ICT for development workers

For development workers in local infrastructure support organisations MILES MAIER LASA London ICT Champion 24 May 2010

A champion for ICT in your region
Voice, representation, advocacy
Signposting sources of help
Strategic support for support providers
Regional ICT Champions

Background – Reason For Workshop
found the same 5 needs arose when talking to
development workers about ICT:
Awareness of the increasing potential for ICT
Information on ICT planning, policies, support contracts
Information on sources of funding and local support
Know what to buy and where to get it
Ability to explore the barriers created by ICT for some members

1. ICT, Planning & Development Workers
EXERCISE 1: IN GROUPS, DISCUSS YOUR EXPERIENCES OF ICT PLANNING WITH VCOs
What questions do YOU have about ICT?
What questions do YOU get asked?
What happens in the groups you work with?
What support do you offer?
Any examples of ICT planning?
What works? What doesn’t?
Guidelines
‘ one question per post-it’, put them up on board/wall
group in to themes under each topic’

ICT, Planning & Development Workers
Planning is good practice
Understand the organisation’s culture
Know your own position - Where are we now?
ICT Health Check (NB not just about computers)
What’s The Mission - Where are we going?
Understand how ICT helps you get there?

2. Signposting: ICT help and support
Lasa ICT Knowledgebase
300 articles on all aspects of ICT
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk
Lasa Suppliers Directory
150 trusted suppliers listed
www.suppliersdirectory.org.uk
Regional ICT Champions
FAQ cards, factsheets, policies, procedures, templates
www.ictchampions.org.uk

Regional ICT Champions www.ictchampions.org.uk

Lasa Knowledgebase www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk

Lasa Suppliers Directory www.suppliersdirectory.org.uk

3. Managing & Planning ICT
Some basic tools for better managing and planning ICT
EXERCISE 2: BASIC IT HEALTH-CHECK
DIY health-checks
Download from www.ictchampions.org.uk
Also www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk
Inventory
Belarc advisor - www.belarc.com
Spiceworks - www.spiceworks.com
IT Handbook (in development)

Managing & Planning ICT
Reviewing The DIY ICT Health Check Exercise:
What does this exercise tell you about the development needs of the organisation?
Are there specific short-term needs?
Is someone responsible for ICT?
Are budgets realistic?
Have skills and training needs been considered?
What else?

Managing & Planning ICT
Strategy and planning
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/strategyplanning
Backing-up data
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/backupstrategy
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/datarecovery
Risk assessments
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/riskassessment
Policies and procedures
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/acceptableusepolicy
Anti-virus/ Anti-spyware
AVG (free) www.avg.com/gb-en/homepage
SpyBot (free) www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

4. Funding ICT
What’s in an ICT budget and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?
A computer is not just a box!
You would not buy a car without budgeting for the following;
petrol
MOT
servicing
general repairs
breakdown cover
Insurance
Who funds ICT?

Funding ICT
EXERCISE 3: BUDGETING FOR ICT
Exploring the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
TCO = cost ÷ no. users ÷ life expectancy
Scenario: You are advising a small org with 6 staff on budgeting for ICT. What items would you include in an ICT budget? How much would you estimate for items?
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/calculatingtechnologybudget

Funding ICT - budgeting and what to include
Hardware
Software
Installation
Maintenance
Backup
Consumables
Insurance
Broadband
Web hosting
Training
… and more ?!

Funding ICT – Low cost and free alternatives
Donated and discounted software
www.ctxchange.org
www.pugh.co.uk
www.phoenixs.co.uk
Free and Open Source alternatives
OpenOffice - www.openoffice.org
Non-profit Open Source Inititiative - http://nosi.net
Recycled hardware
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/recyclingict

Funding ICT – Full Cost Recovery
Remember when applying to funders…
Some funders are more positive about ICT than others - www.icthub.org.uk/research
Be realistic about total costs - www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/calculatingtechnologybudget
Identify benefits of investing in ICT www.icthub.org.uk/publications/managing_ict_guide.pdf

Funding ICT - Resources
List of 90 ICT funders – ( www.icthub.org.uk/research )
Your local CVS, library or other infrastructure org
NCVO Funding Central ( www.fundingcentral.org.uk ) - free to use database, resources and funding alerts
Fit for Funding ( www.fit4funding.org.uk ) - useful information sheets and a monthly email newsletter
Funders Online Portal ( www.efc.be ) – free access to news and resources on European funding streams

Funding ICT - Resources
GRANT finder UK ( www.grantfinder.co.uk ) - online database of charitable, gov’t and EU funds. Free at your local CVS
Funderfinder ( www.funderfinder.org.uk ) - excellent fact sheets on fundraising skills. Costs £185 to access the online GIN directory or FREE at your local CVS
Trust Funding ( www.trustfunding.org.uk ) - for professionals. Subscribe from £225
UK Fundraising ( www.fundraising.co.uk ) - aimed at professional fundraisers. Free newslette

5. Websites
EXERCISE 4: WEBSITE DISCUSSION
What questions do you have or get asked about websites?
What is a content management system or CMS?
Free and low cost websites?
Which websites do you like and why?
Web accessibility?
Have you advised groups on websites?
Did you signpost them?
What happened?

