Creating digital tools for mental wellbeing and employment support: pre-alpha phase

Creating digital tools for mental Wellbeing and employment support
Creating digital tools
for mental WELLBEING
and employment
support - PRE ALPHA PHASE

INTRODUCTION
A recent Department of Health report from RAND Europe (Autumn 2014)
examined the existing evidence on mental health interventions and suggested
developing a pilot to “provide access to online mental health and work
assessment and support….open to the general population”.
We were commissioned by the Department of Health to firstly map out the
needs of potential users of such a digital service, suggest key user groups
and to create a set of design principles for a future service. This information
can be found the Discovery report: Creating Digital Tools for Mental Health &
Employment Support.
This slide-deck reports back on the second phase of the project, where we
bring form to the user research, creating refined design briefs that can be used
to inform future alpha stages and pilot design.
We have developed a series of possible functions for future digital services. We
did this by converting the insights from the Discovery phase into low fidelity
prototypes of possible functions. We tested these prototypes with user groups
and iterated to refine form, function, user journey and platform suggestions.
Throughout this process we have worked with stakeholders from the DoH, DWP
& GDS via group analysis sessions, weekly phone-calls, individual interviews
and a project blog.
In this document we:
• Describe possible functions of future digital services focused on mental
health and employment support. These are themed according to the
three core user segments we identified in the Discovery phase: (i)
finding work (ii) in and out of work (iii) managing work
• Outline how these tools could be integrated into existing
digital platforms
• Suggest that these tools could link to offline services
• List a set of design principles relevant to anyone developing digital
tools focused on integrated mental wellbeing and employment support
• Outline considerations, risks, and next steps.

PERSONAL SUPPORT
Support level 2
Here users would have a deeper level of interaction, creating a personal account that would allow
them to track their progress and aggregate tailored information, data and tools relating to mental
wellbeing and employment.
TAILORED SUPPORT
Support level 1
Information and insights can be tailored to individual users based on simple profiling online assess-
ments to determine where they are on the employment journey and wellbeing scale. Basic data is
captured, but log ins are not required, and users maintain anonymity. Users would also be signpost-
ed to additional tools from external providers, hosted by third sector of private organisations.
STATIC INFORMATION
Information level 1
Users can search for and access basic, universal content and information, much like what is cur-
rently available through NHS choices and other government websites. Information can be aggregat-
ed and supplemented to better respond to user needs.
DYNAMIC INFORMATION
Information level 2
Content is more dynamic (e.g. audio and video). This information could be hosted on existing
government platforms. Additionally widgets could be embedded in a range of sites commonly
accessed for employment or mental health needs, such as Monster, Prospect, MIND etc.
OPTIONS FOR
DEVELOPMENT

MEASURING IMPACT
DYNAMIC INFORMATION
STATIC INFORMATION
TAILORED SUPPORT
PERSONAL SUPPORT
Different levels of development will yield different types of user data. Here are
some of the types of data that could be collected through a digital mental
health and employment support service.
Engagement and participation: visits to site, length of time spent on pages,
number of click throughs, number of times videos watched, number of times a
unique user returns to the same site
Behaviour change: showing how the site is helping users to develop positive
habits through measuring the use of specific tools such as the “check-in
function”, or capturing data on change through the scheduling tools
Improved mental health: evaluate changes in users’ mental health through
assessments such as GAD7 and PHQ
Employment: assess changes in users’ employment status, moving off
benefits, increasing secure employment moving into employment/getting a job

user groups
FINDING WORK IN AND OUT OF WORK MANAGING WORK
In the Discovery Phase we created a matrix where we mapped users’ needs against different phases of the employment journey. This enabled us to identify
groups with the greatest need for integrated mental health and employment tools. We then looked at where digital adds value and synthesised these groups into
three categories (i) finding work (ii) in and out of work (iii) managing work. In this document, we propose different possible functions for a digital service in that
would respond to user needs in these three distinct categories.

