What are my licence options?
All organisations who want to use the Outcomes Star, must purchase an appropriate licence. The introductory offer to use the Star on paper for free in New Zealand under a Licence without Web App has now come to an end.
There are different ways of using the Star, which will determine the licence type you need.
Licence without Web App
If your service uses the Star mostly on paper, you need a Licence without Web App.
The price from 2016 will be $840 per year. This covers up to 16 workers, with each additional worker charged at $40 per year.
Licence with Web App
If you would like to complete the Star on screen online with your service users, you need a Licence with Web App, which will give you access to our Star Online system.
The Licence with Web App costs $1,680 per year. This covers up to 16 workers and every additional licence costs $80 per year.
Both licence types give you access to all versions of the Outcomes Star (currently 28 as in January 2016). You can find out more information about licences here.
Small organisations
Triangle may be able to offer alternatives to small organisations, so please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
Who grants the licence and who is responsible for licence renewals?
All licences will be issued and renewed by Triangle, the developers of the Star, directly.
What does the licence to use the Outcomes Star give me?
The Licence without Web App gives you access to the pdfs and allow you to use the Star(s) you have been trained in. If you want to use another Star, you may need additional training. Please enquire with us if you want to add an additional Star to your portfolio.
You can also enter and analyse Star data in an Approved Software System. A list of currently approved systems is available on our website here. If the system you are using is not listed here, please send an email to info@triangleconsulting.co.uk to enquire about ways to get your own system approved.
The Licence with Web App gives you access to the Star Online, which also contains the pdf files of other Stars. The Star Online holds a vast range of reporting functions that services typically need to monitor and evidence their outcomes both internally and externally to commissioners and funders.
Are there any other benefits from the licence?
Other benefits from the licence include access to all the latest versions of the Star subject to the right training. We also offer advice on how to best implement the Star in your organisation and how to use the data well to the benefit of your service users and your organisation as a whole. We are currently developing a portal for use by all licence holders that will provide additional tools and information on implementation, data quality assurance and risk assessment and an online community discussion forum.
Triangle is continually improving the family of tools and committed to sharing the results and our learning with you. You will find a growing number of publications and studies from ourselves and others on our website here, about subjects such as:
- Star validity and data reliability
- Research and briefings
- Case studies about organisations who are using the Star
What happens when my licence ends?
We hope that you find the Star helpful in structuring key-work, empowering service users and recording outcomes and will renew your license when the 12 months is complete. However, if you choose not to renew, you must not use the Star materials any longer in your service and destroy any paper or electronic files you have obtained during your licence period. This means that you can no longer complete a Star with service users. You can continue using the Star data you have collected during your licence term.
I have used the Star from the days when Triangle did not require us to have a licence. Can I continue using it?
We strongly recommend that you take out a licence so that you always have access to the latest versions of the Star as and when we update them. A licence also gives you access to any new tools and services we may develop, as outlined above.
Why does Triangle charge a licence fee when other tools are available for free?
When the Outcomes Star for Homelessness was published in 2006 our aim was to make the tool available as widely as possible to enable as many organisations as possible to evidence and learn from their achievements. As the suite of Stars grew we took the same approach with the new Stars.
We have learnt from repeated experience that change was needed to ensure quality use of the Stars. Training and effective use of the data are integral to deliver the full benefit to an organisation and create a reliable and comparable basis for outcomes.
Our commitment to maintaining and continually improving the Outcomes Star has led us to the decision to introduce low licence fees in 2013. We have now built a team of excellent staff that maintain, support and further improve the tool so that it remains a high-quality, reliable tool in future and continues meeting the changing needs of our clients.
Does every worker using the Star need to be trained?
Yes, every worker using the Star needs to be trained.
What if a new worker joins?
When a new worker joins, and it is not feasible to organise training immediately, the worker can use the Star with service users in conjunction with a trained colleague. The untrained worker should then attend training as soon as practicable.
In order to maintain consistency in the use of the Star, Triangle recommends that there should always be a minimum of 80% of trained staff in any organisation.
My organisation wants to start using another version of the Star. Do we need to train our workers in this new version?
This depends on whether the new Star version is structured in a similar way to the one you have been trained in or not. Please get in touch for advice on what is best in your context.
When I renew my licence, do I need to have refresher training?
No, we do not require this as a condition to licence renewal. However, we recommend you have refresher training to support you in improving the use of the Star in keywork and in using the data well to the benefit of your service users and your organisation.
Do you have a training offer for large organisations, or a train the trainer scheme?
Yes, we do. Our Licensed Trainer Scheme can support sustainability and is a more cost-effective approach for large organisations, as it enables the agency to train workers internally in using the tools. Please contact us to find out more.
What is the situation with the Homelessness Star?
The original work to create the Homelessness Star was funded by the London Housing Foundation and when it was published, it was created under the condition that it be made available for free to the homelessness sector in the UK. This arrangement remains in place for the UK. However, in order to support the continuous improvements around all the Stars, we have decided that users of the Homelessness Star in other countries pay the same licence fees as the other Stars.
What about the Mental Health Recovery Star?
The Mental Health Recovery Star was developed in conjunction with the UK-based Mental Health Providers Forum (MHPF). MHPF originally also took on provision of training in the UK. This arrangement has recently changed and MHPF no longer provide training. With a view to ensuring that the Star is used well and consistently in your organisation, it is also no longer possible that managers attend a training course themselves and cascade the training to their workers, as the User Guide originally suggests. As with all the others Stars, every worker using the Star with service users must be trained by an approved Star trainer.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to make contact. I would love to chat to you about how the Outcomes Star could help you measure change and evidence the work that you do.
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