Using ICT for collaboration
How can VCOs use ICTs to work more collaboratively? Ruralnet’s I-See-T project seeks to answer this question. They are running some free workshops to help voluntary and community organisations find out, try out and feed back on ways of using ICT for collaboration. The ICT Hub and NCVO’s Collaborative Working Unit are also commissioning some case studies of VCOs using ICT to work collaboratively, which should be interesting.
However, though ICT may provide useful tools, organisational culture, individual attitudes and skills gaps could provide barriers, as David Wilcox explains. As Eleanor Burt said in a comment on another post, “we have to be wary of viewing ICTs as ‘driving’ … This suggests some innate characteristic within the technology that forces us along one particular trajectory or to a particular outcome, when actually we have choices.” This reminds me of the force field analysis tool in our planning toolkit; change usually involves both positive “facilitating” forces and negative “blocking” forces.
July 12th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
I’ve been trying to develop a culture of using social software as a way of developing some of the work I do with my members at the Drug Education Forum.
It isn’t easy in part because we start with different understandings of what the point is of using social software. Why use a wiki when trackchanges works just as well? Why have a blog when you’ve got a website? Why use the online project management tools, etc. etc.
On reflection I think that often I thrust things at people without doing enough preparation for them to be able to incorporate the ideas into their worldview. As a result it is only when they are repackaged - we have the blog so that I don’t overload your inbox - that they take off.
Still, I don’t think I’ll ever get people using the online project management tools…
July 28th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Using ICT for collaboration amongst organisations is technically not complicated but can be difficult to achieve, especially when organisations involved have very different objectives and motivations.
I work for an organisation called MegaNexus, which has been formed through the Computer Science Dept. at University College London, and we have been working with local authorities and partnerships to deliver effective collaborative networks. These web-based systems allow organisations to work together and provide a co-ordinated service to local people, by allowing online referrals and easy tracking, monitoring and reporting.
Our projects have been successful as these networks are not set up as purely tools for collaboration but achieve other aims that actively encourage usage of the system. For example, it allows groups of organisations to come together under a single brand/name and provide a web site allowing the partnership and individual organisations to promote their services, helping them to engage with new people. Several of our projects have been focused on tackling worklessness issues and our online networks encourage local residents to create their own accounts to build an online CV profile and find employment opportunities and training courses which also feed into the network.
The key to the success is to really understand the various goals and drivers of the organisations that will be involved in a collaborative network and create a system that not just aids collaborations but helps the individual organisations to achieve greater results. We consult all partners to ensure that the system set up will benefit them so that they are encouraged to use it regularly and therefore collaboration can take place.
Forgive this promotion of what we have been doing, but we have been given a remit, following the success of our projects, to inform local authorities and relevant organisations of the work we have been doing and are currently giving information presentations across the UK.
If you would like to find out more, please feel free to contact me (Dominic Pinkney - 020 7843 4334 - dominic@meganexus.com)