FUNCTIONS
Supporting jobseekers to develop positive mental wellbeing
Our Discovery Phase research revealed that unemployment can be
fundamentally confidence sapping, uncertain and stressful. Dealing with
anxiety-triggering situations like interviews and the stress of repeated
rejection can be especially difficult for people whose self esteem is
already low.
We propose functions that provide encouragement, emotional and
psychological support:
A. Check-in tools that encourage people to persist, and bounce back
from setbacks.
B. Tools that provide emotional support (both developing new tools
and signposting to existing tools and services).
C. Stories from people who have been through it and come out the
other side.
Supporting effective job-searching
During periods of unemployment interviewees described how they often
neglected the positive activities they usually did to maintain their wellbeing.
There is a lack of normal working routine, with no ‘time off’. This lack of
structure often goes hand in hand with ineffective methods of
finding work.
We propose functions that enable users to structure their time and develop
effective job-hunting methods:
A. Scheduling tools that help users develop a healthy, effective approach
to job-hunting.
B. Providing tools and information that encourage people to engage in
offline activities as well as online ones, building their networks
and skills through a portfolio of methods including volunteering,
interning, networking and personal projects (features of a 21st
century job-hunt).
“You just, kind of, fall into a black hole. I was struggling to find the energy to look for jobs. All I wanted to do was
stay in my bed, watch TV and kind of, not even leave my house and, yes, it was really hard.... I’d start drinking at two
o’clock in the afternoon. Not that I was becoming an alcoholic, but I just – yes, I kind of, it was hard for me to push
myself really and go out there and really try to find a new job.”
FINDING WORK

FINDING WORK
Finding work
WHAT‘S THE ONE
THING YOU COULD
DO TODAY TO
MAKE IT A GREAT
DAY?
CHECK-IN
Supporting jobseekers to develop positive
mental wellbeing
Function name: Check-in tools that encourage people to persist, and bounce
back from setbacks
On the value of check-in-tools
“It’s really nice, because it doesn’t take up any time at all. This app [referring to
phone] reminds you three times a day just to take a pause, and it will give you a
quiet image whilst it tells you to breathe in and breathe out. It’s quite silly, but it
really works.”
On the content & tone of check-in messages
‘I think for me if I was unemployed and had been for two years and I got a jolly
message saying, “How’s the job hunt going today?” I’d want to smash my phone
against the wall. It’s the kind of thing that my mum would say, in an untactful
way, when she phoned me up, “How’s being unemployed going for you?” So I
think for me what I would find more insightful would be something like ‘What
would you need to achieve today to feel like you had a successful job hunt?’ or
‘What would make a really great day for you today?’
Function description:
Our research found that during periods of unemployment people are
particularly isolated, lacking work-related networks and often embarrassed
to reach out to friends and family. This check-in function could provide much
needed support and reassurance. Potential users responded positively to this
function in our research groups as it provides both support and self-reflection.

mental wellbeing
Function name: Tools that provide emotional support (both developing new
tools and signposting to existing tools and services)
This function would offer access to new and existing mental wellbeing and
personal support tools related to specific sectors and personal circumstances.
The individual would be asked to enter some basic details without logging in
(such as their employment status and current level of wellbeing) and would be
directed to tailored information and tools relevant to them. The example shown
shows a tool that enables users to acknowledge negative emotions, see they are
not alone, read and watch stories that show how others have dealt with their
negative emotions and then be signposted to existing wellbeing support tools
provided by third parties, such as Lantern.
FINDING WORK
“[You feel a] fundamental lack of confidence and sureness about the future, not
knowing if you are ever going to get a job… Being skint, you know, which brings
all the other things like not being able to pay the bills or finding that stressful,
getting knock-backs, not hearing from jobs or not getting interviews”

mental wellbeing
Function name: Stories from other people who have been through it and come
out the other side
A range of videos where individuals tell stories about how they got through
particular challenges of unemployment e.g. lack of structure, despondency,
anxiety about interviews, lack of direction, isolation. These could include links
to tools that will help people facing those particular issues. An option to enter
basic data (without logging in) would take people to a set of tailored stories
relevant to their sector.
FINDING WORK
“Spending time around other people and realising you’re not the only one who
has these anxieties and who struggle, who has that lack of self-esteem or has
procrastinated and all of that stuff is really useful and it is really empowering
in itself.”
“Other people’s stories about how they felt... give me some resilience, some
belief in myself because I can see that other people have come through it.”

