ICT Hub |
"Delivering ICT Resources for the Voluntary and Community Sector." |
|
skip navigation |
What We Are Doing The ICT Consortium, a partnership of five voluntary organisations with strategic experience in voluntary sector ICT, was granted Exemplar Funding from April to September 2004, to develop a two year costed business plan to set out the implementation of a proposed ICT Infrastructure Strategy. It submitted this business plan to the Home Office at the end of September 2004 and was awarded £4million funding in August 2005 to implement the business plan, establish the ChangeUp ICT Hub and implement the delivery activities. The business plan is working towards the vision set out in the ChangeUp framework that:
We are currently recruiting staff, setting up an evaluation framework for the hub and delivery activities and implementing the tender process for the new ICT Hub website. The advisory group of the ICT Hub will meet formally in mid September. The ICT Hub is always exploring how best to work with other organisations who have expressed an interest in working with - or are well-placed to work with - the ICT Hub to deliver aspects of the strategy. This may be as ICT Hub members (who will be providing services) or as delivery/ communication partners (organisations will be providing services but will not be members of the Hub). See Working in Partnership for more information. The business plan sets out how the ICT Hub will work together, with other partners where appropriate, to implement the strategy. The business plan's vision is to effect systematic and practical changes in the way that voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) use and benefit from ICT.
The ICT Hub's mission is to create a sustainable environment within which VCOs can practically take steps to use and benefit from ICT, supported at a local level. We will do this by raising awareness and understanding of the projects key messages within five main groups:
More details on the Vision and Outcomes of the ICT Hub The organisations participating in the ICT Hub have a wide range of complementary experience and skill particularly in relation to the ICT needs of the voluntary sector and of technology developments. They also have a track record of working in partnership together to deliver a number of ICT capacity building initiatives. Further information on the member organisations can be found on the Who We Are page. What We Have Done The Active Community Directorate at the Home Office provided developmental funding for a six month period (April to September 2004) to produce a detailed plan for delivering an ICT infrastructure for the voluntary and community sector. We completed this and submitted it at the end of September 2004. The ICT Consortium undertook two pieces of research in 2004; a baseline study and a survey of local infrastructure organisations. The baseline study was commissioned to map the understanding of ICT and its uptake by board members and managers in the voluntary and community sector. This will be used to measure progress, provide case studies to demonstrate effective applications and to inform subsequent strategies. NACVS conducted a survey of local infrastructure organisations to assess the current state and future potential for ICT support across England. This is the only survey to look at ICT needs across every region; the findings will help to inform the allocation of up to £9million. The survey was distributed to the 350 members of NACVS' network. Both reports on the findings and recommendations are available in the Resources section. More details on the Deliverables and Objectives of the Exemplar Phase (April to Sept 2004) Please feel free to comment on our Discussion Board or contact the Project Manager for further information. |
|
