Dr Skarleth Carrales has been allocated a grant to develop a tool to support communities in Edinburgh hampered by COVID-19

Dr Skarleth Carrales has been allocated a grant, £12,904, to develop an innovative tool to support communities in Edinburgh hampered by COVID-19. This work is a collaborative effort between the School of Mathematics, the Business School, the School of Informatics, Sopra Steria and a third distribution partner.

The tool, titled 'COVID-19 Support Finder', has since been approved by the Data-Driven Innovation Programme (DDI) and is in the process of being developed. The purpose of the work is to create a means of directing individuals needing help to the golden source of information on appropriate support available (e.g. Government Hardship funds, grants for small businesses and the self-employed, NHS-endorsed helplines for emotional support).

The tool will take the user through several questions to determine their circumstances (e.g. loss of income, poor mental health, bereavement) before directing them as appropriate. Afterwards it would ask users to provide feedback and explain if there isn't any support available in their specific circumstances.

More details on the work, along other accepted applications, can be found here: https://ddi.ac.uk/projects/ddi-covid-19-response-recovery-small-grant-funding/