Iriss

Iriss is a Scottish charitable company based in Glasgow that works to improve the quality and effectiveness of social services by helping the workforce find, evaluate, share and apply knowledge. Its work is focused primarily on Scotland’s social care and social work sectors, bringing together research, digital resources, professional learning, innovation methods and practical support for evidence-informed practice. The organization originated in 2003 as the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education, or SIESWE. It was established as a collaboration among the nine Scottish universities that taught social work, under the chairmanship of Professor Joyce Lishman of Robert Gordon University. The original purpose was to support transformational improvement in the education and training of future social workers. In 2007, the organization adopted the name Iriss as its remit expanded beyond university-based social work education to include the wider social care workforce. A central part of Iriss’s digital work has been the Learning Exchange. Launched in 2005, it was designed as an interactive repository for digital learning resources in social work education. The service used cataloguing and metadata standards intended to support interoperability with other systems, including the distribution of learning objects for use in virtual learning environments. Initially, access was limited to students and staff at Scottish higher-education institutions involved in social work teaching. The collection later became part of the portfolio made available through NHS Education for Scotland, extending access to the wider social services workforce. Iriss progressively moved toward open access. In 2008, it adopted a policy of releasing its own materials under Creative Commons licensing, reducing the need for password-based access. The Learning Exchange was subsequently rebuilt with Drupal in 2010, and its metadata could be harvested by other services. This enabled its resources to be indexed through Social Services Knowledge Scotland, a knowledge portal developed by NHS Education for Scotland in partnership with Iriss, Scottish Social Services Learning Networks and the Social Care Institute for Excellence. The organization also produces multimedia and interactive learning materials. These have included scenario-based resources developed with social work educators, actors and filmmakers, as well as recordings of seminars and other professional events. Its multimedia work has addressed subjects such as child protection, assessment, social care futures and the history of Scottish children sent to Canada through migration schemes. Iriss later distributed audio through IRISS.FM and used online video platforms to make learning materials available more widely. Another strand of Iriss’s work concerns knowledge management and information literacy. In collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland and other stakeholders, it contributed to a knowledge-management strategy for Scottish social services derived from the Changing Lives programme. It also developed manuals and an interactive tutorial to help practitioners locate, assess and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. Iriss promotes evidence-informed practice through resources such as Confidence through Evidence, evidence summaries, a practitioner Champions Network and a Research Advice Service for social care workers undertaking their own research. Its innovation and improvement programme supports new approaches, tools, training and interventions intended to help social services achieve sustainable change. Across these activities, Iriss functions less as a conventional consumer brand than as a sector-facing knowledge, learning and improvement organization serving statutory and voluntary social services.

Iriss began in 2003 as the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education, a collaborative initiative involving the nine Scottish universities teaching social work. The initiative was chaired by Professor Joyce Lishman of Robert Gordon University and was created to promote major improvements in the education and training of Scotland’s future social workers. Its initial remit was therefore closely connected to higher education and professional preparation. In 2005, the organization launched the Learning Exchange, an interactive digital library for social work education. The repository was built to support structured cataloguing, metadata interoperability and the reuse of multimedia learning objects in virtual learning environments. At first, access was restricted to staff and students at Scottish higher-education institutions involved in social work teaching, with authentication handled through the Athens Eduserv system. Its content was later added to the NHS Education for Scotland portfolio, allowing access to a substantially wider social services audience. The organization started producing web-based multimedia learning objects in the same period. These resources used practice scenarios created with social work educators and were developed with professional writers, actors and filmmakers. Examples addressed child protection, legal and ethical practice, assessment and the future of social care. The Assessment Triangle was subsequently used in the development of the Integrated Assessment Framework associated with Getting it right for every child. Other work, such as The Golden Bridge, combined historical material and archival artefacts to explore the migration of Scottish children to Canada. In 2006, Iriss began recording research seminars and other events so that professional knowledge could be distributed in audio form. The recordings were made available through the organization’s website and the iTunes Store. This podcast activity was later replaced by IRISS.FM in June 2012, giving the organization an internet-radio format for sharing conversations, events and sector knowledge. Iriss also used online video distribution for multimedia materials. A significant change in its access model occurred in 2008, when Iriss adopted Creative Commons licensing for content it produced. Because much of the material did not require restricted access, password protection was removed and an open search interface was developed. In 2010, the Learning Exchange was rebuilt using Drupal. Its metadata could be harvested by third parties, allowing resources to become searchable through Social Services Knowledge Scotland, a knowledge portal created through cooperation among NHS Education for Scotland, Iriss, Scottish Social Services Learning Networks and the Social Care Institute for Excellence. In 2007, the organization changed its name from SIESWE to Iriss. The change reflected a broader role covering the social care workforce as well as social work education. Its later activities included collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland and other stakeholders on a Knowledge Management Strategy for Social Services. A revised edition was published by the Scottish Government in November 2012. Iriss also created information-literacy manuals and an interactive tutorial to help practitioners find, evaluate and use digital information responsibly. Iriss developed a broad evidence-informed-practice programme. Confidence through Evidence was designed to help practitioners acquire, assess, adapt and apply evidence. The organization supplemented this toolkit with evidence summaries, a Champions Network linking Iriss with statutory and voluntary-sector workers, and a Research Advice Service for practitioners carrying out their own studies. Its innovation and improvement programme has focused on new thinking, practical tools, training and interventions intended to support sustainable transformation in Scottish social services. Through these activities, Iriss evolved from a university collaboration into a sector-wide charitable knowledge and improvement organization serving social work, social care, education, research and professional practice.

