The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside | An integrated platform to support first online interactions with our green wellbeing service (Myplace).

This challenge seeks to decrease the drop off rate of prospective participants to a wellbeing service (Myplace) at The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside between referral and attending a session. The solution aims to portray Myplace as a welcoming, supportive and engaging environment. 

We propose introducing a range of digital interactions throughout the onboarding process starting with low tech solutions, and increasing as appropriate. These will introduce future participants to the staff members they are meeting as they go through our registration processes. Through email templates, text messages and short, friendly videos introducing the relevant team member and the site, prospects will be able to start putting a face and voice to a name. 

Prospective participants will also receive a link to a 360°video that allows them to look at the meeting point and visualise their first meeting. Should prospects be digitally excluded, they will also be able to access this information without an internet connection. Prospects will have a known point of contact if they are experiencing any issues and will be more likely to start and maintain communication with us.

In order to build rapport with the project officer, prospects will also receive short prompts introducing the Wildlife Trust, tasters of some group activities, examples of things to easily try out at home and more, throughout the onboarding journey. 

These outputs will be designed into a framework of communications with ongoing development remaining a live process, with the full staff team able to easily update and add to an innovative and exciting resource pack. Full training will be provided to staff as part of the programme so they are able to implement plans with, so far as possible, their existing equipment.

Medium term solutions will consider the value of embedding processes within LWTs existing CRM system.

This project is part of the Catalyst and The National Lottery Community Fund COVID-19 Digital Response funding initiative; a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund and CAST, supported by the Catalyst network.

Anxiety, loneliness, depression and isolation are increasing due to Covid-19 but Myplace is successful at addressing these issues. Many people with high anxiety and low wellbeing are able and look forward to, overcoming their poor mental health and implementing personal change, but often they do not complete a referral process due to a number of barriers. 

How can we help prospective Myplace participants overcome these barriers and attend a Myplace session? 

Our users are people experiencing anxiety, poor mental health, and low wellbeing, in the areas of Lancashire, Greater Manchester, and North Merseyside. They are either self referred, referred by the NHS, or by another trusted adult either a professional or family/ friend.

 

User needs statements include: