
It's been a while since we updated you all on the projects with which we've been involved. Perhaps it's a good sign that we've been too busy to write a blog entry about them!
So, here's a quick summary...
So, here's a quick summary...
The thing that has been most interesting about our recent work is the variety of the projects and their requirements. It has become clear that wider community engagement work is now part and parcel of our offering as well as the support we offer in relation to using the internet for this purpose.
Birmingham Timebanks
We have been working closely with Chamberlain Forum to help with the setting up of a network of timebanks in Birmingham. Timebanking is a way of sharing skills and resources, enabling community and self help and for people to get the things we want and need without using money. Timebanks use an alternative currency – time. Members of a timebank agree to exchange their time with each other on the basis that an hour of someone’s time is worth an hour of anyone else’s.
Through this work, we have been able to engage with and connect various communities across Birmingham - both on- and off-line. As you might expect, Community On Board's particular focus was the creation of online identities for these separate Timebanks and to start the process of engaging with the relevant communities through an informative and functional web presence, as well as social media.
The Geography of Birmingham in 100 Meals
We were asked by Kate Cooper from New Optimists to help out with conducting a feasibility study for a new project idea; The Geography of Birmingham in 100 Meals. The idea is simple: organise 100 meals – maybe more, maybe fewer – across Birmingham where people from different backgrounds and areas of the city come together to meet, talk and learn about each other over food.
Aside from testing out the mechanics of how the project might work and what it would cost, it was essential to test the water with communities across Birmingham and set up ways to listen to feedback. The initial study phase is now complete and a pilot project is currently in the pipeline - watch this space!
WEA Greening Wingrove Project
In March we were back in Newcastle doing some work with our old friends at the WEA Greening Wingrove Project, part of the Communities Living Sustainably Programme. The project's 'Community Innovation Fund' - or CIF - supports local ideas to get off the ground that, in turn, support the wider aims and objectives of the overarching project. The successfully-funded ideas are voted for by the local community through participatory budgeting.
We worked with the project team to set up an online voting system for the CIF to encourage participation in the process and to complement the other offline voting methods.
And finally...
We've been busy elsewhere too. We have, of course, still been running our usual workshops for community/voluntary organisations looking to enhance their offering through the use of internet technology.
If you have any questions about the work we do, then we'd love to hear from you. Email hello@communityonboard.org.uk or call 07949 248119.
Bye for now!
Birmingham Timebanks
We have been working closely with Chamberlain Forum to help with the setting up of a network of timebanks in Birmingham. Timebanking is a way of sharing skills and resources, enabling community and self help and for people to get the things we want and need without using money. Timebanks use an alternative currency – time. Members of a timebank agree to exchange their time with each other on the basis that an hour of someone’s time is worth an hour of anyone else’s.
Through this work, we have been able to engage with and connect various communities across Birmingham - both on- and off-line. As you might expect, Community On Board's particular focus was the creation of online identities for these separate Timebanks and to start the process of engaging with the relevant communities through an informative and functional web presence, as well as social media.
The Geography of Birmingham in 100 Meals
We were asked by Kate Cooper from New Optimists to help out with conducting a feasibility study for a new project idea; The Geography of Birmingham in 100 Meals. The idea is simple: organise 100 meals – maybe more, maybe fewer – across Birmingham where people from different backgrounds and areas of the city come together to meet, talk and learn about each other over food.
Aside from testing out the mechanics of how the project might work and what it would cost, it was essential to test the water with communities across Birmingham and set up ways to listen to feedback. The initial study phase is now complete and a pilot project is currently in the pipeline - watch this space!
WEA Greening Wingrove Project
In March we were back in Newcastle doing some work with our old friends at the WEA Greening Wingrove Project, part of the Communities Living Sustainably Programme. The project's 'Community Innovation Fund' - or CIF - supports local ideas to get off the ground that, in turn, support the wider aims and objectives of the overarching project. The successfully-funded ideas are voted for by the local community through participatory budgeting.
We worked with the project team to set up an online voting system for the CIF to encourage participation in the process and to complement the other offline voting methods.
And finally...
We've been busy elsewhere too. We have, of course, still been running our usual workshops for community/voluntary organisations looking to enhance their offering through the use of internet technology.
If you have any questions about the work we do, then we'd love to hear from you. Email hello@communityonboard.org.uk or call 07949 248119.
Bye for now!