SocietyWorks

FOI Works

FOI Works is a user-needs focused solution to streamlining authorities’ FOI workflows, and reducing request volumes. We can work with you to develop an end-to-end case management approach using open source software developed for and within government.

Features

  • Simple, clean interface based on GOV.UK components
  • Intelligent Suggestions redirect citizens to existing material before requesting
  • Disclosure Log integration resurfaces past responses as suggestions
  • Curated Links surface information already available as suggestions
  • Requests get sent straight through to your case management system
  • Citizens receive a reference number immediately
  • Analytics provide feedback on which suggestions are most effective
  • Option to present current compliance rate to citizens
  • Proudly Open Source software, following the Government Digital Service Standard
  • Options for case management integration including end-to-end service

Benefits

  • Simple interface for citizens builds trust and reduces support time
  • Reduce time wasted on Section 21 “information already available” requests
  • Get more value out of your FOI officers’ past work
  • Hackney reduced request volume by 10% through intelligent suggestions
  • Case management system integration eliminates re-keying
  • Case reference number reduces support time where intervention is required
  • Becomes more effective as responses are added to disclosure log
  • Analytics show which suggestions are most effective at reducing requests
  • Increase trust in the authority by increasing transparency
  • Built to meet the GDS Standard, including WCAG AA accessibility

Pricing

£5,250 an instance a year

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at enquiries@societyworks.org. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 12

Service ID

4 4 1 2 4 3 8 3 8 7 3 8 6 9 8

Contact

SocietyWorks Angela Dixon
Telephone: 020 3239 0725
Email: enquiries@societyworks.org

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
What software services is the service an extension to
It integrates out of the box with the Infreemation FOI case management system, but can be extended to work with other systems, including iCasework and the open source correspondence tool created by the Ministry of Justice, for an end-to-end open source service.
Cloud deployment model
Public cloud
Service constraints
None
System requirements
None

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Within normal working hours our official response rate for critical issues is 4 hours
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
No
Phone support
No
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
We offer a single support level as defined in our SLA. Critical: requests for errors resulting in non-availability of the service, e.g. the URL returns an HTTP error code 500. Resolution within three days. Non-Critical: minor bugs that do not substantially affect the service, or minor feature/content adjustment requests. To be mutually agreed.
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
We will contact you to make sure we have a full understanding of your needs, and tailor our approach to your requirements, with appropriate user documentation and training.
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
HTML
End-of-contract data extraction
At the termination of the agreement the customer may choose to issue a transfer request which grants the customer sufficient data and rights to operate the service themselves or with a third party. This will be provided in the most appropriate format for ongoing usage.
End-of-contract process
Either party can terminate service by giving notice to the other that service will cease at the end of the day before an anniversary of the agreement start date. Any notice must be given no less than six (6) weeks before an anniversary of the agreement start date. At the termination of the agreement the customer may choose to issue a transfer request which grants the customer sufficient data and rights to operate the service themselves or with a third party.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari 9+
  • Opera
Application to install
No
Designed for use on mobile devices
Yes
Differences between the mobile and desktop service
The service is fully responsive thus apart from layout there are no differences in functionality.
Service interface
No
API
No
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
Buyers can customise the look and feel of our service to meet their brand guidelines. Integrates with your case management system.

Scaling

Independence of resources
Monitoring is in place to ensure that if there is any abnormal load or behaviour on any account a range of measures can be implemented to ensure service levels. These include but are not limited to the ability to rate limit, block or ban traffic sources.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
We provide metrics on service usage, and analytics on which suggestions from the disclosure log or curated suggestions are most effective in preventing unnecessary requests.
Reporting types
Real-time dashboards

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Staff screening not performed
Government security clearance
None

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
United Kingdom
User control over data storage and processing locations
Yes
Datacentre security standards
Managed by a third party
Penetration testing frequency
Less than once a year
Penetration testing approach
In-house
Protecting data at rest
Physical access control, complying with another standard
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
Equipment disposal approach
A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Export of analytics data to CSV is supported.
Data export formats
CSV
Data import formats
CSV

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
TLS (version 1.2 or above)
Data protection within supplier network
TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
Our service levels etc are available under the 'Service Level Agreement' heading of the Terms & Conditions document attached.
Approach to resilience
We use Bytemark's national network which is built with resilience in mind. Through careful design and planning, they've created a network that is intended to handle much more traffic than we are ever likely to see in normal conditions. The core and data centre networks benefit form 10Gbps of connectivity and are designed to transparently tolerate the failure of any link or piece of equipment. More detail is available on request.
Outage reporting
Service outages are reported via email.

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
No
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Identity federation with existing provider
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long user audit data is stored for
Between 1 month and 6 months
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long supplier audit data is stored for
Between 1 month and 6 months
How long system logs are stored for
Between 1 month and 6 months

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
No
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
Cyber Essentials https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/search (search for SocietyWorks)

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
No
Security governance approach
Information is key to mySociety's continuing business. The management of it is the responsibility of all users of the systems which mySociety provide. All information must only be used for its intended and stated purpose. Information must be protected from its creation, during its useful life, and through its authorised disposal. All information should be maintained in a secure and reliable manner. Compliance with applicable legislation is paramount, and all information must be processed, maintained and disposed of in accordance with the laws relevant to the jurisdiction.
Information security policies and processes
Password Security
Minimum password complexity ensures that brute-forcing is sufficiently difficult that it is mitigated by other practices
System Patching
All mySociety servers and the packages on them are regularly and routinely patched to minimise the potential for vulnerabilities
Access Control Model
mySociety maintains a least-permissive access control model to reduce potential cross-contamination of access in the event of a security compromise. Where appropriate, processes are jailed
Off-Site Backups
mySociety employs both on-line, near-line and off-site backup solutions. All data is encrypted using GnuPG (key) encryption, and data verification can take place before restoration to ensure there has been no data tampering
Secure access to servers
Privileged credentials are only transmitted to mySociety servers via encrypted protocols (HTTPS or SSH). Credentials are only exchanged in person or out-of-band with manual integrity checking
Physical Security
mySociety servers are hosted by Bytemark within two data centres in Manchester. The data centres employs CCTV, 24 hour security and biometric sensors, and their operator is certified to ISO27001:2005.
Host Based Firewalling
Every mySociety server runs a host based firewall to restrict inbound and outbound access of traffic

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Supplier-defined controls
Configuration and change management approach
We operate automated configuration management of our systems using Puppet. This ensures that all our systems are kept in a consistent state. The configuration is kept in version control. Configuration and code changes are subject to peer-review via pull requests and reviews against our git repositories.
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
For core system software we run daily checks for security updates and apply them.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
We check daily for security patches/updates and apply these. We also monitor our SSL certificates and have a partly automated system for renewals (transitioning to full automation in due course).
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
We record logs for major incidents to capture actions and details and then raise appropriate issue tickets once root cause is established or to implement changes based on lessons learned. Users can report issues via email support or raising tickets and we provide incident reports via our blog.

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Pricing

Price
£5,250 an instance a year
Discount for educational organisations
No
Free trial available
No

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at enquiries@societyworks.org. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.