Transcript
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ICT for Development Workers

Julie Harris, COSMIC

ICT Champion for South West

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About me

• Worked in third sector for 10 years, with COSMIC• Trustee for local organisations and charity• Communications and information• Helping VCOs make best use of ICT• Devon-based, work across region/UK• Chair of RISE – regional body for social enterprises

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ICT for Development Workers

SkilD found the same 4 needs arose when talking to development workers about ICT:

1. Awareness of the increasing potential for ICT 2. Information on issues groups should consider

when using ICT (planning, policies, support contracts)

3. Information on sources of funding and local support

4. Ability to explore the barriers created by ICT for some members

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Outline of what we’ll cover

• Your questions about ICT• Benefits of ICT• Total Cost of Ownership• Funding for ICT• ICT Planning• ICT Health Check• Who can help?• Net:Gain• Rounding Up

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Your role

• Questions your clients ask about IT– How you answer those questions– Where you can get help– Supporting the sector

• How to help groups make better use of IT– Planning– Tools– Services

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About you

• Who are you and where do you come from?• What questions do you have about ICT? • What questions do your clients have about ICT?

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Benefits of ICT

Individuals + Organisations + Communities

• Efficiency– Do the same things better

• Effectiveness– Do better things

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Benefits of ICT

• Information• Communications• Administration

• Involvement• Engagement• Empowerment

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Potential benefits of ICT

• Effective communications and trust • Happy, productive staff & volunteers• Increased likelihood of funding• Happy, well-served clients• More effective delivery• Good quality, readily available information

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Exercise: Benefits and Costs of ICT

In pairs:

• An example of how ICT is used by the groups you work with

• Lessons that can learned by others

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Funding and budgeting

• Be realistic– Fit for purpose– Full cost recovery– Appropriate budget

• ICT Hub ‘How to Cost and Fund’– Available to download or from ICT Champion

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Total Cost of Ownership

• It’s not just a box• It’s like buying a car and not budgeting for petrol, an

MOT and insurance• Some technical knowledge may be needed • Must be linked to overall organisational budget• Must reflect overall goals of organisation, eg

– Growth or new services– Key strengths or weakness

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Exercise: Costing IT• "Happy to Help”: advocacy and support organisation based in

MiddleTown• You are general manager preparing a budget for the coming year.• You have 4 staff (2 of whom are part time) and they manage 60

volunteers who provide advocacy to about 80 people as well as run an annual awareness-raising event.

• You are reviewing your IT needs.• You have been told it's a good idea to get a server, and want to get

everyone using email properly.• Staff are using a mixture of computers and some complain that theirs is

too slow. • They are using different versions of windows and office software.

You're not sure if software is licensed.

What should their budget be and what should it include?Estimate figures for each item on worksheet

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Budgeting: What to include

• Hardware

• Software

• Installation

• Maintenance

• Backup

• Consumables

• Insurance

• Broadband

• Web hosting

• Training

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• Break

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Funding for ICT

• Some funders are more positive about ICT than others

• Research published on NCVO website

• Be realistic about total costs

• Identify benefits of investing in ICT

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Planning in VCOs

• What happens in the groups you work with?• How much time is spent?• What support do you offer?• Any examples of ICT planning?• Think about

– Methodologies– What works– What doesn’t

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ICT Planning

• Good practice for all areas of work• Different methods• Where are we now?

– ICT Health Check– Not just about IT

• Where are we going?• How can ICT help us get there?

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Exercise: DIY ICT Health Check

For your organisation:• Use headings on page 17• Spend 10 minutes reading and answering these

questions

Then…• Switch your answers with someone else

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Exercise: DIY ICT Health Check

Reviewing:• What does this tell you about development needs of

the organisation?• Are there specific short-term needs?• Is there someone clearly responsible for ICT?• Are budgets realistic?• Have skills and training needs been considered?• What else?Feedback to the group

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Where to get help

• What type of help do you need?• Who currently provides that help?• Where can you get more help?• What can you get for free?• What do you need to pay for?

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Roles and Responsibilities

• Planning • Budgeting• Project Proposals• Fundraising• Project Management

• Purchasing• Installation • Maintenance• Training• Review/evaluation• Legal Requirements

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Types of help for groups

• Volunteers - one off projects + ongoing• Accidental Techies• IT Support Companies• Web Designers• Database Consultants• Circuit Riders• Net:gain Centres• UK Online Centres

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Working with volunteers

• Job description and recruitment process• Do they have the technical skills they claim?• Do they have people skills you need?• What support and training do you need to offer?• How do they link to other staff?• Passwords and security issues

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Choosing suppliers

• Concentrate on what you require– We want a website to support our fundraising

campaign– We want to be able to update the content

ourselves• Research suppliers

– Online and in local networks – Ask your peer group for feedback

• Always take up references

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Where to get help

• National– NCVO/ICT Hub, AbilityNet, NAVCA

• Regional– South West Forum, your ICT Champion

• Local/sub-regional– CVS, IT support orgs, volunteer bureau, university,

private companies

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Who can help you?

• ICT Hub: www.icthub.org.uk– Knowledgebase– Suppliers Directory– Publications

• IT4Communities: www.it4communities.org.uk– Volunteers

• AbilityNet: www.abilitynet.org.uk– Accessibility

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Review/discussion

• Using the web for support – What are the most useful websites you use when

you need help?– What questions do they answer?– What sites do you find unhelpful?– How do you find out about useful sites?– List them and share them

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Who can help you?

• Email lists– VCANet– UK Riders - ICT specialists– Local community networks

• What do you use?– Your top tips

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Net:Gain

• National programme• Local centres • Pay a fee + get subsidised consultancy

support• Linked to other discounts• www.net-gain.org.uk

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• Any other questions?

– Julie Harris

– COSMIC

– 01404 813226

[email protected]

–www.cosmic.org.uk


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