We have revolutionised how the data is accessed and used and are now able to apply a level of scenario testing that would never have been possible under the old set up. Previously, users would print out an entire database onto paper and then attempt to manually find residents who may need assistance or to be evacuated due to a flood, gas leak, severe weather event or petro-chemical plant incident. The time taken to run this task manually risks life during time critical incidents.

Having the data cleansed and then stored in a GIS, the data can now be overlaid with other data sets such as the road network, bridges, schools, known flood risk areas and aerial imagery which allows for instant identification of vulnerable persons as well being able to quantify the number affected and even help rank which order the identified vulnerable persons should receive help.

The PARD now allows Emergency Planners to actively test out various mock scenarios to quantify levels of response needed.

The PARD project has officially been signed off as complete and Falkirk Council is currently helping other local authorities set up their own solution by offering technical advice, demonstrations and copies of all documentation used throughout our project. The PARD solution is constantly being fine tuned and will be demonstrated later this year to Ordnance Survey who have expressed an interest in the project.

The Scottish Government has also picked up our idea which is being hailed as an example of Best Practice and I have been touring with the Scottish Government representatives throughout 2018 to help give presentations regarding the project. The Scottish Government has recently sent letters to every Chief Executive across Scotland to highlight the solution and looking for an indication of uptake of any help.

The project recently won two awards at the 2018 Alarm Risk Awards in both the Partnership and Resilience categories which was also highlighted in local and national news.

Falkirk Councils Legal Dept - understood the need for the project and help set up Data Sharing agreements which are now used by other local authorities and a requirement after the new GDPR rules came into force.

National Health Service (NHS) - The NHS were shown the Falkirk Council solution and were so impressed that they decided to scrap their own plans for a similar system and instead agreed to supply their data to Falkirk Council for use within the PARD. This is a very big endorsement.

Scottish Government - In their own words "It is very doubtful if our national system could have been developed without the work, support and assistance of the Falkirk team."

Our local citizens benefit by having a system in place that allows the council to identify any of them classed as vulnerable in a near instantaneous manner during an emergency event where we would be coordinating a response with the Emergency Services.

During a multi-agency preparation and response arrangements exercise for the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the PARD was successfully tested at a National exercise. The results were immediate where all vulnerable individuals in the affected area were identified within 3 minutes of the request being made. This result was commended by our multi agency partners during the debrief process. We now have a system that is updated daily, is secure and accurate and accessible 24hrs a day. We have guaranteed a near instant and accurate response during any emergency scenario. Although the project is officially signed off the PARD solution is constantly reviewed to determine what further applications it can be applied to beyond identifying vulnerable persons. With the Scottish Government partnering with us and heralding the PARD as the definitive solution to be followed by all in Local Government it's expected that further uses will be developed.

The problems posed by the complex issue of sharing personal data in the planning and response to emergencies or disruptive events have long been recognised. The terrorist attacks and severe events witnessed across the UK and beyond highlighted some of the problems of sharing personal information. To date, no single area in the UK can claim to have completely resolved the issues. Our project has overcome many barriers and obstacles, both actual and perceived, and throughout all of this there had been a commitment to succeed. Without the support and tenacity of individuals within and outwith Falkirk Council, our project would not be as advanced as it is today. Easily one of the biggest wins was selling the business case to our Legal Dept as this underlined what we were attempting to achieve and the reasons behind it and their guidance on Data Protection and GDPR has proven critical to the overall success of the project.

Communication - a clear message of what the current issue is and how it could be resolved was fundamental and was summed up in a very simple but thorough business case.
Buy in - the idea being sold at a senior level can not be overlooked. With our Director previously having been a lawyer there was an immediate understanding of what our innovation was attempting to achieve hence why it should be supported.
Sheer Determination of Staff - due to data being sourced both internally from another department and externally from the NHS there is always a form of resistance when sharing data and goes beyond simple security concerns. There where several rounds of discussions that required the involvement from ICT and the Legal Department who had to help reinforce the same message.
Resources - one way that the project was made easier and allows it to be transferable at a local and national level is the fact that the solution is relatively cost free having opted for an Open Source GIS solution.

The solution is already being used by neighbouring Local Authorities who have their own versions of the PARD solution.

The Scottish Government through the National Centre for Resilience commissioned a system to identify the vulnerable in an emergency to provide assistance to them to mitigate the effects of an emergency. The SG system draws very heavily on the information management and data systems designed by Falkirk Council. The Falkirk team contributed heavily to the design of the national system and many of the lessons learned and practices they designed are incorporated in the adopted system.

The Scottish Government have gone on record to state the following "It is very doubtful if a national system could have been developed without the work, support and assistance of the Falkirk team".

There is significant interest from various health boards looking to replicate what was achieved locally between Falkirk Council and its local health board.

Innovation takes passion! If you have a genuine innovation it means that you need to champion it to people who may not immediately appreciate something which could be a game changer. The message needs to be kept simple to allow the idea to be easily transferable to other parties whom you wish to involve. This may mean encountering set backs or rejections but again if you are passionate about your idea to begin with it will help you overcome any objections or reservations expressed by other parties.