nationally, with the DC10plus.

The Economic Opportunity
The application of technology in transforming the public sector is opening up significant economic opportunities – Microsoft, for example, thinks that health is a market with significant growth potential – and our region is steadily building an international reputation in this arena.

There is a role for Digital 20/20 to focus on what’s happening in demand for innovation and make sure that the region’s businesses are thinking about those markets and have the right skills, knowledge and relationships to take advantage of the opportunities.

Special Interest Group Focus
I hope that by having a Special Interest Group for the public sector we’ll be able to provide a more coherent view of how public sector innovation can be enabled by technology and how we can use it to address issues of inclusion and transformation.

By looking specifically at what is happening on the ground, we can start to understand better what the business and skills requirements really are. We need to bring forward and connect up with existing areas of innovation and demonstrate where things are happening, so that the public sector can understand what it could be doing.

I believe that we need to be practical – to look at what is real and touchable and how that connects with economic opportunity. It’s about showing ‘best doing’ rather than talking about ‘best practice’.

The STREAM project
So where does the STREAM IPTV (Independent Living) project fit into all this? Firstly, STREAM personal TV is a great example of how to tackle the issue of digital exclusion. Sending media-rich information to traditionally hard-to-reach audiences via the TV, effectively creating a two-way dialogue between users and service providers, so that users actually start to influence the way that services are delivered – that’s real innovation. What’s more, the service can play a key role in the delivery of individual budgets, which is high on the Government’s agenda.

The monitoring service, STREAM Safe and Sound, is another example of the smart use of broadband technology in helping to transform and improve people’s lives. The vast majority of older people want to stay in their own homes as long as possible, and a broadband-enabled monitoring system, which is always on, will help healthcare professionals to support them more efficiently, and provide reassurance to relatives and carers.

The STREAM project is part of a wider Telehealth agenda in Hull and East Riding, and it’s a striking example of the sort of technological innovation coming out of this region. The recent announcement by Cabinet Office that STREAM is a Flagship eInclusion project, and will represent England at the European Ministerial eInclusion conference in Vienna at the end of the month, shows that we’re quite capable of punching above our weight.

Steve Fleming has spent over 20 years working in a variety of roles in economic development and policy innovation, primarily in City Councils.

STREAM will now represent the UK at the European Ministerial eInclusion Conference, 30 November – 2 December 2008 in Vienna. The project was selected to represent the UK by the [...]]]> The STREAM Personal TV has received a significant boost this week with the announcement that the service is one of three UK flagship projects for Inclusive eGovernment.

STREAM will now represent the UK at the European Ministerial eInclusion Conference, 30 November – 2 December 2008 in Vienna.
The project was selected to represent the UK by the Transformational Government department within the Cabinet Office.

The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) has announced that the city of Hull is to join its ranks in the next wave. Hull’s Service Transformation Laboratory will be one of more than 50 Living Labs, spread across Europe.

Living Labs are open innovation platforms which provide research, development, innovation and market validation services in real-life [...]]]>

The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) has announced that the city of Hull is to join its ranks in the next wave. Hull’s Service Transformation Laboratory will be one of more than 50 Living Labs, spread across Europe.

Living Labs are open innovation platforms which provide research, development, innovation and market validation services in real-life environments. Living Labs share knowledge, services and even developments.
At the core of Living Lab is the spirit of co-production – an approach enabling people, users of services and products, to take active roles as contributors and co-creators in the research, development and innovation process. Each Lab is a business-citizens-government partnership.

Broadband Capital is one of Hull City Council’s strategic partners in the Living Lab. By working together, the Council and Broadband Capital hope to raise the profile of the innovation taking place in the city and act as a route for bringing best practice into the city.

The NHS Choices Sexual Health Initiative gave young people in Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire, and North and North [...]]]> STREAM’s mobile service for NHS Choices received its second award of the year tonight when the NHS Choices Humber team picked a BT eHealth Insider Award for best use of ICT in patient and citizen engagement.

The NHS Choices Sexual Health Initiative gave young people in Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire, and North and North East Lincolnshire access to sexual health information and a location-sensitive service directory through their mobiles. The service was promoted through text and Bluetooth messaging, and street champions provided by the Choices team. The project was devised by NHS Choices and the Humber Primary Care Trusts, with Broadband Capital providing the technical solution and animations.
The service picked up a local Service Improvement award from Hull and East Riding Primary Care Trusts earlier in the year.

At Broadband Capital, we recognized at an early stage the significant impact [...]]]> As mobile phone technology moves on, so have the capabilities of the devices we use on a daily basis. Most handsets on the market can now get emails, access the internet and run & store media rich content, such as video, music and images.

At Broadband Capital, we recognized at an early stage the significant impact that this delivery platform would eventually have, basically allowing the public and private sector to communicate with their clients and target audience in a personalized and targeted manner.

We have been working with emerging technologies over the last 2 years to find ways to better serve content to this new media platform, and have developed a number of concept applications catering for a wide user audience.

By taking advantage of technologies such as Adobe Flash Lite, we are able to create and deploy applications that can access internet-based technologies and provide access to rich media content, such as:

• Video on Demand
• Live video streaming to a mobile handset
• Interactive animated content
• Access to database data
• Streaming audio
• Rich and intuitive GUI (graphic user interfaces).
• The ability to collect data from users in real time: ie, form entry, surveys, etc.

In the New Year we move into national deployment of the STREAM service, and we are already talking to Local Authorities. By creating rich, intuitive interfaces, we can also easily re-brand the application to fit in with your current corporate image, and work with you to create an experience that will captivate your intended audience, while at the same time providing you with essential service feedback and statistical data.

One of the major issues I have to deal with in my job is that I spend a lot of time giving patients basic, generic information, rather than actually treating them. Therefore, a service that can provide [...]]]> ‘Stream will provide an assistant who doesn’t get overloaded, always says the right thing, and is on duty 24/7.’

One of the major issues I have to deal with in my job is that I spend a lot of time giving patients basic, generic information, rather than actually treating them. Therefore, a service that can provide that information in video format, which patients can watch at home, whenever they choose, and as many times as they wish, would be invaluable. And, of course, the same information could be shown in hospital OT unit waiting rooms if the service was available there.

So what sort of information do I want my patients to have? To start with, how to find the OT department at their local hospital, and what an OT session will be like. Patients are often anxious about these things, so a video showing things such as a splint being made, a kitchen assessment/practice, a dressing practice, or any example relevant to the service, would help to put them at ease, and in turn make our job less stressful. Another area of potential confusion for patients is the difference between hospital, community and social services – people sometimes confuse us with occupational health!

There’s a wide range of information that OTs need to disseminate:

Where to get equipment that’s not provided by the state; information on local support groups; additional beneficial activities patients might attempt – the list goes on. And let’s face it, a lot of time and money is spent on supplying information – face-to-face, on leaflets, by letter – which is time-consuming and often ineffective. The majority of people – and in particular the hardest to reach – get their information from the TV. It’s a familiar and comfortable medium for them, and it overcomes literacy barriers.

Another really useful facility of the Stream service is email, which provides a way of sending personal information to individual clients with less possibility of misunderstanding, particularly if there’s a need to send information which was not available at the time of the client appointment. And, of course, I can get feedback from them by email.

The Calendar also allows me, assuming I’m given permission, to book appointments for, and send reminders to clients. And the fact that this information is coming through the TV means that the chances of the client receiving and acting on this information are so much greater.

In short, Stream will provide an assistant who doesn’t get overloaded, always says the right thing, and is on duty 24/7!
Ann Edwards has been an Occupational Therapist for over 20 years, in London, Stockport, Canada and Hull.