FINDING WORK
“My methods were always awful. I think a lot of what I needed was just a more
social, more effective way of doing it. Most of my job-hunting was on the
computer. I think with the social change sector, international development and
the creative sector -- when you don’t fit into a box, it’s very difficult to find stuff
on websites. I think a lot of jobs in that sector aren’t advertised on websites,
so for me, I think most of the opportunities I’ve found more recently have been
through friends: friends mentioning something, or opportunities coming up from
the organisation you’re in, or from organisations that friends are in.”
Supporting effective job seeking
Function name: Providing tools and information that support a 21st century
job-hunt (a portfolio of approaches)
This function would enable users to make their job hunt more effective. Firstly
it would encourage them to reflect on their current approach, by mapping the
time they spend on different job-hunting activities. Secondly it would highlight
the value of different approaches to job hunting (building networks, attending
events, volunteering, interning etc.) giving them information and tools for
different activities.

Supporting effective job seeking
Function name: Scheduling tools that help users develop a healthy, effective
approach to job-hunting
This function will, at the Tailored Support level, allow individuals to create a
basic map of weekly activities that can be saved (and edited). At a deeper level,
individuals could create a personal profile that allowed them to monitor their
activities over a prolonged period, both while searching for work and also to
manage work life balance when they are in the workplace. It would also enable
them to view other people’s schedules and get new ideas about how to struc-
ture their time.
FINDING WORK
“So, I kind of have slots and I have to fill all the slots in the week. Otherwise, I
could just end up sleeping all day, so it’s kind of like filling all those slots, and
that keeps me really focused, and lifts me out of – there’s a bit of a big picture.”
“For a while, I was kind of empty-ish, and then at some point, I literally started
clocking everything I did, because I desperately needed a sense of having had
a productive, functional day. I would often end the day in this weird, grey state,
where I honestly couldn’t have told you what I’d done, or what I’d had for dinner
or something. So, I started writing everything down, so I could actually look at it
at the end of the day, to prove to myself that I had actually done a lot.”

INTEGRATING INTO SYSTEM
These functions could sit in any online platform, either through
redesigning and integrating new functionality (like NHS Choices to the
right), or embedding content as a widget in other platforms (like the
Linkedin example above). Consideration should be given to where people
are already online, and how a new service could reach out to them.

FUNCTIONS
Helping people work better
People we spoke to who were moving in and out of work like freelancers, temps,
and those on zero-hour contracts, described how they often felt anxious and
stressed about the practicalities of getting by. People in this category will often
find themselves at multiple stages of the employment matrix simultaneously,
looking for new work at the same time as delivering existing work.
We propose information and tools to help people better manage their
unpredictable working lives.
A. Tools that address the practical issues that often trigger stress and
anxiety, eg. contracts, managing clients, tax calculators etc.
B. Tools that help people develop self-awareness about which stage/s of
the employment journey they are on and plan work accordingly
C. Honest stories from people about how they have navigated moving in
and out of work
Helping people better manage their work/life balance
People in this group often find it hard to turn down work when it comes due to
its unpredictability. This can often lead to overwork and stress. Those moving in
and out of work are at risk of isolation and often don’t have the personal and
professional support they need.
We propose information and tools to help those moving in and out of work to
develop a healthier work/life balance:
A. Scheduling tools that help users develop a healthy, effective approach
to work
B. Stories about different approaches to work/ life balance from people
who have unpredictable work patterns or are in and out of work.
IN AND OUT OF WORK
“It’s funny, I’ve been working weekends for as long as I can remember it seems. [I need] something to help me….
focus and reflect more, I think would be helpful, take me outside that bubble.”

