Case Study: Advice NI

Advice NI’s work with the Internet

Advice NI provides leadership, representation and support to its members in the independent advice sector to facilitate the delivery of free, independent, high quality, advice services. As an organisation, it provides valuable information on social issues affecting individuals and communities.

Advice NI has used ICT effectively to develop other means of supporting the advice sector in Northern Ireland

AdviceLink

AdviceLink is an email group for advisers in Northern Ireland. The e-group enables advisers, who are often isolated, to share advice and information on issues affecting their clients and to raise issues of common concern. AdviceLink also allows advisers to keep up to date with recent changes in policy and practice in the area of social welfare.

Despite being one of the longest established technologies email groups are still one of the most effective means of communicating among a widely spread group. Advice NI’s ‘AdviceLink’ is an excellent example of the potential benefits that a widely used email group can bring to a community.

AdviceNet

AdviceNet initial aim was to develop a new online community of advice workers, to enable the discussion of social policy issues via discussion forums. AdviceNet has developed into an online community enabling frontline advice workers and their clients to participate in social policy formulation and implementation debates.

AdviceNet is arguably the most successful implementation of an econsultation forum in Northern Ireland. The site has successfully managed to draw in and retain users on a range of topics including pension credits, tax credits and the reform of the advice sector itself.

Advice NI has embraced the potential of the web, and as a result it has been able to extend the support it can provide advice agencies throughout Northern Ireland.