To help Social Service Agencies (SSAs) understand where they are in their digital transformation journey and provide actionable insights, NCSS has partnered the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to develop the Digital Acceleration Index (DAI). The DAI enables participating SSAs to evaluate and assess their organisation’s digital strengths and weaknesses, and to gain a better understanding of their state of digitalisation across multiple dimensions. This allows SSAs to develop their digitalisation strategies and plans in a more targeted manner. SSAs will also be able to assess their digitalisation improvements over a multi-year period with future DAI surveys.
SSAs participating in the DAI will receive a report on how they perform across the key dimensions of digital maturity, and how they compare with peers in the same sector who have also used the diagnostic tool.
For information on DAI 2023 and how to read the SSA DAI give-back pack:
To embark on the next steps, refer to the Industry Digital Plan for Social Services (IDPSS) as a systematic guide to accelerate your digitalisation journey across five focus areas.
Tap on digitalisation grants offered by NCSS for tech adoption:
Step 1 – Develop a digital strategy
Use the DSP template or book a consultancy clinic
to discuss areas where you need professional consultancy support.
Step 2 – Review the IT solutions that will improve your operations and service delivery
Check out IT solutions that are funded under Tech-and-GO!.
Step 3 – Apply for funding to support your digital implementation
Refer to the Tech-and-GO! funding details and application steps.
1. Is the DAI mandatory for all NCSS members?
The DAI is a digital maturity self-assessment currently provided at no cost to all NCSS members, conducted once in three years. At the organisational level, the DAI is a useful tool for SSAs to gauge where they are across different dimensions and provides good data to chart a digitalisation plan forward. All SSAs are encouraged to participate in the DAI study to contribute to a sectoral indicator for social services. The DAI will be mandatory for SSAs that have tapped on NCSS’ grants.
2. What do I receive by participating in the DAI study?
All participating SSAs will receive a DAI give-back pack - an individual report of their DAI scores, with comparison to previous year results as well as benchmark with peers.
3. How should the questions be answered?
The survey is based on a four maturity-stage approach. Each maturity stage comes with a detailed description of what an organisation should have in place in terms of processes, governance, and tools for the respective level. Participants are advised to select the level that best represents the current stage of digital in the organisation.
4. What happens if questions cannot be answered?
There is the possibility to skip a question by selecting the “I don’t know” or “Not applicable” option. If this option is selected, the answer will not be included in the overall results. Respondents should exercise discretion when selecting these options.
5. What happens if the current maturity is in between two levels?
It is advised to choose the answer that best describes the current state and then provide a comment.
6. How will answers and data be used?
Organisational data provided by the survey participant will only be shared back to the participant and the survey organisers i.e. NCSS, MCCY, MOH, AIC. Any data and scores will be used in a completely anonymous way. Only aggregated data will be published, without any way of tracing back individual- or organisation-related data. If you have given consent on sharing your results with the survey organisers, the relevant agency will also have access to your results for analyses to better design government programmes to support digitalisation. Any such analysis is protected and kept confidential and will be used for statistical purposes only. Results will only be released at an aggregated level and will not contain any company-specific information/data.