HELPING PEOPLE WORK BETTER
Function name: Practical tools that support good working practices eg.
contracts, managing clients, tax calculators etc
At the most basic level this function can provide sector specific information to
enable individuals to understand the basics of working on contracts or as free-
lancers. The next, interactive, level would allow users to enter some basic data
and receive targeted support for their specific questions relating to insecure
employment. The deepest level would allow individuals to create a personal
profile and monitor their working practices.
IN AND OUT OF WORK
“Some ‘How to’ pages for start ups would be great. With things like how to
plan for time off, manage client demands, manage your accounts, negotiate
contracts, set a realistic price for your skills…”

Function name: Tools that help people develop self-awareness about which
stage/s of the employment journey they are on and plan work accordingly
All of the tools provided in this set of functions would be sector specific and
would illustrate:
A. The highs and lows of working on short terms contracts and potential
routes into more stable work
B. Realistic route maps of the journey of a freelancer or start up.
At the most basic level this function could provide tailored information
to enable individuals to situate themselves in the employment journey
and understand the options open to them. The next, interactive, level
would allow users to enter some basic data and receive targeted
support on demand. The deepest level would allow individuals to create
a personal login and track and monitor their working experiences and
mental wellbeing.
“It would be good to have a realistic trajectory for how small businesses manage
in their first few years - something like ‘The journey of a start up’.”
“Sometimes it is more stressful when work seems to slow down – and you panic
thinking that this is it – you have come to the end. Then you panic and in that
frame of mind you have to chase jobs.”
IN AND OUT OF WORK

Function name: Honest stories from people about how they have navigated
moving in and out of work
This function would provide a set of reference stories from people in different
sectors with unpredictable work. They would explain how they managed their
wellbeing while moving in and out of work. Stories could be searched by sector
(construction, caring) or by situation (zero hours contract; freelancing).
IN AND OUT OF WORK
“Something that gives a realistic big picture of what it is like to freelance/be a
start up business, the highs and lows.”
“It would be nice to have a campaign to tell the truth and tell the stories of
failures, in addition to successes.”

HELPING PEOPLE MANAGE THEIR WORK/LIFE
BALANCE
Function name: Scheduling tools that help users develop a healthy, effective
approach to work
At the most basic level, this function would allow people to enter data and map
their week, visualising their work/ life balance. It would offer suggestions for
how they could improve their work/life balance and would signpost to new and
existing tools on third party sites. At the deeper level, users could create a pro-
file that would allow them to track the impact of different working practices on
their wellbeing over time and integrate data from different wellbeing apps.
IN AND OUT OF WORK
“I work from home and there are no boundaries, everything merges, you end up
never not working.”
“I use project management apps a lot and they are very much about planning
the future, but I wonder if there’s something that could do that in a personal way
as well, how do you plan the different elements of your life, so work, family,
other stuff.”

HELPING PEOPLE MANAGE THEIR WORK/LIFE
BALANCE
Function name: Stories about different approaches to work/life balance from
people who are in and out of work
This function would provide a set of stories of people in different sectors whose
work situation is unpredictable or difficult to plan out and explain how they
maintain work/life balance. These stories could be sequels to the previous work
experience stories and again could be searched by sector (construction, caring)
or by situation (zero hours contract; freelancing).
IN AND OUT OF WORK
“I find it hard to see the value in taking breaks. It’s only when I see the damage
that not taking breaks causes, that I value the need to take breaks.”

Freelancer example above). Consideration should be given to where
people are already online, and how a new service could reach out
to them.

