AND Digital enables expansion of creative and social activities for Libertus charity members

The team at AND Digital’s Glasgow office helped Libertus Services by building an application that empowers its members to access a safe place to engage in social and creative activities.

About Libertus

Libertus Services is an Edinburgh-based charity dedicated to supporting people to live independently. It provides a day care service to local older people alongside a plethora of recreational, educational, cultural and social activities. The organisation aims to empower its members to make informed choices around independent living to encourage them to engage in activities such as music classes and art as therapy.

The impact of COVID-19

Due to the COVID pandemic, Libertus had to adapt and change how they delivered sessions to members. Most of the class exercises had to move online. Registering and keeping track of the online sessions became a barrier for some participants who had little or no digital skills. Libertus required a solution that promoted online participation for all members and carers alike by consolidating all sessions in an easily accessible mobile app.

Dale Murray, Squad Lead at AND Digital’s Almeida Club in Glasgow, describes the initial contact with Libertus and the match that AND could provide in meeting their requirements. ‘AND supports all web and mobile applications and has a wealth of knowledge and experience at its fingertips to build and launch apps within a short period of time. However, the story of Libertus grabbed our attention as their goal aligned perfectly with our company’s mission of improving people’s lives through the use of digital technology. The creation of an app that would allow more members to access activities and live independently while learning to use previously unknown digital skills, was a great match.’

The project

The AND Digital development team ran a four-step process while collaborating with the Libertus team. The initial discovery sessions with Libertus and their various stakeholders were followed by the development of a product vision, roadmap, and backlog of requirements which the team started to address. The MVP (minimum viable product) was built in 6 weeks. A focus group with Libertus members and carers reviewed the MVP, after which the AND Digital team implemented their feedback and optimised the design flows.

A progressive app (Liberactive) was delivered to Libertus, allowing its members to login, view upcoming sessions via a calendar invite and join those sessions via their tablet device. The app allowed admin users to add new sessions and manage existing sessions in a central location, thereby reducing the administrative burden.

The impact

As a result, Libertus has been able to increase the number of users for their creative and social activities from 30 to 120. This has enabled them to open a brand new centre within their organisation and offer these much valued services to a larger group of members.

Grant McLay, Business Development Manager, at Libertus Services, comments: ‘The new app has really changed the lives of many of our members. Not only is the app a joy to use, it has also enabled our older members to feel comfortable with IT and digital interactions. We have seen grandchildren helping them and then interacting with them through the app. A wonderful experience for the entire family!’

Libertus’ general manager Andrew Farr adds: ‘The Liberactive app has been developed with direct feedback from the members and staff. Their comments and insights were expertly translated into an easy to use app, which has been immediately embraced by the users. We have nominated AND Digital’s work for a European Social Services Award to show the significant value this project has delivered to communities across the south-west of Edinburgh.’

The AND Digital team delivered the entire project free of charge as part of AND’s commitment to support local communities in their efforts to bridge the digital skills gap.