After the post office
re-imagining new services, new contexts
Resources
Publications
Making the most of collaboration
www.demos.co.uk/files/File/CollabWeb.pdf
– an international survey of public service co-design by Peter Bradwell and Sarah Marr, DEMOS Report 23 in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Public Sector Research Centre, 2008
The Journey to the Interface
www.demos.co.uk/publications/thejourneytotheinterface/
This pamphlet argues that the common challenge which all service organisations face is how to create more intimate and responsive relationships with their users and customers. by Sophia Parker and Joe Heapy, DEMOS 2006
Websites of useful organisations and relevant pages
Postwatch
http://www.postwatch.co.uk
Independent watchdog for postal services in the United Kingdom, providing advice to Government and working with customers to promote a better postal service
Post office closures
http://www.postwatch.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=30
Post Office
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po
Network Change Programme (post office closures)
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/jump2?catId=63400714&mediaId=57600693
FAQs about post office closures
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1?catId=57600693&mediaId=57600694
Press releases about the Network Change Programme
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1?catId=57600693&mediaId=68500707
Outreach service
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1;jsessionid=WHNSK3T5OO4XGFB2IGVURWQUHRA0UQ2K?catId=57600693&mediaId=57600695
‘An innovative way to continue to provide you with Post Office® products and services in some of the locations where we may need to close a branch.’
Tackling rural disadvantage, Commission for Rural Communities
http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/
Enter ‘post office’ into the search box for specific information and articles related to the future of rural post offices
Community halls for rural people, DEFRA (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/communities/halls/default.htm
In the past few years, many village halls are no longer just a place to meet for social occasions such as parties, wedding receptions, guides and scouts clubs but have blossomed into providing a venue for an impressive range of other activities such as local health facilities, farmers' markets, lunch club for older people and IT facilities. These are the village halls of the future…. As resources become more targeted, and in some cases, tighter, funders are increasingly looking for good plans, community consultation and an inclusive approach to community building improvements.
Community Halls for Rural People has been set up in partnership with Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), to act as a one stop shop to help these developments happen.
Rural Community Gateway
The gateway for information and services to rural communities in Scotland.
http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk/index.html
Enter ‘post office’ in the search box for specific information and articles related to the future of rural post offices
Service design
Engine service design
http://www.enginegroup.co.uk/
A service design and innovation consultancy that works on a wide range of service design projects across the private and public sector. Website includes case studies and client stories, a run down on the way Engine works, and methods used in the process (see second link).
Some of Engine’s service design methods.
http://www.enginegroup.co.uk/service_design/methods/
Service Design by Bill Hollins, Design Council
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/Design-Disciplines/Service-design-by-Bill-Hollins/
Information on service design
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/Design-Methods/
A section offering a selection of design methods to use within the design process ranging from brainstorming to physical prototyping