[Digital-Mentor] Digital Mentors and preparing a bid

[Clare-Marie White]

Some great updates over the last few days. Haven't seen the EoI form yet.
Just a few thoughts...

I've just had a look at the UK Online Centre site to see where they are in
my area and it is good coverage.

I'd be interested in knowing whether different organisations can apply to be
an online centre in the network? It looks like there are a lot of different
types of place eg libraries, community centres and training businesses. Some
sort of accreditation for social enterprises or community groups who want to
offer open digital access might be a good part of the project.

As Michael has summed up so well, the central lead organisations need to
find a way of interacting effectively with the individuals and groups that
are, or want to be, digital mentors in their communities in order for the
project to work effectively.

We need to find a balance between giving people adequate reward for their
time (particularly to ensure digital mentoring is something they have the
time to do rather than assuming they will all be those that can afford to do
in their spare time) and opening our knowledge and experience up to ensure
that anybody with online experience who wants to share that for community
benefit can find the role and take it on. I think alongside a large
organisation taking the lead on the proposal, we will need some of the
leaders identified in this exercise, and those who emerge in the future, to
be national connectors who have the ability to roam the country making sure
small organisations know about each other's work (as we know, however good
we might be are at online networking and getting better all the time, you do
still miss a lot when you can't have real conversations with people).
Perhaps, since this does have the government angle, this sort of connecting
role is also something that MPs could be encouraged to take part in. (don't
look so surprised!)

I almost see it shaping up into a type of open source collegiate community
which needs enough resources to bring people together and enable people to
work in communities (perhaps on lead, 'model' projects), while also drawing
in people all the time to make a contribution to the project and to digital
engagement, therefore deepening the core work and unlocking further
resources, both people/volunteers and further grant funding, eg small
community grants for computer centres that could be equipped with a free
suite of key social sites and then that centre can be added to the Online
Centres network.

I can offer a couple of organisation as partners, but none with the current
capacity to take a lead or a big organising role. Happy to follow the
leaders though :)
Social Media CIC has networks and expertise in Stoke-on-Trent including with
social enterprise, voluntary sector and creative networks. The next few I
will have to explore further before I can definitely put them up as partners
but I think they will be keen: Never Again International is a global youth
network with UK members with a good track record of collaborating on social
change online. The WEA in Stoke-on-Trent is my newest employer and we run
community classes across the city, obviously it is also a national charity (
http://www.wea.org.uk). Focal Radio is a new radio station with a community
focus that has just started broadcasting on DAB (Staffordshire/Cheshire) and
online. There is also a governance process going on in Stoke-on-Trent which
DCLG are involved in and I think the digital inclusion aspects needs to be a
part of that.

I don't think I'm going to make the workshop but will be in London at Chain
Reaction the 2 days before. I'm also in Birmingham for a couple of days next
week and thought I would try and find where the cool digital types hang out
in the Custard Factory...

best wishes
Clare
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