Thankyou to all Voicebox contributors

I’m sorry to tell you that Voicebox was not successful in its bid to run the Digital Mentors initiative from CLG.  The call came in this afternoon, and to be honest, I’m still reeling from the disappointment.

The successful bidder was Media Trust, and so I’d like to congratulate their team who also worked really hard to develop the winning bid.

As you’ve read from the Voicebox blog so far, we’ve come such a long way since last autumn in terms of the understanding how an open and collaborative approach to developing bids can work, and so this wont be the last time we will use this approach to develop other opportunities that come our way!

A big ‘THANK YOU’ to all of you that contributed to the Voicebox blog. I’ve learned a great deal from you all and hopefully, some great contacts too.  I’m sure these links wont be lost!

In the meantime, I hope you will join with me in offering your support to Media Trust (and their partners) to ensure the Digital Mentors initiative help peoples in deprived communities in England develop skills in using social and community media.

Research and mapping objectives

What are the objectives of the R&M?

I feel we need to resist here, the desire to collate, in one place, the biggest possible list of every single project that exists. We already know there are 6000 UK online centres, 600 CMA members, 2500 partners on COL database…etc

I think we need to develop an open and flowing process, so that we get as much quality information as possible to understand the types of projects that exist, why they exist (what drives them) and what the benefits are as well as disadvantages in the process, in particular focused on sustainability. What we can learn that is good for training others and what training needs may exist. What else do people think we need to find out?

This could take a variety of formats and we don’t need to necessarily pick one:

1. Mail out to databases of various networks
2. Telephone interviews of projects that come forwards as particularly interested
3. Literature review and desk research (eg Foley mapping of the 198 indicator set- I can explain if needed)
4. Fieldwork interviews where a particular feature seems especially interesting (for example if someone had developed a sustainable social enterprise model)
5. Online discussion amongst the consortium group
6. Use of web2.0 sites

Anything else?

We are “looking for gaps”- this might be in usage of types of technology or socially excluded groups that are underserved, or formats of mentoring such as volunteers, or online mentors, etc.

It helps to think through what gaps might exist, because then you can fill them or not. Gaps in actual fact are also potential demonstrators, because if people have a project they want to extend or start afresh, it may be because they perceive there is a gap…

Introducing Research and Mapping

We aim to conduct a comprehensive consultation and review of existing work related to digital mentors. This work stream will make recommendations about commissioning of demonstrator projects.