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Digital Inclusion in Wales - the Communities @One story

by Alun Burge

A little over two years ago, the Welsh Assembly Government launched the Communities @One initiative, which set out to encourage community groups and voluntary sector organisations in the most disadvantaged (Communities First) areas of Wales to engage with technologies in ways that were directly relevant to peoples' lives. Now, as the initiative nears the end of its first phase, plans are in the pipeline to help such groups and organisations exploit technologies for economic outcomes.

The plan for the second phase of Communities @One is to marry the digital inclusion social justice agenda to the more economic European 'Lisbon Agenda', so it harnesses the potential of technologies and moves community and voluntary groups from digital exclusion through digital inclusion towards economic inclusion. Community groups and social enterprises will be supported towards income generation, skills development for economic engagement, and enhancing social enterprise performance. Barriers will be addressed, whether organisational, technical, ICT literacy, or in relation to business skills.

So far, the initiative has supported more than 200 projects, varying from £130 to £300,000 in grant size, covering a range of organisations and activities. A small number of the projects have already started to generate income or have shown the potential to do so in the future, for example:

• In the Penplas area of Swansea, a group of single mothers have been trained to use computers in a way that has enabled them to produce bespoke greetings cards, with the cards then sold on. The project has been run as a Community Co-operative and ultimately aims to operate as a social enterprise using a Worker Co-operative model.
  
  
• On the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil, groups of residents and volunteers have developed a project called 'MERIT' that helps people to repair and build their own computers while developing other day-to-day ICT skills through classes. MERIT's co-ordinator has been assisted by volunteer group members to ensure that the project can expand and be opened up to the wider community, with a view to generating income in the future.

The aim now is to develop such work with:

1. community groups that are not engaged with technologies, or have little experience, to achieve digital inclusion through increased take up and use
   
2. community groups already using ICT to move them towards developing economic activity and income generation.
   
3. new and existing social enterprises to maximise their use of ICT and other technologies to enhance their work and improve their business performance.
   
4. individuals or groups of individuals, and enhance their skills around technologies to help them progress in the jobs market.

Communities @One has been supported by the Welsh Assembly Government and European funds. It is administered by the Wales Co-operative Centre, an organisation which supports the development of co-operatives and social enterprises in Wales as well as tackling social exclusion and bringing economically inactive individuals back into the world of work.

The key to the success of the project so far has been to get people to engage with technologies in ways that are directly relevant to their lives. This approach will also underpin future work with community groups and organisations that already have a business ethic, or who have a desire to develop an existing community-based facility or service to generate income, diversify funding sources and move away from grant dependency.

Within the Wales Co-operative Centre, the existing Communities @One digital inclusion and Business Development teams will work in a more integrated way. By bringing together the complementary agenda of digital inclusion and economic development, tailored packages of support will be available to the groups involved.

Communities @One will further develop its links with the private sector. BT has been involved with the initiative, since 2004, as part of an Advisory Group, working collaboratively with the voluntary and statutory sectors. This group has worked, without hierarchy, advising on project direction, and has been important to the success of its delivery. Business in the Community is also now involved in the initiative. Discussions have taken place with a view to engaging other large corporations that are undertaking digital inclusion activities.

Finally, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Wales Co-operative Centre recently co-hosted the inaugural 'Digital Inclusion Wales' Conference which was attended by 170 people. The majority of attendees were representatives of projects that have received funding from Communities @One. During the course of the conference, a series of workshops were held, including three sessions on ICT-based Social Enterprises featuring Julie Harris of Cosmic and Simon Berry of ruralnetUK. These sessions proved to be the most popular, with around half of all delegates learning more about the role ICT can play in the formation and development of social enterprises. It is hoped, that as preparations are made for the next phase of Communities @One, that such an interest will bear fruit over the coming years.

For more information on Communities @One, visit www.communitiesatone.org.

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