Introduction
At the local level Citizens Advice Bureaus provide local head-to-head, confidential and impartial advice from over 3,300 locations across the UK run from 338 individual charities.
The requirement
The Citizens Advice Bureaus that make up the East Sussex region (Eastbourne, Lewis, Seaford, Hastings, Rother, Uckfield, Hailsham and Crowborough) identified a need to be able to allow advice enquiries to be made online outside of normal operating hours.
The enquiries made need to associate with one of the regions branches as simply as possible and it was essential that confidentiality is maintained through a high level of security.
The site also needed to act as a better repository for specific topic based advice through external linking to other web resources enabling the visitor to self-help if possible.
BarkWeb were selected to deliver the solution after a tender process.
Identifying the solution
During the tender process we were given a detailed requirements document which identified the countywide umbrella functionality needed. In addition to this documentation we made various suggestions to help automate the process and allow for multi-user & multi-branch management.
Delivering the solution
The application we built was based on the BarkWeb CMS at its core, this allows for user management including user role management as well as giving East Sussex CAB the ability to create pages & create and edit content ‘out of the box’ so the main focus for development were gathering, storing and managing the enquiries.
Defining branches
A main requirement was the ability to split the region into branches and associate a visitor to the website with a relevant branch.
The solution we delivered allows for multiple branches to be added (from 1 to unlimited) and each branch can manage its geographical area via a CSV file containing all postcodes that they serve. These included highly specific post codes (level 1, 2, 3 and 4 – e.g. AB12 2AB) as well as more generic (level 1 and 2 only – e.g. AB12).
The postcode checker is used prior to any enquiry being made and is mandatory as it identifies the branch that the enquiry should be stored for. No enquiry can be made without a postcode check and subsequent association with a branch.
Logic based, admin configurable contact forms
The enquiry forms in each section of the site are highly configurable, as an evolution of our standard enquiry forms on the core CMS and as they allow for logic / option based additional fields. This is used in scenarios where a question being answered may require additional information (e.g. Do you have a pet? Yes/No - If Yes show additional form element asking for pets name), this gives East Sussex CAB the ability to fine tune enquiry forms without having to get us, the developers, involved as would be the norm.
Managing the enquiry
Once an enquiry form has been submitted the system can (optionally) email a designated contact an alert that an enquiry has been made.
When a branch member logs into the system they are taken to their enquiry section (branch members associated with a branch can only see enquiries for their branch).
Enquiries can be read, dealt with and responded to if necessary. All communications are stored and detailed on the system so that they can be copied into the CAB communications management platform. Enquiries can also be moved between different branches and can be tagged with work progress status.
Once an enquiry has been dealt it is marked as archived, these are then permanently deleted from the system after 10 days.
Summary
The website provides East Sussex CAN with a class leading Content Management System allowing for instant and easy content edits and addition as well as a highly configurable enquiry gathering platform that can distribute messages across multiple locations and users.
Early indications are that the site has filled the requirement well and is being used and appreciated by enquirers and bureaus.