Advisory forum launched to steer future direction of SHAPE

A SHAPE Advisory Forum has been launched to ensure the application is the best it can be for all users, both now and in the future.

The independent advisory group will be made up of representatives from Parallel, the Department for Health and Social Care, Integrated Care Systems and Local Authorities.

They will be joined by representatives from NHS England, Community Health Partnerships and NHS Property Services, offering broad and valuable feedback on SHAPE from those who use it most.

The forum will meet quarterly, with the primary role being to look at key areas where SHAPE can be used to support service and infrastructure review, planning and transformation.

The SHAPE Advisory Forum Chair James Perry is Associate Director, Local Knowledge Intelligence Service, North East and Yorkshire, at the Department for Health and Social Care.

He said: “The primary role of the SHAPE Advisory Forum is to encourage collaboration and oversee the long-term, strategic development of the tool for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“The forum is a place where we can share knowledge and best practice about how we’re using the tool and working alongside the team behind SHAPE.

“Through our wider networks we can identify future priorities and seek feedback on the product to influence development to ensure it can evolve to meet user needs.”

Claire Harrison, CEO of Parallel, the providers of SHAPE added:

“The Advisory Forum is a place for partners to discuss where data driven decision making in projects is going to be fundamental. We can then ensure any future developments planned in the platform align to the needs of our public sector partners.

“As a result of feedback, we are already making some fundamental changes to the user experience and also the way in which we support organisations using the product. The SHAPE Services offer, whereby we provide clients with the analysis and outputs to support their projects, is a direct result of user feedback.”