Harnessing the power of digital and data

With your help, we have substantially changed our digital systems in the last two years.

Progress so far

With a focus on data security and ensuring that our systems are easy to use, we:

• We replaced an outdated CRM with a new platform that enables every local Healthwatch to share data with us.
• Introduced Smart Survey – an enterprise-level tool you can access for free to help with data collection.
• Upgraded over 100 Drupal websites we provide to local Healthwatch.
• Revamped our advice and guidance to help you handle your data securely and introduced a new data-sharing agreement.

We have invested significant resources which have had a significant impact. For example, the number of local Healthwatch regularly sharing data with us has more than doubled, from 50 Healthwatch in 2019 to over 120 today.

Where next?

But we can't stand still. To provide you with the best support, we need to innovate and consider rapid advances in digital and data. We also need to make the most of our resources.

This is why we commissioned a specialist digital agency to help shape our digital strategy and sought input from you and various external stakeholders. We also asked several questions in our annual survey of local Healthwatch.

Short-term changes

Thanks to your feedback in our annual survey, we already have several changes in the pipeline:

• From later this year, you'll be able to access our web form data via the Central Data Store. You'll also be able to access people's contact details if they want to share them.
• By September, we aim to have every local Healthwatch share their data with us.
• We'll also make improvements so uploading your data to the central data store is easier.
• We're also going to improve the network site and look at new systems to make collaborating and finding resources easier. For example, we'll find a new alternative to Workplace.

In the longer term

In the Autumn, we plan to publish our new digital strategy. As well as setting out the near-term steps we will take, our strategy will also:

• Outline skills required within Healthwatch England to deliver on our vision for digital and data.
• Deliver the support needed for local Healthwatch, setting out a roadmap of digital delivery and critical milestones.
• Identify potential uses of emerging technology to support our work.
• Ensure our systems are user-friendly, sustainable, and resilient.