FUNCTIONS
Supporting managers to recognise and respond to
poor mental wellbeing in their team.
Our user research revealed that managers are a key touchpoint playing a vital
role in fostering the wellbeing of their employees, by helping them manage
their workload, develop positive attitudes, and where necessary take time out.
Yet, we found that managers often lack the resources to help them recognise
mental health issues and support employees. We heard stories of managers
who were unaware of an employee’s poor mental wellbeing until they were
signed off on long term sick leave.
A. Story based videos showing the signs of poor mental wellbeing at work
B. Information about managing common mental health issues
C. Prompts for difficult conversations
Helping managers build a supportive working culture
Managers said that they would appreciate scenario based training tools that
would enable them to maintain a supportive work environment and respond
proactively and effectively in different situations.
A. Videos and tools to proactively manage employee wellbeing
Supporting all staff to develop positive wellbeing at work
We found that most people at work need support to maintain positive mental
wellbeing and deal with situations that challenge this.
A. Videos and tools to help staff identify their triggers and their
coping mechanisms
B. Tools to help employees with their work/life balance
C. Prompts for difficult conversations
MANAGING WORK
“It’s a problem that I think a small organisation will always have; we’re not HR specialists. We don’t have an HR
department. Our HR is only as good as what [colleagues name] and I can keep up with. We can ring ACAS for advice
on things, but you have to know when to ask for advice, and sometimes we’ll get it wrong.”

MANAGING WORK Supporting managers to recognise and respond to
poor mental wellbeing IN their team
Function name: Story based videos showing signs of poor mental
wellbeing at work
Videos with stories of managers talking about how they spotted different kinds
of mental distress.
“Last year someone in my team ended up going off due to personal stress, it
wasn’t work related. They would come into work all bubbly, happy, doing loads
of work etc. and then one day just went off sick, and they were off work for six
months because they were severely depressed. You had absolutely no idea that
that was even going on in their mind. There was no warning for it. But I think if
I’d been able to recognise more symptoms of stress, depression and things like
that, rather than just looking for someone that looked a bit miserable that day, I
may have picked up on it.”
“At the moment there’s stress in my team with a couple of people. I’ve certainly
had tears. Working all hours. Working until seven and they are relatively junior.
Working all hours. Working until long after I have left. One-to-ones. Not doing
simple actions. Failure to prioritise and keep that to-do list going. Feeling very
much that when you probe that, there is a lack of eye contact.”

Function name: Information about managing common mental health issues
This function would describe common mental health problems and give specific
advice about how to address them. This function would also offer guidance
about where managers’ duty of care and safeguarding boundaries are, and
when to pass the issue on to Occupational Health or other services.
MANAGING WORK
“I’ve got 20 years management experience but that doesn’t mean I’m an expert
at coping with certain scenarios that I’ve explained, some of these I’ve never
come across before and don’t even know how to. I’ve had to Google, go on
different sites, talk to my other half who’s also a manager to see what he would
do, and just find my steer from somewhere else.”
“Obviously we encourage people to be open with us about what’s going on in
their lives so that we can support them or understand if they need to take time
off and things like that. But then that just opens doors for them to go and tell you
things that you’re like, “I literally have no idea how to respond to that or what to
do and what responsibilities we have.” It’s a lot of pressure.”

Function name: Prompts for difficult conversations
This function would provide scenario based prompts for managers to initiate
conversations with staff when and if they have concerns about their wellbeing
at work. It may also include some role-play based tutorials to allow managers
to practise difficult conversations.
MANAGING WORK
“I think we could probably all around the table say we’ve been on that training,
but… where are the notes? To actually have something live at my fingertips
to just go, “Yes, I remember.” Because, I don’t think anyone is good at tough
conversations, I think people are better or worse at delivering them, but I think
everyone finds them difficult.”
“It gives me permission to need those things. It says, ‘It’s okay, even though
you have this title of line manager and you are supposed to be good at this stuff,
to need things to help you do it. It’s totally legitimate that you’re a human as
you’re doing this, and finding the coping mechanisms for yourself in a difficult
conversation is legitimate.’”

