Worksheet4 Help with ICT
Help with ICT | 4.5
The first port of call should be your regional ICT Champion; these are ICT experts, funded by Capacitybuilders and employed by NAVCA to oversee the delivery of ICT infrastructure support within the voluntary sector; there is one in each region of England. They should be able to tell you what networks and support services operate in your area.
These may include details of local Circuit Riders, who are ICT professionals with a commitment to the voluntary sector willing to work with a number of organisations to them to keep their current systems running smoothly. They will also provide them with help in developing the way they use ICT to support their front-line activities and to benefit from more effective ways of working.
It is also worth checking with your local Business Link provider to see if there are any programmes running in your area targeted at supporting small businesses with ICT issues. Although the Business Link network operates nationally, the programmes which they offer vary from region to region, and some help with ICT issues has been available from time to time in some places. There is a case study available of how Southend YMCA (one of the organisations which took part in an earlier Collaborate programme focused on collaborative tendering) was able to benefit from such help.
If your cluster has decided that it wants to explore the possibility of jointly commissioning ICT support, click here to download a specimen Invitation To Tender which was developed by the Nottingham Collaborate group.