Royal Borough of Kingston Directory Connect supports a diverse local community
We needed a centralised platform where residents could access vital resources in the right place at the right time.
Katharine Dallas
Health in All Policies Lead
Being able to have flexible categories gives us the ability to handpick services and mould our website to support different campaigns or responses to things happening in the community.
Tony Al Hosri
Public Health Of๏ฌcer
Background: A proactive Council prioritising community engagement and collaboration
The Royal Borough of Kingston identi๏ฌed gaps in how information about local services was presented, leaving residents without access to the support they needed.
The Council wanted to consolidate multiple sources of community information into a single, accessible hub.
With Directory Connect, which was formerly known as Ayup Connect*, Kingston aimed to deliver a centralised platform that provides residents with up-to-date information about community services. The platform supports preventative approaches, helping residents access help early-before needs become more complex, such as adult social care or homelessness support.
The Council worked closely with Directory Connect to ensure that residents, voluntary sector partners, and statutory services could access and share information in a collaborative, user-friendly way.
Challenge: Creating a robust, accessible platform for the community
Prior to implementing Directory Connect, Kingston relied on multiple directories spread across council services. These were often outdated, confusing to navigate, and maintained by teams without the capacity to keep them current.
Workshops and research revealed:
- Residents struggled to ๏ฌnd information about health, wellbeing, and voluntary sector services.
- Council websites focused on transactional services like bin collections, leaving community support underrepresented.
- The Council needed a platform that delivered information earlier and in a more human-centred, approachable way.
Solution: Delivering a trusted single source of local information and support
Directory Connect was chosen to develop Connected Kingston, with funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Public Health England (UK Health Security Agency). The platform allows:
- A โmarketplaceโ of services residents can explore independently.
- Flexible categories for curated listings that support campaigns or respond to speci๏ฌc community needs.
- Rapid response to emerging priorities, as demonstrated during COVID-19, with optimised search results and targeted communications.
- Voluntary and statutory partners to describe services in their own words, helping build trust and engagement.
Workshops, co-production exercises, and engagement with voluntary, statutory, and council partners ensured the platform met the needs of the community.
Outcome: A central, responsive, and collaborative community directory
Key achievements in 2023:
- Over 37,810 visitors (22% of the boroughโs population)
- 16,570 searches, 95% of which returned relevant services
- 610 services from 344 organisations listed
- Searches in multiple languages including Cantonese, Italian, Bulgarian, and Caribbean languages
The platform has enabled Kingston Council to:
- Collaborate effectively with voluntary organisations, blending council and community offerings in one hub.
- Monitor updates, ensuring information remains accurate and trustworthy.
- Respond quickly to local and national priorities.
- Analyse search data to guide commissioning and service improvements.
*Idox acquired the Ayup Connect platform in November 2025. This Idox solution is now known as Directory Connect.
