evince blog

It’s great to see the information duty of the Childcare Act finally coming into its prime with the DCSF’s publication of the guidance on Section 12. What I find particularly encouraging is that there is a real attention to detail present in this guidance; ranging from the features of IT systems which would underpin the duty, to the much needed definition of the role of service directories. These practicalities should help support FIS’ when working with their IT departments to procure systems that will deliver against their business needs.

Opportunity Links has kicked off a full audit of its information systems and practices in light of the guidance to ensure ‘Section 12 Compliance’. We expect that evince will comply fully with the guidance in its current form, and that our CSD product will meet all but the more explicit definition of the management of publications, which we expect to work into this years roadmap. We were particularly excited to see that our Govtalk CSD data standard was explicitly referenced in the guidance along with one of our flagship CSD implementations at Worcestershire FIS.

What emerges clearly from the guidance is that the information duty is not about a single team, or a single technical solution, but that it requires an integrated authority-wide and multi-agency approach to delivering high-quality information to families. Technology is a key component, but with the expansion of delivery channels, such as to extended schools, a wider strategic approach encompassing face-to-face, telephone and self-service (predominantly through the web) is required, underpinned by a range of flexible technologies and services.

Many Local Authorities already have this approach in place in response to the Childcare Act itself. However, this guidance can only help strengthen the position of those still working within their organisations to establish the strategic importance of the information agenda.

Wednesday 20th February saw the full public launch of evince at the NACIS conference in London. The new evince stand was there and Jon and I were busy all day fielding questions and signing people up for the evince roadshows in March.

Following the DCSF announcement of devolved funding for local authorities to procure their ChIS replacement, all visitors to the stand were interested in how evince compared to ChIS. Many were excited about the new opportunities evince would give them to push the application out beyond the CIS/FIS, with most agreeing that evince was the obvious choice to replace ChIS.

I will be demonstrating the key functional areas of evince at our roadshows next week and explaining how evince can meet your requirements. During these roadshows we will also be talking about the roadmap for evince over the next 12 months and will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

If you have already signed up, then we look forward to meeting you in either London, Bristol, Birmingham or Leeds. If you haven’t and are interested in attending the please do get in touch or register your interest using the link at the top of this page.

After weeks of work we are ready to start rolling out our new evince-online website. We have big plans for the website over the next few months with detailed product information, rolling demos and detailed biogs of all the team behind evince.

If you are interested in evince or would like to be kept up to dates with developments, then please register your interest at the top of the page. Any questions then please get in touch.