Fraser Ross on meeting the challenges and opportunities of inclusion
This week is National Inclusion Week and across the Citizens Advice network in Scotland we are constantly asking how we can make our services more accessible for people.
We have seen some huge challenges in the past few years. The pandemic and associated social distancing rules meant CABs had to change how they delivered services, and many of the people who seek our help are in vulnerable situations.
When you think of a CAB, you probably think of an office, in a high street, where advisers help people one-on-one to understand their rights. That is the core component of our service offer and will never change, however triaging demand is an important issue for us – so where online self-help is available for people, we want to make that help as accessible as possible.
This has never been more needed than during the current cost of living crisis, where CABs have seen record demand.
At Citizens Advice Scotland, two steps we are making in improving this offer is installing the online tool ReciteMe on our corporate website and individual CAB websites and developing an AI powered ChatBot.
ReciteMe is assistive technology that allows people to view and use websites in a way that works best for them. Users can translate the website into over 100 different languages, customise the website's colour scheme as well as the text, font style, size, colour, and spacing. The tool also allows for the text on a website to be read aloud for the user. This allows our online services to be accessible to many more people.
Meanwhile, in partnership with the tech company Helpfirst and as part of the Scottish Government funded CivTech challenge, we have developed ‘Cassie’ an AI powered ChatBot, currently deployed on our Money Talk Team and Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) websites. Money Talk Team helps people maximised their incomes, particularly families with children, while the PASS service helps people navigate support if they have concerns about their treatment within the NHS.
Having Cassie on these sites signposts the user to the information they need online, creating more capacity for advisers to deal with more complex cases from vulnerable clients one on one.
In recent weeks we have combined these two innovations, effectively deploying the ReciteMe technology to Cassie making our chatbot more accessible for people, and hopefully ensuring more people are able to self help online.
On their own we are proud of these innovations when it comes to service delivery and taken together they can have even more impact. It’s these small, incremental changes which can make all the difference in ensuring as many people as possible have the access to the support they need.
For me, that is a core learning from this work which is worth reflecting on during National inclusion Week.
Our network is 84 years old, and some people may mistakenly think of our service offering as old fashioned, but we have embraced innovative tech solutions in a way that would be impressive for any private or public sector organisation and will continue to do so.
Embracing technology only really works when it is accessible to as many people as possible. That’s why combining these two projects may seem like two small steps for our network, but for those seeking help online, it could represent a giant leap.
Fraser Ross is head of digital and technology at Citizens Advice Scotland. National Inclusion week runs till the 1st of October.
