This is Focus Ltd

Virtual Community Hub and Digital Day Service

Used by councils to allow vulnerable people, including those who may be shielding, to access community centre activities and events. The Virtual Community Hub is designed to reduce social isolation, improve health and wellbeing and save social care teams budget and resource and reduce operational costs of home-care support.

Features

• Customisable Virtual Cafe with safe and secure real-time video chat.
• Stream events, activities, sessions and classes to remote service users.
• Automated feedback mechanisms following events and activities.
• Searchable library of pre-recorded videos and presentations.
• Tools for safeguarding and acceptable use.
• Moderator controls including 'report this user' tools.
• Buddies feature for linking friends.
• Bespoke information pages including multiple languages.
• Referrals and invite-a-friend.
• Reporting and analytics.

Benefits

• Ensure vulnerable people can access services and events.
• Increase the inclusion and accessibility of events, activities and services.
• Grow support and peer networks around vulnerable people.
• Reduce social isolation and loneliness.
• Support good mental health and wellbeing.
• Get user feedback on services and events.
• Help people in the community maintain their independence.
• Supports early intervention through engagement.
• Boost awareness of and participation with day services.
• Reduce time and money spent delivering social care services.

£30,000 to £60,000 a licence a year

• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at simon.newing@thisisfocus.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

985805110129671

Contact

Simon Newing
01179498008
simon.newing@thisisfocus.co.uk

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
• What software services is the service an extension to: Can also be used with Digital Community Platform, Family Hubs App and solutions for Care Leavers and SEND Local Offer.
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: The Hub requires a modern internet browser.; We recommend a minimum 2Mbps download connection for joining live video.
• System requirements: Latest internet browser.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Support requests are acknowledged same day during business hours. Support is not offered at weekends.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: No
• Support levels: Technical support is accessed through our account management team during business hours via email or telephone. We do not employ tiered levels of support - all contracts receive the same level of technical support and support is included as part of contract costs. Urgent queries that are preventing systems from operating as normal or resulting in unexpected downtime, are treated as priority and are responded to immediately. Other support queries are acknowledged within two business days, often sooner. A service level agreement is included as part of any commission. We offer an optional additional service of monthly development hours that can be spent on small items of work and amends that cannot be completed within the administration system, without the need for individual quotes.
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Each customer will be introduced to our dedicated project manager who will lead the team through setup and implementation. A kick-off meeting will be arranged with key stakeholders. Administration system training is held remotely and early in the project. Further assistance is provided through a library of screencasts within the administration system: short videos that walk administrators through regular tasks.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
  • Other
• Other documentation formats: Video.
• End-of-contract data extraction: All data can be downloaded from the administration system as CSV files. A MySQL data dump can also be provided on request. Any data that requires removal will be destroyed following our ISO27001 operational procedure.
• End-of-contract process: A closure date will be agreed and access to the Hub and the administration system will be removed from that point. No further content updates or system activity will be possible. No additional costs apply.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Screens and layouts are device-optimised.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 A
• Description of service interface: Authorised administrators can use the service interface to complete various management tasks including accessing reports, arranging virtual sessions, managing user accounts and content updates. Admins can use the service interface to send push notifications to app users, manage user access, view and process user enquiries and view and download basic reports on Hub usage including aggregate data. Data can be downloaded as CSV files for local examination.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 A
• Accessibility testing: Checking of the service interface code has been performed against front-end validator services, tests have also been completed to ensure the service interface is operable without a mouse and can be navigated efficiently using a keyboard / tab-based navigation.
• API: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: The name, branding, design and 'look and feel' of the Hub is customisable on a per-project basis; Content on information pages is customisable.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Each Hub is hosted within a cloud-based infrastructure that can be scaled at any time to cope with demand. All instances, including databases, are segregated appropriately.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Real-time reports are available as part of the administration system and our account management team provide quarterly and annual summary reports. All reports cover the key essential Hub usage statistics in aggregate form and we also set individual project KPIs that are monitored pro-actively. Any specific reporting requirements can be discussed and catered for.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Penetration testing approach: In-house
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Admins are able to export all data from the administration system, downloadable as CSV files.
• Data export formats: CSV
• Data import formats: Other
• Other data import formats:
  • PDF
  • HTML

