Regional ICT Forum, 3 November 2008, Guildford FREE

I'm organising a regional ICT Forum for people who are working on ICT-related projects in the voluntary and community sector in the south east. Please come along to discuss what you're doing and share ideas with other people, interested in similar activities. Full details below.

South East Regional ICT Forum:
Surrey Community Action, Guildford,  GU4 7HL

11am – 3pm, Monday 3 November 2008

1. Agenda:
11.00   Welcome
11.05   Brief intros
11.15   Regional ICT Strategy: Feedback and issues arising
11.45   Working with funders: Update on progress
             > Includes discussion with Louise McGrath, regional Policy and Partnership Manager for Big Lottery Fund
12.30   Lunch and networking [veggie-friendly food provided]
1.30     Working with suppliers – review of previous workshop, proposals for future sessions
2.15     Round robin – news, views, ideas
2.55     Proposed date for next meeting
3.00     ENDS

2. About the Forum

I am organising this Forum as ICT Champion for the south east, a post funded by Capacity Builders to help develop ICT Support for frontline organisations across the region. I am based in Brighton and am supported by Lucian Borcanescu, who lives and works in Slough.

3. Regional ICT Strategy
The work of the regional ICT Champion work is linked to a regional ICT strategy.

The aim of this strategy is:
To ensure that voluntary and community sector organisations have access to trusted sources of ICT support and guidance at a ChangeUp consortia level.

We are working towards the following goals for April 2011:
Funders ensure the best possible investment in ICT when funding VCOs;
VCOs get the best value from ICT suppliers;
VCOs get the best value from volunteers with ICT skills;
Appropriate ICT skills and signposting knowledge are embedded in the support networks available to VCOs;
ICT training courses are available to help VCOs make the best possible use of their investment in ICT;
Existing social enterprises that deliver ICT support services flourish and new social enterprises emerge to meet the needs of the sector;
ICT Health Checks are used to help VCOs understand their current use of ICT and identify options for update and improvement.
Better understanding of how ICT can form part of shared back office services.
ChangeUp Consortia include relevant ICT activities in their business plans.

4. Progress
I am making good progress on several parts of this work:
Meeting with the regional funders forum to help them provide better information to applicants about ICT budgets
Planning workshops on how to buy web sites and databases
Developing a volunteering campaign on the Isle of Wight
Planning and delivering workshops for development workers and helper agencies that work with front line organisations
Promoting the inclusion of ICT in the regional social enterprise portfolio
Building new IT training courses on a BASIS-funded programme managed by SCIP

5. Who is it for?
In the past year or so I have identified several organisations and individuals who I hope I will be able to support over the next few years. I see you as the people already doing things that could help deliver this plan, not reinventing the wheel. I hope the Forum can help raise your profile amongst your peer group, guide my work by identifying the sort of support you want, and enable you to share ideas for further development.

You’ll see from the invitation list below that I am hoping that this will be a small but diverse group, including local organisations, sub-regional interests and people with regional roles including the Big Lottery Fund and Capacity Builders. I hope this approach can help generate new relationships and build links for you beyond the scope of my own work.

6. When/where?
I am proposing that we meet twice a year, with an emphasis on practical sessions that encourage information-sharing. I have chosen Guildford as a venue because although previous meetings have been moving around the region I found this meant we ended up with a very localised attendance. If absolutely necessary I can help with travel expenses [although I don’t have a big budget for this].

Feedback on this approach is welcome either now or at the meeting.

7. What next?
You can read more about the ICT strategy on the ICT Champion website at www.seictchampion.org.uk
Please confirm whether you can attend and, if not, whether you would like to receive papers and be invited in future
I will circulate notes for the meeting in the next couple of weeks – and full directions
Or just get in touch to say hello and talk about how I might be able to help you
Send me any news and updates about your work that I can circulate beforehand
Please pass this invitation onto other people you think will be interested

Thanks

Mark

Invitations will be sent to lead contacts at all ChangeUp Consortium in the region, plus:
Kathryn Williamson   RAISE   
Paul Webster   NAVCA  
Mark Hummerstone   The Really Helpful IT Company  
Warren Feagins   Slough CVS  
Lucian Borcanescu   ICT Champion  
Amanda Bowens   Ladder 4 Learning  
Ed Baker   Surrey Community Action  
Chris Deeney   Oxfordshire Voluntary Action  
Maureen Covacic   Basingstoke Voluntary Services  
Charlie Fox   Voluntary Action West Kent  
Jackie Horne   Southampton CVS   
Minesh Patel   Acorn House IT, Milton Keynes  
Sarah  Bridges   UK Online  
Peter Southcombe   Hope in the Community  
Kat Pearce   Capacity Builders  
Kevin Jennings   Hope in the Community  
Paul Bramwell, Working Together Project  
Iain Lucas,  RISE Computers 
Peter Mason, SCIP
David Guthrie, SCIP
Peter Smith, Surrey Community Action
Anne Stafford, IT4Communities
Dave Ahlquist, South East Social Enterprise Partnership
Miles Maier, London Regional ICT Champion
Nigel Parrish, Isle of Wight RCC
Helen Snashell, Isle of Wight RCC
Helen Gibbons, MLA south east



--
Mark Walker
Project Manager and South East Regional ICT Champion

SCIP: IT Services for Charities and Communities
Community Base, Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3XG

Tel: 01273 234049 Email: mark.walker@scip.org.uk
Web: www.scip.org.uk Mobile: 07956 627116
ICT Champion: www.seictchampion.org.uk
Blog: www.scipmark.org.uk