Superhighways Building the ICT capacity of voluntary and community organisations, enabling more efficient and effective service delivery to the community

Background 10 years old! Survived & developed via a variety of funding streams (LSC, Community Fund, ChangeUp, City Bridge Trust, Capacity Builders…) Transitioning to a hybrid Social Enterprise Circuit Rider project – what does this mean?

Social Objectives 1.To provide a range of tailored services to enable the sector to fully harness the benefits of ICT 2.To enable financial gains to the voluntary and community sector 3.To build knowledge / skills / confidence so that organisations can better use ICT 4.To promote and practically support best practice in use and management of ICT 5.To involve local communities and stakeholders in development and delivery of our services 6.To provide structured practical experience and learning opportunities for volunteers 7.To adopt and promote sustainable service delivery that is environmentally, socially and ethically responsible 8.To provide mutual support and sustainability for other voluntary sector projects and social enterprises

Enabling financial gains ActivitiesWhoOutput targets Outcome targets P M toolsLinks a) Raise awareness of charity discounts available and signpost to suppliers b) Contract & purchase appraisal – to ensure local VCO’s receive value for money contracts, services and products from other ICT providers c) Promote use of technologies to reduce operational costs d) Upskill staff to improve efficiency within VCO’s, leading to more cost effective operation e) Support wider use of ICT by VCO’s to improve fundraising and income generation opportunities f) Signpost the sector to other best value ICT based services and products g) Explore and appraise viability of Open Source Software

Our support services Awareness raising Troubleshooting ICT Audits, Healthchecks & Strategy development Procurement / funding advice Technical installations Customised training Delivery - phone, , onsite + remote access

Benefits to organisations Frontline organisations Mix of strategic and hands on support Understanding of voluntary & community sector Cross cutting impact - administration, communication, service delivery, monitoring & evaluation etc Infrastructure organisations All of the above! Adding value to capacity building / community development activities

Funding models Direct funding for Superhighways support delivery Funding via local infrastructure projects Funding linked to funding Income generation Commissioning / procurement opportunities? Loans?

Thames Community Foundation As part of our Grassroots Grants funding programme Thames Community Foundation has been seeking innovative ways to build capacity in smaller community and voluntary organisations. As Grassroots will help groups fund the purchase of capital items such as computers we have been keen to involve Superhighways in advising groups on IT purchase strategies, IT security and software issues and have agreed to consider providing additional funding to applicant groups who may want to join the Superhighways membership scheme but lack the cash resources to do so.

Our membership model Annual tiered subscription Healthcheck 4 onsite half day PM visits Helpdesk (available to all – members prioritised) Discounted hourly rate & training Impacts Additional capacity / resource needs created Managing expectations Formalised relationships Fairer service

1 st year of trading (Aug 07 – July 08) Membership circa £21k - 45 organisations Hourly rates / consultancy circa £30k - including CVS contracts Team averaging 3.5 full time equivalents

Thoughts to finish on… Sustainable models Working capital requirement Added value of holistic services Capacity building the community Circuit Rider support environment Co-ordinated approach across London