Compass
How we helped a charity secure funding and build an app for parents and young people
Summary
Mission
ARC Scotland has been working to develop better practices around the transitions process for young people with additional support needs. They developed a framework intended to be used by strategic leads, policymakers and practitioners who are responsible for transitions in their local authority area called Principles Into Practice. ARC approached us for help in designing and developing a web app to collect the data necessary to evaluate the impact of Principles Into Practice, but also to help and guide parents, carers, and professionals as they navigate the transitions process.
Outcome
We provided software development services to build the web application, and to design and implement the underlying technical infrastructure.
Results
Compass successfully launched in June 2023 and reached a milestone of 1000 users in January 2024. Within its first six months, Compass has already helped hundreds of parents, professionals, and young people find the information and guidance they need to make the transition to young adult life as seamless as possible. Compass is now generating a significant amount of data which ARC are sharing (anonymously) with local authorities to help them better understand how to serve their communities.
Services
On this project WheelHouse provided a range of services, including:
- Product Strategy
- Bespoke Software Development
- Database Architecture
- Web Application Maintenance
- Performance & Security Monitoring
- Funding Application Assistance
- Project Management
Full Story
ARC Scotland has been working to develop better practices around the transitions process for young people with additional support needs. "Transitions" means life-stage transitions, such as leaving school or getting a job for the first time. ARC has collaborated with local and national government to develop "Principles Into Practice", which set out guidelines for all professionals involved in supporting young people during these life-stage transitions. Evaluating the impact of these principles and ensuring they work for parents and young people presents a significant challenge on a national scale and in a sector still grappling with the difficult task of adopting modern data-driven practice. ARC approached us for help in developing a web or mobile app to collect the data necessary to evaluate the impact of Principles Into Practice.
We have personally worked with ARC since 2019 to secure funding and to develop a bespoke web application, Compass, for parents and young people. We recognised that first-hand quantitive and qualitative data from parents, carers, and young people would be the best source of information to evaluate Principles Into Practice. We ran product strategy workshops and identified the need for value exchange. People would be more likely to engage with the tool and share their experiences if there was something in it for them. The unique requirements we identified also meant that a bespoke solution would be necessary. So, we worked with parents and young people to co-design a custom web application that would
- Help them find the information they need
- Empower them to understand their rights
- Give them a voice by letting them anonymously share feedback with the relevant local authorities.
We provided software development services to build the web application and design and implement the underlying technical infrastructure.
Compass successfully launched in June 2023 and reached a milestone of 1000 users in January 2024. Within its first six months, Compass has already helped hundreds of parents, professionals, and young people find the information and guidance they need to make the transition to young adult life as seamless as possible. Compass is now generating a significant amount of data which ARC are sharing (anonymously) with local authorities to help them better understand how to serve their communities.
On this project WheelHouse provided a range of services, including:
- Product Strategy
- Bespoke Software Development
- Database Architecture
- Web Application Maintenance
- Performance & Security Monitoring
- Funding Application Assistance
- Project Management