Introducing Traverse’s Digital Innovation Framework

Traverse’s Digital Innovation Framework (DIF), is our approach to developing, implementing and scaling up service digitalisation projects in health and social care. Regardless of the focus of a given digital project, be it improving aspects of service delivery, engaging with end-users differently or researching new ways to deliver services that are fit for purpose, our DIF encourages innovators in this space to adopt a strategic approach to project design. 

The DIF has been developed based on our experience of conducting public engagement and evaluations of service digitalisation projects in health and social care. If you would like to learn more about these projects, click here.

 Our approach centres on three key recommendations:

• Be clear about the intended outcomes for the project to align efforts and make best use of resources  
• Run diagnostics to test the viability of your digital innovation before embarking on implementation
• Invest in a robust project methodology, including a discovery phase and a systematic formative evaluation

The diagram below, designed by Perla Rembiszewski, project manager of the Evaluation of the Local Investment Programme and Social Digital Innovation Programme for the LGA, outlines our Traverse approach to digital transformation in health and social care:

Each section of the DIF is outlined in detail in forthcoming blogs in the order presented in the diagram: ‘Defining outcomes’, ‘Overcoming anticipated challenges’ and ‘Methodology Design’. 

‘Defining outcomes’ seeks to guide project leads through the definition of project objectives. This part of the DIF lists the most common objectives digital innovation projects are designed to achieve. This provides a starting point for practitioners to focus their discussions on project outcomes and their impacts.

‘Overcoming anticipated challenges’ explores the potential challenges that digital transformation projects may encounter and possible ways to address these.

‘Methodology Design’provides guidance on how to design a robust research methodology which can enable practitioners to run problem diagnostics and evidence impact for scalable change.