Websites
Why have a website and writing a brief
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/youronlinepresencebasics
Content management systems to keep your site updated
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/choosingacms
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/usingwordpress
Web Accessibility – and why it matters
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/accessiblewebsites

6. Databases
EXERCISE 5: DATABASE DISCUSSION
What questions do you have about databases?
Bespoke or Off the Shelf?
What to collect? Data In Data Out
Database planning and specifications?
What to buy? How much? How long?
Have you advised groups on database planning?
Did you signpost them?
What happened?

Databases
Database planning
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/planningadatabase
www.youtube.com/watch?v =ZKJibFTXt1U
TechSoup Database Planning Guide
Choosing a database
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/choosingadatabase
Database implementation
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/implementingadatabase

7. Social Media
EXERCISE 6: SOCIAL MEDIA DISCUSSION
What questions do you have about social media?
what is it?
why should you care?
Have you advised groups on using social media?
Do you have any examples of groups using social media?

Photo: flickr.com/photos/tonypeters/ “ Social Media is game changing www.Radian6.com/cms/social_media “ Online applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate interaction, collaboration and the sharing of content” www.universalmccann.com

What social media means to the organisations you support …
Advocacy and Awareness
Fundraising
Inspiring action, Influencing change
Chose the right tool for the job…
The Social Media Game - http://socialmedia.wikispaces.com/Social+media+game
Social Media guidelines
www.ictchampions.org.uk/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=11
How social media can help groups you support

Video Sharing - YouTube Visit

Image Sharing Visit

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7347628574 Social Networking - Facebook

Community Networking - ning
Build your own network
Subscription (from $20/£15 per year)
www.navcaboodle.org.uk

http://twitter.com/telfordvolserve Social Networking/Micro blogging

8. Non-Profit Technology - resources
Lasa publications – www.lasa.org.uk/lasa/mailing-lists
e-bulletin
Computanews
NCVO/ICT Hub
Publications - www.icthub.org.uk/publications
Research - www.icthub.org.uk/research
Knowhow NonProfit
www.knowhownonprofit.org

Non-Profit Technology - resources
ICT help and support from Lasa
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk
www.suppliersdirectory.org.uk
www.lasa.org.uk/publications/ict-publications
Accessibility
www.abilitynet.org.uk
Donated and discounted software
www.ctxchange.org
www.pugh.co.uk
www.phoenixs.co.uk
Open Source
www.nosi.net

Non-Profit Technology - resources
Discussion lists
UK Riders - http://lists.lasa.org.uk/lists/info/ukriders
Charity IT forums - www.itforcharities.co.uk/emailfor.htm
NTEN - http://groups.nten.org
TechSoup community - www.techsoup.org/community/index.cfm
Net Tuesdays - www.meetup.com/netsquaredlondon
Non-Profit Technology Planning and Support
Idealware – www.idealware.org
TechSoup - http://home.techsoup.org
NTEN - www.nten.org

9. Some Top Tips (on doing more with less)
Save money managing free events www.eventbrite.com
Free video conferencing – www.oovoo.com
Collaborate Google Docs and Calendar
Aggregate the news – RSS
Arranging meetings – www.doodle.com
Online presentations – www.slideshare.net

10. Useful Links & Contacts
NAVCA www.navca.org.uk
ICT Champions www.ictchampions.org.uk
Capacitybuilders www.improvingsupport.org.uk
Lasa Knowledgebase www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk
AbilityNet www.abilitynet.org.uk
IT4Communities www.it4communities.org.uk
CTX www.ctxchange.org.uk
NCVO ICT www.icthub.org.uk

Round Up and Thanks
For More Details About This Workshop
Visit:
Regional ICT Champions website
www.ictchampions.org.uk
Or contact NAVCA
[email_address]

Miles Maier London Region ICT Champion www.lasa.org.uk/ictchampion [email_address] 020 7426 4496

ICT for development workers

by Miles Maier on Jun 04, 2010

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ICT for development workers — Presentation Transcript