ICT Technical Support Feasibility Study

Below is the executive summary, taken from the ICT Technical Support Feasibility Study carried out by Project COSMIC in 2003. The full report is available for download in PDF format. To view this you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from www.adobe.com.

Download the full Feasibility Study report

1. Executive Summary

1.1 The future of ICT in the Voluntary and Community Sector

"Voluntary Organisations ignore Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) at their peril"

The rather profound statement is taken from a 2002 Report entitled "Leading the Way to ICT Success, Paul Ticher et al"

The potential benefits that the effective use of ICT can bring to organisations are enormous. With the government's target to deliver government services online by 2005 it is an opportune time for Voluntary and Community Organisations (VCOs) to address embrace ICT and to look to the future. VCOs are likely to feature heavily in the delivery of e-government services to the hardest to reach groups, as well as the provision of their own services.

ICT capacity within the voluntary and community sector (VCS) is however low, with an ad hoc approach to its use and development. Three key areas are highlighted that are desperately needed to help develop the VCS in their use of ICT are:

An expanding movement in the UK called 'Circuit Riders' is seen as an effective way of educating and supporting the VCS in the effective use of ICT. Circuit Riders are a small group of support workers who engage with VCOs to assess their ICT needs and strategic focus.

After careful research, a three-year developmental plan is outlined in this study to form the basis of a funding application. The three-year plan will aim to result in a self-sustaining technical support service that will engage and integrate itself into the VCS in Devon.

1.2 Devon-wide technical support Service

The project outlined in this study will consist of three main strands:

It is envisaged that that the project would have a three-year developmental period where the mechanics of running the service are worked out. It would therefore require 'start up' capital during this initial phase.

The project will aim initially to sign up thirty organisations within a pilot district, which are similar in size and have no dedicated technical support. Each VCO will receive a dedicated technical support service that will be strategic and developmental in focus aiming to embed itself into the VCO's culture and future development.

A number of 'host' organisations will be identified across Devon (ideally Councils for the Voluntary Service, CVS) that will each 'host' a trained apprentice. The trained apprentices will embed themselves into the sector, building on their knowledge and experience to best serve the future technical requirements of participating VCOs.

After the three-year developmental period - with trainees based in the pilot district - and if the financial aspects of the project are positive, the format found to be best suited to the sector will be applied to another district in Devon, ultimately acting as a rolling program across the County.

1.3 Recommendations

The proposal brought forward through this study should be used to form the basis of a funding application to cover the amount required as 'start up' capital. The funding application should be started as soon as possible with careful consideration given to the different sources available as outlined in section 11 of this study.

This study should be circulated to key organisations across the VCS in Devon, who will be encouraged to comment further on the nature of the proposal and reconfirm their support in its development.