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: For the Virtual Community Hub we offer 99.5% availability. Service credits are offered should this uptime not be achieved.
• Approach to resilience: The datacentre provides resilience through physical safeguards such as camera surveillance, biometric scanning, personnel screening and background checks and confidentiality agreements. Dual power paths run into the datacentre providing an uninterruptible power supply with additional contingency provided through onsite generators. The Hub is hosted within a cloud-based server infrastructure where resources can be easily scaled, or moved and restored across multiple cloud-based locations, even in the event of total site failure. Bandwidth is scalable and the server operates a load-balancer which provides secondary level of service should the primary server fail. We operate back-ups of all data on a nighty basis from three different locations, retaining data up to twelve months. Business continuity and disaster recovery form key parts of our ISO9001 operational procedures.
• Outage reporting: Outages are reported by our account management team via email and phone and customers are communicated with throughout any outage, through to resolution.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access to the web-based Hub administration system is restricted and authenticated via username and password. The admin system uses TLS v1.2 to encrypt data in transit between server and browser.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: Alcumus
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 8/9/2023
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: All technical, security and operational aspects of this service are covered by ISO27001
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards:
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
• Other security governance standards: Cyber Essentials
• Information security policies and processes: We operate an ISO27001 certified information security management policy that applies to all technical security and operational aspects of our business. Day-to-day responsibility for the implementation of this policy lies with our Technical Director, supported by senior members of the technical team. This policy covers secure development practice, access control, data protection, business continuity and disaster recovery, staff awareness and training, password policy, remote working, use of company equipment, sub-contractors, software installation, use of personal devices, physical security, IT and security, acceptable use and information classification. Policies are reviewed annually by the senior management team who also ensure team members are aware of amendments and new content and their responsibilities to work within the scope of each policy, and this is externally audited annually as part of ISO9001 management review.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: We follow secure development practice as part of ISO27001 operational procedures. Development work is version controlled using Github, peer reviewed by senior members of the technical team prior to deployment and subject to automated testing which prevents faulty code from entering the live environment. New versions of software and systems are subject to static code analysis.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: Vulnerability management forms an important part of our ISO27001 operational procedures. We undertake regular penetration testing using an OWASP compatible tool and we would be happy to discuss additional third party testing. We also undertake further server security tests on a quarterly basis. Any critical vulnerabilities identified are applied same day in line with vendor recommendations, others of lower priority are scheduled in with other operational tasks.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Protective monitoring forms an important part of our ISO27001 operational procedures. Servers run with only necessary services available and all security patches installed and updated in line with vendor instructions. Servers are further protected via software firewalls and third party protection services to mitigate against possible threats. Our own server monitoring service provides additional regular checks such as server load, and reports unexpected activity to the technical team via email and SMS, who investigate immediately.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Formal incident management forms an important part of our ISO27001 operational procedures. Any incidents or suspected incidents should be raised with our account management team, via email or telephone, where they will then be reviewed by our technical team. Our account management team will ensure communication throughout through to resolution and major incidents will be escalated to our Technical Director.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  Wellbeing

  Wellbeing

  Using the Virtual Community Hub provides local authorities with the opportunity to aim for a range of outcomes that are beneficial to people's health and wellbeing, including:; - improving and increasing engagement levels with adult social care users in community hub day services.; - reducing social isolation and loneliness.; - improving mental health.; - increasing access to other local services.; - reducing operational costs for home-care support.; - improving the peer network and support for vulnerable people.

Pricing

• Price: £30,000 to £60,000 a licence a year
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: A time-limited trial version (maximum 30 days) of the Virtual Community Hub can be discussed. All functionality and features would be included within the trial.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at simon.newing@thisisfocus.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.