Helping managers build a supportive working
culture
Function name: Videos and tools to proactively manage employee-well being
Videos of managers describing the different ways they build a supportive
work culture. Signposting to information and tools that will help managers be
proactive about employee wellbeing.
MANAGING WORK
“I suppose what should come first is trying to alert people to the fact that if
you have regular one-on-one conversations with people, and you have some
knowledge of them personally, then you should be able to detect when there
are perhaps changes, rather than it getting to the point where someone is
repeatedly phoning in sick.”
“I think a big thing for me is awareness of what is going on with my team
outside of the workplace, and how that translates. We try and ask people, “How
much have you slept?” I ask my team, “How much did you guys sleep last night,
this week? Did you work this weekend?” If I think about our metrics, it is like,
“Did you work at all on the weekend? How much time? How many hours did you
work a week? Are you getting sick?””

Supporting all staff to develop positive wellbeing
at work
Function name: Videos and tools to help staff identify their triggers and their
coping mechanisms
This function would include a list of common stress triggers at work and
provide a range of videos and tools with suggested actions to address these
and develop appropriate coping mechanisms.
MANAGING WORK
“Is there anything on sources of stress anywhere in here? I think a bit of; what
are ten common sources of stress? That is one thing that would help
me have that conversation. “Ah okay. I understand that you are stressed
because you had this type of interaction.”
“It is amazing how different it is, right? For some people, they are like, “If I
have fifty unread emails it is a massive source of stress.” For some of my
colleagues, if I pull out my Blackberry, they are like, “How can you have four
and a half thousand unread emails?”
“Most of us are probably quite highly stressed in our work, but have developed
coping mechanisms that are more or less successful, exactly, depending on
the day.”

MANAGING WORK
at work
Function name: Tools to help employees with their work/life balance
At the most basic level, this function would allow people to enter some basic
data and see how they can improve their work/life balance, offering some
suggestions for activities. This would signpost to new and existing tools on third
party sites. At the deeper level, users could create a profile that would allow
them to integrate and link in with wellbeing apps to monitor the impact of
different working practices on their wellbeing over a sustained period.
“You know, maybe get them to think about, “When was the last time that you
actually had a week off?” My last company used to make you take two weeks of
your holiday in one solid block each year to give you a full rest from work.That
really did make a difference to people because a lot of people don’t; they just use
it for the odd day here and there. But that’s not a break.”

at work
Function name: Prompts for difficult conversations
This function would provide scenario based prompts that would support
employees to initiate difficult conversations with managers. It may also
include some role play based tutorials to allow employees to practise difficult
conversations.
MANAGING WORK
“You say, “Why didn’t you come to me?” and it is the whole thing, “I didn’t
want you to think that I was failing, that I wasn’t doing my job properly or
that I couldn’t do it. It was just a lot.” Then it’s the case of having the whole
conversation, “Well if you’d told me I probably could’ve moved things around
and made it easier or actually had a conversation.A lot of time it’s actually
having that conversation early enough to be able to do something. But normally
people, through pride, will hold it and keep going and going until they burst.”

Time-Tracking example above). Consideration should be given to where
people are already online, and how a new service could reach out to
them. For example, these functions could potentially be accessed via an
organisation’s intranet.

CONNECTED JOURNEYS
Digital support services add more value when they are integrated into offline
systems of support: face to face consultations with GPs, counselors, or jobs
advisors; peer-to-peer support, telephone services. Consideration should be
given to how digital support can link into the existing employment and mental
health support ecosystem, and the role that professionals can play in ensuring
that new digital support functions are used to their fullest potential.

