CTPPresentation_v1.1-1.pdf

LETS REDESIGN THE SYSTEM

In real life we know that people help other people in their communities all the time.

But this doesn’t happen in the same way on the internet, where tech giants like Facebook have designed the system to harvest data and generate profit. The online world is shaped by an imbalance of power and driven by a profit motive which is at odds with the work being done all over the UK by grass roots community organisations.

WHAT WE WANT TO DO

Our dream is of a network, or ecosystem, of local partnerships across the UK where communities can share the problems that they want to address and we can work with them to co-create digital solutions to help to achieve their goals.

All over the UK there are local groups who want to improve their communities, for example, by clearing up the streets; reducing loneliness; welcoming refugees or making spaces safer after dark or a million other, community inspired and community led ideas.

For too long, disadvantaged communities have been seen as ‘the problem’ - when we know in fact that they understand the issues they want to address better than anyone else.

"Disadvantaged communities and their people are not the problem – they are the solution" — Hazel Stuteley, OBE Chair C2 National Charity

We have an established track-record of helping communities to transform themselves and their environments by developing digital solutions to support community action. However, there needs to be a step-change in supporting the digital autonomy of local communities. We need to build momentum.

1. Older people in Manchester said they were lonely, isolated and had nothing to do.  On investigation, it was found that there were actually lots of activities for older people ranging from yoga to knitting to IT and language classes. The trouble was finding out about these activities. We worked in partnership with the TBLF Manchester Age Friendly Neighbourhoods programme to develop a solution, an online calendar called PlaceCal which is owned and populated by community groups. It’s simple to use and no log in details are required. This software was recognised internationally as outstanding, winning second place in the 2018 AAL Smart Ageing prize.
2. During lockdown, a small group of people in Hulme, Manchester became concerned about local residents who didn’t have access to, or couldn’t afford cooked meals. This particularly applied to older people who lived alone but also anyone who was struggling. We helped them to set up Taphouse TV Dinners, a volunteer led project which supplied free or subsidised meals to people who wanted them and also reduced local food waste. We set up a website to connect people who wanted meals with volunteers and supermarkets with excess food.
3. ‘Imok’  (or “I’m OK”) is a simple bot designed to support people undertaking potentially risky activities. It was designed in partnership with No Borders Manchester to protect asylum seekers who have to ‘check in’ at a Reporting Centre in the knowledge that at any point they may be detained and taken to the airport for extradition with no way of informing friends or family. Originally, No Borders volunteers accompanied asylum seekers to every check in but this was unsustainable so we worked with them to develop ‘Imok’. In the event that someone fails to check in, volunteers can mobilise quickly. The bot can also be useful to support protestors at risk of arrest, supporting women and LGBTQ+ people walking home at night or going on dates, supporting emergency workers in dangerous situations.

LOCAL COMMUNITIES LEAD ON THE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM. WE CO-CREATE DIGITAL SOLUTIONS.

Our work will create online spaces where communities can help each other without having to open an account (and give away their personal information), be exposed to advertising or familiarise themselves with social media and everything that goes with it. We will work with communities and then help them to develop digital solutions to the issues that they have identified.

We work the opposite way around from most digital developers who invent a new app and then look for ways it can be used.  Instead, we put communities in the lead by listening and then working with them to co-create workable solutions.

HOW?

We want to develop a national network of up to 40 Community Technology Partnerships across the UK which will become a future focussed, organically growing ecosystem. Each community will have a Tech Advisor who listens to the issues and who will help think creatively about how to develop digital ideas which will help them to achieve their goals. Our team will help to develop creative, new digital solutions which will then be owned and managed by the community.

We will take a collaborative approach by sharing solutions, using open source software so that communities can build on one another’s success by using the digital tools which have been developed or through repurposing them. In this way communities will be empowered.

WHY NOT JUST USE EXISTING TECHNOLOGY?