ICT for Development Workers

Mark Walker, SCIP

Regional ICT Champion, South East England

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• The Benefits of ICT• ICT Planning • Budgeting IT• Roles and Responsibilities• Where to Get Help

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About SCIP

• Not for profit social enterprise– Training inc Net:Gain– IT Support– Web Design– Databases– Community Projects

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Potential benefits of ICT

– Administration– Communication– Information

– Involvement– Engagement

– Efficiency: Do things better– Effectiveness: Do better things

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Potential benefits of ICT

• Internally– Effective communications and trust – Happy, productive staff & volunteers– Good quality, readily available information

• Externally– Happy, well-served clients– More effective delivery– Increased likelihood of funding

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ICT Planning

• Technology trap• Resources• Leadership• Organisational Strategy• Expertise

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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 ICT

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

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Planning: Where are you now?

• Basic ICT Health Check– Current use of ICT– Hardware and software and other IT equipment– Managing your ICT– Money and other resources– Skills, roles and responsibilities

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Budgeting: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

• It’s not just technical expertise you need

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Budgeting: What to include

• Hardware

• Software

• Installation

• Maintenance

• Backup

• Consumables

• Insurance

• Broadband

• Web hosting

• Training

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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

• Need to think about job description and recruitment process

• May have technical skills• May be administration eg data entry• What support and training do yu need to offer?• How do they link to staff?• Passwords and security issues

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Who can help?

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

• IT 4 Communities: www.it4communities.org.uk• Net:gain: www.net-gain.org.uk• AbilityNet: www.abilitynet.org.uk

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• Any other questions?

– Mark Walker– SCIP– 01273 234049– mark@scip.org.uk– www.scip.org.uk