Of the data breaches and digital scam stories that flood the news, there are just as many unsung heroes in the tech space where we’ve seen incredible outcomes to reduce our climate impact, improve lives and even protect endangered species.

Back in 2018 when the concept of the One Stop, One Story Hub was first introduced to us by the Thriving Communities Partnership team, we knew the Hub could be a hero in bringing Infoxchange’s vision of technology for social justice to life and were thrilled to become the technology partner.

Back in 2018 when the concept of the One Stop, One Story Hub (Hub) was first introduced to us by the Thriving Communities Partnership team, we knew the Hub could be a hero in bringing Infoxchange’s vision of technology for social justice to life and were thrilled to become the technology partner.

Through the development of the Hub, the lived experience of hardship certainly resonated with our team and was far from new to our ears after decades of working to support people through tech. The many challenges and uncertainties such as not knowing where to turn, navigating the web of support services, and the need to continually share your story (and relive trauma) were loud and clear. Yet as technology advanced, and more information was at our fingertips, it was apparent this age-old problem could be far better supported with a modern-day solution.

It’s important to remember tech by itself has no powerful purpose, its impact is driven by human choices and actions. So when you bring together a group of people striving to improve lives, tech can play a pivotal amplifying role in helping to facilitate that change. This is where the real story behind the One Stop, One Story Hub begins – with people.

Now, it’s important to remember tech by itself has no powerful purpose, its impact is driven by human choices and actions. So when you bring together a group of people striving to improve lives, tech can play a pivotal amplifying role in helping to facilitate that change. This is where the real story behind the One Stop, One Story Hub begins – with people.

When I look across the partners behind the One Stop, One Story Hub, of which Infoxchange is a very proud one, it’s the people from this unique collaboration that are giving the words ‘tech for good’ real meaning.

From the outset, we knew tech could help us solve the challenges experienced by people going through hardship, but the reality of building a world-first digital platform has meant we’ve all poured our brains into ensuring every technical decision is a positive one for the people we’re here to support. These are things that have kept the team up at night:

Design

Design was key consideration of the Hub, and one that has not been looked at lightly. If we are to truly support people experiencing vulnerability, we needed to ensure we are designing the solution (technology or other!) with the people who will make most use of it at the heart of the work.

Human-centred design has been a linchpin of the Hub since day one. This approach starts with the people you are looking to help and ends with new solutions that are tailor made to suit their needs. In short, it’s been about making sure the future users of the Hub are the key architects, and that our team responsible for building the tech are doing so through a lens of empathy and empowerment.

Security and privacy

The innovation of the Hub is putting the person in need at the centre, and with that comes ensuring their privacy is paramount. In the many engagements the partners have had about the Hub, the importance and the challenges of security and privacy have circled every conversation. Ultimately, the Hub facilitates confidential sharing of information about people experiencing vulnerability with the intent to offer better supports from a number of corporates and support providers.

Years ago, the concept of sharing this type of information safely and securely through a digital platform felt out of reach, and is why today we still see fax machines in use to share patient information in health settings. The Hub partners were up to the challenge, recognising it would not be easy to solve, and knowing we had to look across people, processes and technology to ensure the security and privacy of user information.

As the technology partner, Infoxchange was well-versed in facilitating safe and secure referrals of information and was able to bring our internationally recognised security accreditation (ISO 27001) to the Hub, while collaborating with partners to meet their own requirements.

We have undertaken third party assessments to ensure the robustness of our measures, and ultimately validated our work by ensuring the future users of the Hub are comfortable with how their data will be used to support better outcomes. Beyond meeting security standards, we were rightly kept on our toes by domestic and family violence service provider partners, who worked tirelessly to ensure all complex privacy concerns were considered and solved.

The thing with data safety and privacy is the work doesn’t stop once the tech is in the real world.  Ensuring security and privacy is an everyday aspect of the Hub, that will continue to occupy the minds of our security experts, our partners and the people we’re here to support.  

Usability

Usability

‘If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter’, and so can be said for building a new digital platform. In the human-centred design process, we heard many innovative ideas and approaches to help support people in hardship. But bringing all the bells and whistles into the pilot of the Hub would have been the wrong choice at this stage in the journey. The benefits of a focused scope have resulted in a more timely delivery of the Hub (and at a lower cost).

These tactical  decisions have helped us best reach our goal of helping people in need. At a high level, this meant thinking how users might navigate the Hub, designing in collaboration with Hub partners to match the way they work or best practice, making sure we have good hosting so people can always access the Hub, ensuring the website copy is simple and easy to follow, and the list goes on and on. 

Tech for good, by good people

Each of these considerations have been thoughtfully considered by the whole partnership to provide the best possible experience for people going through hardship. While technology has been a pivotal means to help us deliver change, it certainly isn’t the end. The people of this partnership are the ones who make everyday decisions on how we use technology for good, and good they have done.

Through curious enquiry, sector expertise, technical knowledge and learning from those going through hardship, we are really proud of the Hub pilot and energised by the learnings that lay ahead in its early implementation. It has been a career highlight for many of us at Infoxchange, and we’re only just scratching the surface on its potential to better support people through a difficult period of their lives.

Through curious enquiry, sector expertise, technical knowledge and learning from those going through hardship, we are really proud of the Hub pilot and energised by the learnings that lay ahead in its early implementation. It has been a career highlight for many of us at Infoxchange, and we’re only just scratching the surface on its potential to better support people through a difficult period of their lives.

While advancements in tech can provoke a spectrum of hopes and fears, it’s important to remember there’s a balance of good tech changing lives for the better (and much more to come if we do our jobs well!).