Abritas data exchange management overview
Increasingly, local authorities are moving towards applicant-focused, choice based lettings systems with the aim of giving tenants more input over the property they will be allocated. The principle is that all available properties are listed online, in publications, and in some council and housing association offices, over a short period, during which time applicants can bid for properties according to their eligibility. This process is controlled by a unique bidding reference - allocated to each customer following a successful application - in order that they can ‘bid’ on several different properties in parallel. Civica Cx Housing supports the retrieval of successful bid outcomes from the market leading choice based lettings solution – Abritas. In preparation, a defined subset of void assets can firstly be transferred from Civica Cx Housing to Abritas, as a Comma Separated Variable (CSV) file. This preliminary step is achieved via a two stage process: (1) Relevant assets can be identified using the ‘Send Assets to CBL’ system function, triggered within a void action plan, and (2) The generation of a consolidated output file, containing all identified ‘CBL’ asset records over a specified void episode date range - facilitated through the definition of a scheduled task. In addition to the core data set that is captured within the CSV export file, it is also possible to include a range of user defined fields and custom characteristics linked to each asset record, such as the type of heating, glazing, security measures, etc. Furthermore, any images linked to the asset records will also be exported at the same time and saved to a custom location. All these elements provide contextual information for each asset and will assist potential applicants in their bidding process. It is expected that each field nominated for transfer will have a corresponding counterpart in the Abritas system.
Once an applicant has been confirmed as the successful bidder in the Abritas choice based lettings system, the supplementary information gathered through the allocations process needs to be reflected in Civica Cx Housing. This is achieved through a separate system schedule, designed to manage the successful import of a prescribed XML file structure, containing the following standard data elements extracted from Abritas:
The end user is able to control the application form responses that are successfully transferred over to Civica Cx Housing, simply by mapping each relevant library question to its counterpart held in Abritas i.e. the application form elements completed by service users as part of their choice based lettings submission. A further control element ensures that only valid values will be retained, as dictated by the library question data type.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of Abritas data exchange management, including: