ICT Hub Awards 2007 Feature
view printable versionSimon Davey, preponderate.net
I've never been a big fan of awards. Maybe it's just a lack of interest in what unrepresentative panels think is the best movie, book, football player etc. However, they do have their place and can bring together examples of great work and a good, independent panel will make good decisions.
The ICT Hub Awards opened for nominations in early 2007 and the winners were presented at the Annual Conference in March. The awards were designed to highlight the excellent work the voluntary sector has done using ICT and to demonstrate just how ICT can save money, time and resources; improving efficiency and effectiveness of any organisation, large or small.
The ICT Hub received 130 entries for the awards. In each category a panel of judges selected a winner and four or five commended entries. We'll share the highlights and we also have a case study on the winner of the Individual Contribution Award.
We can't cover everything in detail in a short article so follow the links, contact theaward winners (and commended projects) and see what you can do. This is less about prizes and more about sharing best practice and great ideas! Go learn then do!
Most Innovative Use of ICT
This award rewarded those who had shown innovation in their use of ICT, perhaps by dramatically changing the way in which services were delivered through the use of technology.
The winner was Vital Regeneration, a dynamic regeneration charity, working to reduce deprivation in inner city areas of London through community and economic development. Their FreqOUT! Project seeks to explore the artistic and educational potential of wireless technology to engage socially excluded young people. Through involvement with technology young people were given the opportunity to discuss and create responses to current issues and technologies in a safe and supportive environment.
Commended projects included YouthNet an organisation which aims to create a socially inclusive environment for young people assisted with their two websites and other technology such as mobile phones and digital interactive TV and Bristol Wireless a volunteer run organisation committed to social improvement through the building of a wireless computer network.
Most Accessible Organisation
This category was aimed at voluntary and community organisations who have improved the accessibility of their ICT to allow them to reach more people such as the elderly or disabled.
The winner Vision 2020 brings together over 40 national, international and regional organisations to support those who are visually impaired. The charity won the award for their user friendly website. Most visually impaired people cannot receive information in a manner in which they can access. Vision 2020 designed a website with the highest level of accessibility and provided the visually impaired with an online library, bulletin board and online discussion and communication facilities, a hugely valuable resource. The technology has been shared with other organisations to assist them in their communication to people with visual impairments.
Among the commendations were Bolton Literacy Trust who took wireless laptops to sheltered housing units and ran a silver surfers internet club encouraging them to shop online and use email to communicate with relatives and Strategic Urban Futures, who developed a job brokerage project to support disadvantaged adults back into the labour market through accessible ICT.
Delivering Social or Environmental Benefits through ICT
Sponsored by Sustain IT, this award was for organisations that have used ICT to make a difference to the society we live in.
The winner, Unique Scrap Store, is an innovative eBusiness Social Enterprise driven by technology, social values and a desire to see environmental gains through the reuse of business waste. Environmentally the Unique Scrap Store has diverted over 40 tonnes of commercial waste from landfill each year and collected 18 tonnes of domestic waste paint and reused it on the walls of many local community projects.
Their website enables customers who don't have access to local scrap stores to buy online and have their items delivered next-day. ICT has also enabled performance to be measured in terms of environmental impact such as the amount that is reused each year.
Not only does this technology mean groups across the UK can lower their running costs and gain access to a vast array of really interesting reuse materials, it also greatly improves the reach of the environmental 'Reuse' message - ensuring people across the country understand the importance of diverting waste from landfill wherever possible. The performance management is key to developing and improving the organisation and measuring its impact.
Commendations included Broughton D@tabase, part of HBHG Development Trust, a community organisation who provide education and training services to local residents. They used mobile equipment to improve the outreach and flexibility of the service. Also commended were Screen Reader.net a not for profit organisation run by two blind people, delivering free talking screenreader computer software to blind people allowing all to join in the information
revolution.
Most Effective Use of ICT
At the heart of ICT's value, this award was for organisations that have used ICT to improve their efficiency.
Sefton Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) assist and promote charities and community groups in the borough of Sefton, Merseyside, offering a range of support services to help these organisations to function effectively and efficiently.
SCVS worked with the Greater Merseyside Funding Advisers Group to develop an online funding information resource and set up a blog to deal with local funding issues. The resource proved extremely successful and quickly built up an e-group of over 500 local organizations, generating a staggering number of visits and searches.
Building on the success of the project, SCVS pioneered the development of the Merseyside Funding Information Portal, an online resource covering the wider Merseyside region and providing charities and community groups with information about funding. Information obtained by advisers on new opportunities and developments in the funding world can be disseminated quickly and cost effectively to the sector in a way that no other resource could do.
The portal has allowed the voluntary and community sector to explore funding opportunities and basic support queries themselves by presenting a vast range of information to cater for initial funding enquiries. This allows the network of voluntary and community sector funding advisers to be able to focus their work more on the developmental support (e.g. support with funding applications, advice on project development/planning, organisational capacity building, targeted approaches, etc.). Overall this brings about a more effective use of infrastructure resources for the VCS.
Commendations included Disabled Living Foundation who developed a database of disability equipment to provide impartial advice and information to disabled people and Child Poverty Action Group who campaign for the abolition of child poverty in the UK - they used a content management system to publish large-scale reference books on welfare rights, and make them available online with more frequent updates. Also commended were the RSPB, a wildlife conservation charity who developed a volunteer management system to assist with managing their volunteers.
Individual Contribution to ICT in the Voluntary Sector
This rewards those individuals who have made a real difference to the way a voluntary organisation has used ICT. The voluntary sector would not have been able to engage with ICT in the way that it has and is doing without the support, dedication, skills and knowledge of individuals who not only in their paid employment roles but often in their own time spent hours assisting voluntary organisations and individuals in their use of ICT. This category was extremely hard to judge and merit should be given to all those individuals who were nominated.
The winner of the ICT Hub Award for Individual Contribution to ICT in the Voluntary Sector is Rob French for his work heading up a new technical support service to support voluntary and community organisations located across the South West.Rob is an employee at Devon based not-for-profit organisation Cosmic, which works with individuals, communities and businesses to encourage the use, develop and understanding of ICT. The organisation provides a
variety of ICT related services including website production, website hosting, ICT training, consultancy, technical support and multimedia production.
We couldn't put it better than Sally Lougher, Senior Administrator, Exeter Community Initiatives, one of his clients who said:
"Over the past two years Rob has tirelessly responded quickly and efficiently to our requests for ICT support. At times this has required him coming out to our offices in Exeter at short notice to affect emergency repairs, install new equipment and also make recommendations to improve our IT network. If he encounters a problem which is beyond his level of knowledge he researches the issue and always communicates the outcome to us promptly.
He is also very willing to share his knowledge and skills with staff here, when time allows, and consequently we are more able to deal with minor issues and problems ourselves. He is always helpful and enthusiastic and his warm and friendly manner makes him very approachable".
The commendations were:
Maher Al-Ugaliy from Kingston Voluntary Action who has been a driving force in IT development in the area, sharing expertise through training and IT support.
Richard Walsh from BETA Netc@fe who assisted in computer installation, designing and teaching administration programmes and the setting up of an internet cafe.
Panikos Panayi from Halton Citizens Advice Bureau who volunteered in addition to his full time job to develop a web based online referral system.
Mike Hewitt of the Lancaster University Volunteering Unit who organised hundreds of computers to be donated to schools and charities as a hobby which grew into a partnership with Blackpool and Fylde Council for Voluntary Services and then into it's own social enterprise.
There's a case study on Rob French and COSMIC in the case study section of the newsletter.
Congratulations
Congratulations to all the award winners and commended projects. We're sure they won't rest on their laurels and look forward to seeing new developments next year.
So what next?
We hope that the above examples have given you ideas about how you can do more with ICT in your local (or global) community. All the award winners demonstrated passion and commitment to get things done, sometimes against great odds. They worked in partnership, showed creativity and got on with it. It doesn't necessarily require great technical wizardry – the best projects are team work with a mix of skills and experience. What can you do, for your organisation and your community, to make a difference in 2007?
Go do IT!
Simon Davey
Preponderate.net
Simon@preponderate.net
www.preponderate.net
Full details of the winners and commended projects can be found at the ICT Hub Awards. If you have any queries about the ICT
Hub Awards, please contact Michelle Edmundson at the ICT Hub