This Wiki page details all the national and local plugins that are 'live' and those that are 'coming soon'. There are always great new plugins in the pipeline, so do feel free to contact the Technical Manager to discuss your ideas further. You can now use images within plugins which have been put to good use by Abritas in their Choice Based Lettings plugin and by Avon & Somerset Police including their 'Wanted' plugin.
At Looking Local we are supplier 'agnostic' and aim to provide as much interactivity to our customers (and ultimately to the digitally excluded citizens) as possible. We are constantly talking to new potential plugin partners which include:
- More GP Appointments software suppliers - our coverage is currently around 65% of all GP surgeries and we aim to get this higher by engaging more companies to develop plugins.
- Choice Based Lettings - We have two more plugin partners currently developing plugins at present.
- Library services - Renewals and library services lend themselves perfectly to TV and mobile. Imagine realising that you should have renewed your library book as you are reading in bed, but realising that you can renew it on you TV or mobile phone without moving an inch. We are currently engaging several Library software suppliers with the aim of developing 'generic' plugins that can be used by all their customers.
- Customer Relationship Management - We are currently discussing CRM integration with two major suppliers and their local authority customers.
- Benefits entitlement calculators
We do need your help though. Understandably, most commercial suppliers want to see that there is a demand for plugin development before embarking on any work. You can register your thoughts on what plugins are important to you on the Looking Local forum or you can always contact the Technical Manager direct to discuss your ideas. Working together we can often achieve more than working alone.
National Plugins - Live
This table details the 'National Plugins' that are already live. These are available free of charge to all microsites.
| Name |
Description |
Plugin Partner |
| Jobs |
Real time job searching using the Jobcentre Plus 'worktrain' database. |
Jobcentre Plus |
| Travel |
National and local train and bus arrival and departure boards in English and in Welsh, plus travel news. |
Transport Direct |
NHS Choices
|
Information from the National Health Service on conditions, treatments, local services and healthy living.
|
NHS |
GP Appointments & Repeat Prescriptions
|
Booking and cancellation of GP appointments plus the ordering of repeat prescriptions for surgeries using the e-MIS software (60% of the market). |
e-MIS |
| Legal Advice |
High-quality legal information to help citizens deal with their legal problems (available as 'Common Content'). |
Community Legal Services Direct |
| Legal Adviser Search |
Search the CLS Legal Adviser Directory to find a legal adviser by town or postcode (only available as part of CLS Common Content). |
Community Legal Services Direct |
3rd Party Plugins - Live
This table details the '3rd Party' that are already live. They have been developed specifically for a single or group of microsites. However, it may be possible for other microsite owners to take advantage of these plugins where they have or would like a relationship with the supplier.
| Plugin |
Description |
Microsite Owner |
Company |
| Choice Based Lettings |
Browse, view pictures and bid on available properties in an authenticated service. |
Wychavon & Norwich Homes (Available nationally) |
Abritas |
| School texting service |
School texting service summary, plus school term times and notices in an authenticated service. |
Sheffield |
txttools |
| Library Item Booking |
Registering for the library e-Booking system, booking a PC session and booking a library item (book, CD, DVD etc.). |
North Lanarkshire |
MediaCorp |
| e-Petitioning |
Viewing current and completed petitions and 'signing' petitions. |
e@SYConnects |
Napier Teledemocracy Centre |
| e-Mentoring |
Basic messaging and forum access and posting, that will be used for educational purposes in a pilot - possible expansions of the programme may involve communications from other agencies such as Youth Workers, Social Workers, Probation Officers, Drug Councillors and a number of other organisations. |
e@SYConnects |
Truancy Call
|
| Bus Timetables |
Bus times for individual bus stops using GPS satellite technology - bus stops searchable by stop number, service number or post code. |
SYPTE (South Yorkshire Transport Executive) |
ACIS |
| Bus Timetables |
Bus times for individual bus stops using GPS satellite technology - bus stops searchable by stop name, street name, locality, or SMS stop code. |
Centro (West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive) |
Kizoom |
| Choice Based Lettings |
Browse, view pictures and bid on available properties in an authenticated service |
South Tyneside (Available nationally) |
IBS |
| PLINGS (PLaces to go ThINGS to do) |
Informational content provider is led by Substance, a non-profit cooperative based in Manchester. They specialise in projects in the youth, community and sports arenas. |
Stockport |
Substance |
| Start Here |
An information service that links you to a wide range of national and local organisations that can help when a citizen has a problem. It gives basic information about issues such as health, caring, families, housing, education, employment, benefits, wellbeing and welfare rights, and signposts you to hundreds of national and local organisations, mostly providing free services. |
Available nationally |
StartHere |
| Job Search |
Real time public sector jobs. |
Rhondda Cynon Taf, NEPO |
Tribal |
3rd Party Plugins - Coming Soon
This table details both local and national plugins that are coming soon. Again, it may be possible for other microsite owners to take advantage of these plugins where they have or would like a relationship with the supplier. For more information please contact the Looking Local Technical Manager.