Creating digital tools for mental WELLBEING and employment support
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
We’ve developed these design principles for anyone developing digital tools at
the intersection of mental health and employment. They are based on insights
generated in both the Discovery Phase and this Pre-Alpha Phase.
Self-awareness
Enable people to develop self-awareness, in relation to abilities and skills,
employment needs and mental wellbeing.
Foresight
Support people to think ahead when it comes to planning their career and
managing their mental health.
Agency
Enable people to take action based on their self-awareness and foresight. Help
them to identify areas they need support, set goals, and to break actions down
into manageable steps.
Progress
Build in feedback and encouragement at each step to retain engagement
and motivation.
Empathy
Build services that are person-centred, empathetic and relevant.
Signpost
Where possible direct users to existing information and services for both
employment and mental health.
The following principles focus on the provision and design of information and ideal
user flows:
Ensure there are no dead ends
Provide direct leads to enable users to access relevant support services or
information. Provide users with actionsto move forward with.
Provide multiple points of access
Ensure effective links and points of access between online and offline
resources and services, particularly at a local level. Any online resources must
be in a format that can also be read on alternative devices or offline.
Provide a menu of options
Provide a range of options and routes to guide individuals to form their own
paths for progress that work for them and is tailored to their digital skills and
specific needs.
Make it accurate & up-to-date
Ensure information is accurate and quality assured, clearly explaining any
changes in services and benefits with links through to required actions or
opportunities.
Use audio-visual language
Communicate information with a blend of video, audio and graphics where
possible. Text should be clear and simple without being patronising.
Story-based
Use real stories from in-situ characters to provide inspiration and information
Use everyday imagery
Bust stigmas. Don’t use standard images relating to poor mental health,
instead use images from daily life. This will highlight that mental wellbeing is
part of everyone’s life, rather than the exclusive domain of those with severe,
diagnosed mental health issues.
Make sure information is tailored
Provide information in layers that align to different stages of the employment
and mental health journey, as well as other factors such as geographical
location.

LOOKING FORWARD
considerations
Duty of care: if a government site offers self-assessment of mental health,
what is the duty of care if people are high risk or in crisis?
Legal challenge: advice, support, and tools on a government digital platform
could be scrutinised by others for legal challenges e.g. does it advise job
seekers to network/volunteer, which currently falls outside of the definition of
job hunting used by the Department for Work & Pensions?
Data protection and anonymity: will people want to share their identity on
a government site? Will people be comfortable sharing information about
schedules, daily activities, personal feelings, mental wellbeing in this context?
Who keeps the data and what is done with it?
Favouring providers: if the digital platform is an aggregator, signposting users
to other services, how can it avoid favouring one provider over another and
being accused of bias?
NEXT STEPS
Future actions that would ensure this work continues to add value:
• Use the findings to inform the design brief for the Behavioural Insights
Team Challenge Prize on digital mental health support
• Publish the Discovery & Pre-Alpha phase reports and make available to
other governmental departments through GDS.
• Undertake a fuller horizon scan and gap analysis of existing digital
mental health and employment support tools and services
• Before any full Alpha stage, conduct an analysis with relevant
stakeholders to address key issues such as risk, cost, impact &
evaluation
• Conduct full Alpha process
Our research with stakeholders and potential service-users raised
vital questions that are beyond the scope of this project, but are
important to consider for future development.

WHO WE ARE
The Point People is a company focused on maximising the impact of social
innovation initiatives. We are a mix of social researchers, policy analysts, social
entrepreneurs, artists and innovators. We’ve been commissioners, evaluators
and recipients of funding. We’ve run big government programmes and started
small social enterprises. We’ve led incubation programmes for young
innovators and provided strategic support to senior executives. We’ve
campaigned from the outside and reformed from the inside. Between us, we’ve
been there.
Snook is a Service Design agency based in Glasgow who specialise in designing
exceptional customer experiences that are joined up and work for people, with
a distinct focus on innovation in the public domain. Snook have worked for the
past 5 years across the public sector including clients from the NHS, Scottish
Government, 3rd sector agencies and local authorities across the UK. They
have depth of knowledge in the field of Mental Health and Employment working
with health boards in Scotland to research the impact of technology on mental
health and continuing to build digital products for the Mental Health sector in
partnership with the NHS and EU.

Creating digital tools for mental wellbeing and employment support: pre-alpha phase

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Creating digital tools for mental wellbeing and employment support: pre-alpha phase