VONNE

North East Regional ICT Champion

The ICT Champion supports voluntary sector organisations to understand and use technology to better achieve their goal of delivering high quality services.

ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology and is a general term that refers to any communication device or application. So this includes: radio, television, mobile phones, computers, network hardware & software, satellite systems and so on. It also includes services and applications associated with this communication stuff such as videoconferencing, distance learning and even Second Life. ICT’s are sometimes referred to in a particular context, such as ICT’s in education, health care, or libraries.

Here’s an interesting one to mull over. According to the European Commission, the importance of ICT lies less in the technology itself than in its ability to create greater access to information and communication in underserved populations. This is where your Regional ICT Champion comes in!

We hope you will find everything you need to know or help you regarding your ICT issues within this section of our website. Take a look through our pages and let us know if there is any addition information you would like to see published here.

For all things strategic across our region, on this page you will find development plans, strategic plans, sub-regional issues, Capacitybuilders perspectives and more.

Direction

Loads of stuff you can use and refer to. There is a link to our revamped ICT Service Providers Directory for the North East, an ICT Budget Calculator, Strategic Planning Guidelines, Website Planning Guidelines and much more.

Resources

Check out what the latest ICT issues of the day are for our voluntary and community organisations.

News

Here you will find out about any projects and initiatives being planned or already at work in our region today.

Projects

A listing and a broad description of the Regional, National and Local Partners who all join us and contribute immensely towards the betterment of the performance of our sector.

Partners

More about your ICT Champion...

The Regional ICT Champion supports voluntary sector organisations to understand and use technology to better achieve their goal of delivering high quality services. We know from research that information and communications technology (ICT) is still one of biggest needs in the third sector, the UK Workforce Hub has found that ICT is the biggest current and future skills gap, and this is backed up by many other independent reports.

On the 3rd of September 2007 at a National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) event the Prime Minister said “We have got to encourage the new technology, we have got to make it possible for organisations to adapt to the new technology”.

ICT is a cross-cutting, organisational developmental issue. It impacts on an organisation’s ability to collaborate, network, market and communicate, generate income, deliver services, contribute to society, evaluate performance and govern its activities.  

In working to address as many of these issues as possible, the aims of the ICT Champion post include:

• Map out current ICT support available to VCS groups and identify gaps across the region.
• Compile a list of ICT consultants and support workers working in the VCS.
• Provide sub-regional coordination around VCS ICT, working with other second tier organisations.
• Link in with sub-regional ICT developments leading from ChangeUp.
• Form links and co-ordinate with the work of the national ICT Hub.
• Assist the ICT Hub in signposting to a database of consultants and trainers.
• Share sustainable models of support and experience amongst ICT organisations.
• Arrange a quarterly Regional ICT Forum meeting.
• Assist with requests for representation on partnerships and boards.
• Develop the Circuit Rider network in the North East to enable technical support officers to engage colleagues (through e-lists, websites and meetings) across the UK for solutions to particular problems and help with more strategic issues.

• We won the Digital Challenge at the national final - well done Sunderland!
• The Circuit Rider frontline visit project we delivered reached 400 frontline organisations and was nominated and short-listed for ‘Computing Magazines’ frontline support project of the year.
• The Regional ICT Strategy we worked in developing was adopted by OneNorthEast as their approach to support for the VCS as regards ICT.
• The Regional ICT Champion role has now been commissioned nationwide thanks to its success here in the North East – and the foresight of our region for recognising a need in the first place.
• We’ve run 69 ICT training courses across the 4 sub-regions, for the sector, by the sector, reaching over 800 organisations. NB net:gain can add considerably to these figures.
• To date, we secured well over £470,000 worth of support directed at ICT for the VCS in the North East. And again, net:gain can add considerably to these figures.The latest funding secured is for £120,000 worth of support from The Big Lottery Funds Round 2 Basis Bid for ICT Circuit Riders to work with 120 VCO's across the region for a year.

The Regional ICT Champion role also involves lobbying local, regional and national bodies to ensure policy and developments in ICT address the needs of the VCS in the North East.

The role is hosted by VONNE, with a focus group comprising of ICT specialists in the VCS overseeing the work plan.