| Plugin |
Description |
Microsite Owner |
Company |
| Start Here |
An information service that links you to a wide range of national and local organisations that can help when a citizen has a problem. It gives basic information about issues such as health, caring, families, housing, education, employment, benefits, wellbeing and welfare rights, and signposts you to hundreds of national and local organisations, mostly providing free services. |
Available nationally |
StartHere |
| Medical Information |
Searchable information on medication, terms and illnesses. |
Available nationally |
Patient UK (part of e-MIS) |
| Choice Based Lettings |
Browse, view pictures and bid on available properties in an authenticated service |
Royal Borough of Kensignton & Chelsea (Available nationally) |
Home Connections |
| Public Sector Job Search |
Search for public sector jobs in your area or nationally. This is a real time search accessing the same data that is accessible on the Internet |
National |
Jobs Go Public |
| Traffic information and carbon calculator |
Real time congestion, pollution and other traffic management information plus carbon calculator. This is able to compare the journey to a public transport alternative and gives real world practical advice on how to reduce carbon emissions. |
National |
Cloud Amber |
Other Plugins - Developed by microsite owners
This table shows the live plugins currently on the Looking Local service. Hopefully this list may inspire you as to what can easily be achieved with minimal development effort. Avon & Somerset Police developed 7 plugins in just two days! Read what they had to say here. For more information please contact the Looking Local Technical Manager. Southend's excellent local information plugin 'Start Here' was developed quickly and you can see what they had to say here.
| Name |
Description |
Microsite Owner |
| CMS Integration |
Around 90% of the HertsDirect microsite is driven by data from their website Content Management System (CMS). This means that apart from their main menu and a small amount of static information, their microsite is fed by their website CMS. They currently use a CMS called Mediasurface (which is based on perl templates).
Mediasurface is soon to be replaced by a CMS called Hyperwave written in javascript. Both of these CMSs work in conjunction with an Oracle database.
|
Herts Direct |
| See above |
A-Z search of Herts services. |
HertsDirect |
| See above |
Information on cinemas, nightclubs, places to visit, sport and theatres. |
HertsDirect |
| See above |
Information about the County Council, this Looking Local service, introduction to Hertfordshire, travel in Hertfordshire, geography in Hertfordshire, economy in Hertfordshire. |
HertsDirect |
| See above |
Information on animal rescue and welfare, disability organisations, environmental campaign groups, information and advice, volunteering. |
HertsDirect |
| See above |
Information on colleges, lifelong learning, schools, universities. |
HertsDirect |
| Property Information |
Search on address to find out local information such as ward, polling stations, rubbish collection day, coucil tax bands, local schools etc.. |
London Borough of Brent |
| Waste Collection Dates |
Search on Waste collection days by street search. |
Rotherham |
| Waste Collection Dates |
Waste collection days by street search and why has my bin not been emptied information. |
Barnsley |
| Air Quality |
Air pollution reading in Barnsley. |
Barnsley |
| Housing Benefit Claims |
Check housing benefits claim by reference number search. |
Barnsley |
| CMS and Website Integration |
News, information and transactions that link into the various systems and live information available from our website. This means that apart from their main menu and a small amount of static information, their microsite is fed backend systems. Their CMS was developed 'in house' and is bespoke for Avon & Somerset Police.
|
Avon & Somerset Police |
| See above |
Police related news items with pictures where available. |
Avon & Somerset Police |
| See above |
Non-Police jobs currently available in Avon & Somerset Police. |
Avon & Somerset Police |
| See above |
Search for your local community police officer by searching on postcode and contact them for non-urgent matters. |
Avon & Somerset Police |
| See above |
Nearest Police station location and contact details by postcode. You can 'toggle' between picture of the station and map of the location. |
Avon & Somerset Police |
| See above |
Local and regional road traffic news with map of the area in question. |
Avon & Somerset Police |
| See above |
Avon & Somerset's most wanted criminals with pictures and details of who to contact. |
Avon & Somerset Police |
| CMS and Website Integration |
Various existing services available on their website have been integrated into their Looking Local service. So apart from their main menu and a small amount of static information, their microsite is fed backend systems. We are waiting for more information of the type of back end integration used by Fife.
|
Fife |
| See above |
Search on property details for bin collection dates and information. |
Fife |
| See above |
Local news and events. |
Fife |
| See above |
Information on unplanned facility closures (libraries, parks,council offices etc.). |
Fife |
| See above |
Information and dates on unplanned school closures. |
Fife |
| See above |
Information on unplanned road closures. |
Fife |
| Jobs |
Job search for council jobs and and request an application pack. |
INtouch kirklees |
| School information |
View to school holiday / term dates in Kirklees. |
INtouch kirklees |
| School information |
View information about schools in Kirklees, using an alphabetical directory based on the schools name. |
INtouch kirklees |
| Housing |
Viewing rent statement details. |
London Borough of Islington |
| Housing |
Reporting repairs required. |
London Borough of Islington |
| Where I Live (Local Information) |
Information on rubbish collection, sports centres, libraries, councillors/wards, members of parliament. |
Southend-on-Sea |
| e-Payments (Housing Services Charge, Parking Fines, Council Tax & Rent) |
e-Payments - linking to Anite 'Paris' |
London Borough of Islington |
Microsite Owners Plugins - Coming Soon
This table shows some of the microsite owners plugins currently under development.
| Name |
Description |
Microsite Owner |
| Web Service Integration |
Warwickshire County Council are currently developing plugins which will take advantage of existing web services available to Internet users. |
Warwickshire County Council |
| See above |
A-Z of Council services. |
Warwickshire County Council |
| See above |
Council news. |
Warwickshire County Council |
| See above |
Local events. |
Warwickshire County Council |
| Choice Based Lettings |
Property search to view and bid on all properties available in Warwick. |
Warwick District Council |
| e-Payments (Renew Your Residents Parking Permit & Buy Visitor Parking Vouchers) |
e-Payments - linking to Anite 'Paris' |
London Borough of Islington |
|
|
