Now shortlisted for a Nominet Internet Award!

Hot on the heels of being shortlisted for an IMA Performance Award, we were delighted to receive the following message earlier today... 

"Thank you for your entry into the Nominet Internet Awards 2013.

The entries we received this year were all of an exceptionally high standard, which has made selecting our shortlist a very challenging task.

I am pleased to be able to confirm that your entry for “Connect <> Lockleaze” has been shortlisted. 

We would like to invite you to attend the Nominet Internet Awards evening on 4 July 2013 at the British Library in London. In the meantime please encourage your users and followers to show their support for you via:  http://www.miramar-clients.co.uk/internet-awards/."

Connect <> Lockleaze has been nominated in the Online skills and training Category and the entry that got us shortlisted reads as follows:

Outline the initiative that you are entering into the Nominet Internet Awards.

Question: What happens when an international corporation, an established university and neighbourhood organisations get together?
Answer: Connect <> Lockleaze - a new initiative where a local community is given the resources needed to combat digital exclusion at just the right time.

For many, having access to a computer and broadband is the norm however almost 1 in 3 homes in the UK do not have an internet connection meaning that these members of society are potentially disadvantaged. And in danger of being left further and further behind as more services become available online only.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) and University of West of England (UWE) have come together with Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust (LNT) and North Bristol Advice Centre (NBAC) to form Connect <> Lockleaze:
- Brand new computers, printers and free internet access supplied and installed by HP
- Technical support and maintenance from UWE volunteers.
- Local knowledge and access to the local community provided by NBAC and LNT.

These three working together have resulted in three state of the art IT venues that are supportive and unthreatening, where local people can come to learn what the digital world has to offer. Connect <> Lockleaze: giving people skills and tools to help themselves.

How is your initiative making a difference and how does it meet the criteria for the category you are entering?

Connect <> Lockleaze provides three venues where local residents can use computers and the internet free of charge for whatever they need: paying bills, researching best buy deals, applying for benefits, socialising…anything and everything.

Not everyone is familiar with computers so, through a mixture of formal courses, assisted self-help sessions and open access groups, Connect <> Lockleaze also gives North Bristol residents the opportunity to learn new skills:
- IT classes specifically designed for the over 55’s bring lonely people together socially, introduce them to computers and the benefits they have to offer – for example, contacting friends and relatives via email, skype etc
- Clinics on various topics to empower people. For example, Energy Clinics showing how to use the internet to find ways to save money on energy bills as well as grants, funding and benefits available to help alleviate fuel poverty and damp homes.
- One-to-One sessions at which student volunteers from UWE are available to answer specific questions or tasks.
- Open Sessions where anyone can come and use the centres for whatever they want. For example a weight loss group are using the computers to track their progress and the internet to research healthy menus and diet tips.

What did you set out to achieve with your initiative and how did you meet your targets?

The partnership agreed that in the first year, Connect <> Lockleaze would:
- set up three centres with IT infrastructure able to deliver IT related training
- hold 6 one off taster sessions
- run 6 IT related training courses
- engage 60 volunteers
- have 120 people participating in training and accessing services
- provide 300 hours of access to the community to use computers.

Delighted to report that the three centres are fully operational. In fact, more than 10 different courses have been held, 6 of which have been specifically IT related. In addition, more than the targeted 300 hours of access have been provided and Connect <> Lockleaze has helped over 150 people use the facilities so far.

Using student volunteers was not as straightforward as expected, holidays and exam periods caused disruptions to the flow of the student-assisted open sessions. The initiative now recruits volunteers from the local community who are able to commit time on a more regular basis, using student volunteers for specific one-off events such as promotional days and taster events. In addition, Connect <> Lockleaze now offers a few work placements to help people gain confidence and skills enabling them to get back into the workplace.

How do you plan to develop your initiative further?

The introduction of Universal Credit and other services with the requirement for online applications is a clear indication of how those not online will increasingly be left behind and left out. Aware that Lockleaze is the sixth most deprived ward in Bristol, Connect <> Lockleaze is naturally concerned that it will be their residents who suffer and, as such, are determined to reach out and ensure that any exclusion is minimised.

A greater level of community involvement will be encouraged with more work placements being offered and more volunteers drawn from the local area and/or people who have attended courses. In addition, Connect <> Lockleaze will establish a User Forum who will guide and inform future development in line with the needs and aspirations of the local community.

Finally, the initiative is about to embark on a commissioning process with Bristol City Council whereby they will pay Connect <> Lockleaze to design and deliver relevant courses to the local community. This will provide much needed sustainability and will allow facilities to be expanded and courses to be delivered to a wider area across North Bristol.

Why should your initiative win a Nominet Internet Award?

Connect <> Lockleaze demonstrates how much a community can benefit from successful coordination of physical resources and local knowledge, provided by commercial and voluntary sectors, respectively.

Local organisations are now able to link with a wider variety of companies than ever before and to develop an informal referral network which is proving able to provide a more holistic approach to problems faced by the area.

For example, recent ‘Money Matters’ courses provided by a national organisation encouraged local people to gain support in managing their finances. So popular were these courses that a local agency developed a series of half day workshops to deal with the specific needs of their clients, breaking down large issues into small bite sized chunks (budgeting, banking options, sensible borrowing, negotiating with creditors etc) to let people start to help themselves.

Many of the workshop attendees are long term unemployed so in partnership with yet another organisation ‘Employable Skills’ courses are now available. The next logical step has been to set up a work club where jobsites can be accessed prior to applications being made.

Like ripples on a pond, the effects of Connect <> Lockleaze are proving to be ever-expanding.