Who are the other regions ICT Champions? 

England is divided up into nine government regions, which Capacitybuilders are using to define some of our working boundaries.

In each region there is an ICT Champion for the Third Sector who:

• is locally based and has knowledge of the ICT work within their region
• is trusted with a track record of providing reliable and authoritative ICT advice
• is an independent point of contact not trying to plug a service or product from one supplier
• is also focussed on making sure infrastructure organisations (such as the local Councils for Voluntary Service) can make the most of technology to further the aims of organisations in their area.

Listed below are links to the blogs and websites for all of the Regional Champions including links to their Google Maps, where these have been set-up, and which pin-point the ICT Support organisations identified in those regions (please get in touch if you’d like to feature on these maps).

In each region the ICT Champions have established network groups which meet regularly to co-ordinate local ICT activity and to plan for events, workshops and shape regional ICT strategy. In some regions the group is called an “Regional ICT Projects Group”, in some its an “ICT Theme Group”, others an “ICT Forum” and in one region its just called “ERIC”!. If you would like to find out about your local group or would like become part of your regional ICT network then please contact the relevant ICT Champion.

East of England Region

Regional Champion is Paul Ruskin hosted by Advice For Life (AFL) in Ely. Phone 01353 644027 or email Paul.Ruskin@afl.org.uk .

ITs Champion in the East of England - visit the website of Paul Ruskin, and find out why.

Susie (who also works for AFL) has a blog to try winning hearts and minds over to FOSS.

London Region

Regional Champion is Miles Maier hosted by Lasa in London. Phone 020 7426 4496 or email mmaier@lasa.org.uk

Meet Miles and find out more about ICT in London on his blog here.

There is also a Google Map showing ICT projects in and around London.

East Midlands Region

Regional Champion is Nicola Dinsdale hosted by High Peak CVS in Whalley Bridge (near Buxton). Phone 01663 735350 or email nicola@highpeakcvs.org.uk.

Digital Umbrella the ICT Social Enterprise part of High Peak CVS covering the Derbyshire area have a blog for their team and the work they do for organisations.

The East Midlands Regional ICT Champion team keep a blog of their work and news at ITEM3.

There is also a Google Map showing ICT projects in the East Midlands.

West Midlands Region

Regional Champion is Sue Fry hosted by Community First in Great Malvern. Phone 01684 312759 or email suef@comfirst.org.uk.

What’s more of a confession - reading too many computer magazines or mixing ICT and cake products? Find out by reading the blog of the West Midlands ICT Champion.

Yorkshire and The Humber Region

Regional Champion is Colin Harrison based at Electroville in Dewsbury. Phone 01924 488725 or email colinharrison@electroville.org.uk.

Great things come from Yorkshire …. and Colin Harrison’s blog of his work as the Yorkshire & the Humber regional ICT champion is no exception! More links than you could imagine to local sources of ICT support, news and funding opportunities from England’s finest region (OK - to be inclusive - England’s finest region beginning with the letter ‘Y’!).

There is also a Google Map showing ICT projects in Yorkshire and The Humber.

North West Region

Regional Champion is Pauline Baker based at GMCVO in Manchester. Phone 07810 480185 or email pauline.baker@gmcvo.org.uk.

If you are based in the North West and you’re keen to see what ICT developments are taking place then Pauline’s North West Champion website is the place to visit.

There is also a Google Map showing ICT projects in the North West.

South West Region

Regional Champion is Julie Harris at Cosmic in Ottery St. Mary - Devon. Phone 01404 813226 or email julie@cosmic.org.uk.

Julie has a blog of her work, which is an invaluable resource of all that is happening (well in ICT anyway!) across this region.

There is also a Google Map showing ICT projects in the South West.

South East Region

Regional Champion is Mark Walker based at SCIP in Brighton. Phone 01273 234049 or email mark@scip.org.uk

Mark writes about his work as South East Regional Champion at SCIP, which also includes ICT support for community organisations, local information projects, search engines, community informatics, research and writing. And some other stuff.

Mark is also helped by Lucian Borcanescu who is based in Slough and covers some of the northerly areas of the South East region.

There is also a Google Map showing ICT projects in the South East.