ICT-Enabled Social Innovation in Children’s Services

Abstract

ICT has become increasingly prevalent in the development and provision of social services for children and families. ICT has enabled social innovation in children’s services and the wider social services sector through its contribution to the transformation of service management and implementation, cost-efficiency improvement and the effectiveness of service delivery. ICT-enabled social innovation (IESI) can help to address the increased demand on social welfare services, for example through improved coordination between professionals and enhanced communication with service users. These changes are presented through a number of case studies of ICT in children’s services in Europe. One of these is the development of tools for data collection by the National Child Protection Observatory in cooperation with local authorities in France. Another example is the KOMBIT standardised ICT system for the case management of children at risk in Denmark. One further example is Alborada, a shared information system in Andalucía (Spain), which facilitates data sharing and coordination between professionals from health, education and social services working with children with developmental difficulties. The analysis of the case studies has allowed the formulation of some key recommendations for the development of ICT-enabled innovation in children’s services in terms of the role that policy can play in driving forward ICT-enabled services, ICT’s role in meeting children’s needs, and professionals’ training and development for the successful introduction and implementation of ICT in children’s services.