• 2014

  Imagining the Future released

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  Iriss publishes a creative exploration of social care, support and community life in Scotland in 2025.

• 2012

  Revised social services knowledge strategy published

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  A revised Knowledge Management Strategy for Social Services is published by the Scottish Government in November.

• 2012

  IRISS.FM launches

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  The internet-radio series replaces Iriss’s earlier podcast programme.

• 2010

  Learning Exchange rebuilt

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  The Learning Exchange is rebuilt with Drupal and made more accessible through open search and metadata harvesting.

• 2008

  Open licensing policy adopted

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  Iriss begins releasing its own content under Creative Commons licensing and removes unnecessary access restrictions.

• 2007

  SIESWE becomes Iriss

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopts the Iriss name as its remit expands from social work education to the wider social care workforce.

• 2006

  Research and event recordings begin

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  Iriss begins recording seminars and other events for distribution through online audio channels.

• 2005

  Learning Exchange launches

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  Iriss introduces an interactive digital repository for social work education resources and reusable learning objects.

• 2003

  SIESWE is established

  [1]Irissen.wikipedia.org

  The Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education is formed through a collaboration of nine Scottish universities teaching social work.

A Scottish social services knowledge and improvement organization focused on evidence-informed practice, digital learning, information literacy and innovation.

• Digital learning repository · 2005

  Learning Exchange

  The Learning Exchange is Iriss’s digital repository for social work and social services learning resources. Launched in 2005, it was designed around structured metadata and reusable multimedia learning objects that could be incorporated into virtual learning environments. Its access model later became more open, and its resources could be discovered through metadata harvesting and Social Services Knowledge Scotland.

• Evidence-informed practice toolkit

  Confidence through Evidence

  Confidence through Evidence is a toolkit intended to help social services practitioners acquire, assess, adapt and apply evidence in their work. It forms part of Iriss’s wider programme to strengthen evidence-informed decision-making and connect research with day-to-day professional practice.

• Internet radio and professional knowledge media · 2012

  IRISS.FM

  IRISS.FM is an internet-radio format used to share discussions, interviews, events and other sector knowledge. It succeeded Iriss’s earlier podcast series in June 2012 and extends the organization’s long-standing use of audio to capture and distribute professional learning.

• Research support service

  Research Advice Service

  The Research Advice Service supports social care workers who are conducting their own research. It reflects Iriss’s role in helping practitioners develop research capability and use locally generated knowledge alongside published evidence.

• Social services improvement support

  Innovation and Improvement programme

  This programme promotes new thinking in Scottish social services and develops tools, training and interventions intended to support practical and sustainable transformation. It is part of Iriss’s broader sector-improvement mission rather than a commercial product line.

• 2014Imagining the Future

  Scotland

  A creative research and futures project examining what social care, support and community life might look like in Scotland in 2025.

  Outcome. Released in November 2014 and reported as receiving favorable reviews.

  Source

• 2012

  Replace podcasts with IRISS.FMProduct launch

  Background

  Iriss had used recorded seminars and events as an economical way to capture and distribute professional knowledge since 2006.

  Action taken

  In June 2012, it replaced the earlier podcast series with IRISS.FM internet radio.

  Aftermath

  Audio remained part of Iriss’s broader digital learning and knowledge-sharing activity.

  Source

• 2010

  Rebuild the Learning ExchangeGeneration change

  Background

  The original repository technology needed to support more open access, improved search and wider interoperability.

  Action taken

  Iriss rebuilt the Learning Exchange using Drupal and enabled metadata harvesting by third parties.

  Aftermath

  Learning Exchange resources became searchable through Social Services Knowledge Scotland and could be integrated more readily with other knowledge systems.

  Source

• 2008

  Move toward open licensing and accessStrategy

  Background

  Much of the Learning Exchange content did not require restricted access, and Iriss wanted its materials to be more widely reusable.

  Action taken

  Iriss adopted Creative Commons licensing for its own content and removed password protection where it was unnecessary.

  Aftermath

  The organization introduced a simpler open search interface and made its resources easier for practitioners and external systems to discover.

  Source

• 2007

  Expand the remit and adopt the Iriss nameStrategy

  Background

  The original organization focused on excellence in social work education, while the sector required knowledge and learning support for the broader social care workforce.

  Action taken

  SIESWE changed its name to Iriss and broadened its scope to include social care workers and social services practice.

  Aftermath

  Iriss developed into a sector-wide organization working across education, evidence use, knowledge management, innovation and improvement.

  Source

1. 1Irissen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Iriss official websiteiriss.org.uk