Chief Medical Officer collaborative messaging apps: FOI release

Information requested

1. Do you use one or more collaborative messaging apps?

** If no to Q1, Q2-4 do not apply to you and I do not need a response to them. **

2. Please supply:
2.1. a list of names of those apps, and
2.2. the total number of your employees and workers who are registered for each app.
 

3. Please provide a list names of public channels in those apps which are used primarily for non-work purposes / socialising among employees.
 

4. To the extent that these are set in the apps, please also provide the following for each channel in Q3:
4.1. Channel topic
4.2. Channel description
4.3. The number of members in that channel.
 

** Notes for Q1-4. **

Q1-4: Examples of collaborative messaging apps include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Matrix and Workplace. There are other apps too, and you may be using an app that you've built internally. For the avoidance of doubt, I am including services provided solely via a website within the meaning of "app" here.

Q3-4: Examples of channels include a general non-work channel and channels for specific interests and hobbies, such as pets, cooking, sports, and so on. Public channel means that any employee may freely join and post in the channel if they are registered for the app, without having to request access. Your messaging app may use a different term for channels, such as (but not limited to) "groups", "categories", and "streams".

Q4: For the avoidance of doubt, I am not looking for a channel topic or description to be written solely for this FOI request if one doesn't already exist. Some apps provide these as built-in fields that employees can set. It is these fields I am looking for.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Chief Medical Officer does not have some of the information you have requested. You may find it helpful to note that Dr Gregor Smith in his role as ‘The Chief Medical Officer of the Scottish Administration’ is designated (at Part 2 of Schedule 1 of FOISA) as a wholly separate public authority from the Scottish Government (‘The Scottish Ministers’ are designated at Part 1 of Schedule 1). He is however based in the Scottish Government (SG) and is supported by Scottish Government civil servants.

1. Do you use one or more collaborative messaging apps?

1. In line with the Scottish Government provisions, the CMO provides two collaborative messaging apps for colleagues across the SCOTS network: Microsoft Teams and Yammer. These corporate tools are provided centrally by SG. The SCOTS network is a shared service IT network known as SCOTS Connect. It is supplied by iTECs, the Scottish Government’s IT Department, to over 40 public bodies including the Chief Medical Officer.

2. Please supply:
2.1. a list of names of those apps, and
2.2. the total number of your employees and workers who are registered for each app.

2. The total number of users on SCOTS, who can access these apps, is 21,320. Of that, 105 colleagues form part of the CMO Directorate.

3. Please provide a list names of public channels in those apps which are used primarily for non-work purposes / socialising among employees.

4. To the extent that these are set in the apps, please also provide the following for each channel in Q3:
4.1. Channel topic
4.2. Channel description
4.3. The number of members in that channel.

3&4. Microsoft Teams is used, primarily, to enable hybrid meetings and communications to take place, supporting colleague engagement and collaboration. There are no public channels on Microsoft Teams. The SCOTS Connect Yammer Network is administered by the Scottish Government and can be shared by all SCOTS users. However, we don’t hold a breakdown of membership of Yammer communities specific to the departments or teams cited in your requests.

Therefore, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Chief Medical Officer does not have the information you have requested.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.