Pat 15/Social Exclusion

The Government’s Social Exclusion Unit published a report on neighbourhood renewal in 1998 entitled ‘Building a Better Britain’. As a result of the report, 18 Policy Action Teams were established to undertake research in each of the 18 policy areas outlined in the report and to report to the government in the autumn of 1999.

Shipley Communities Online was asked to become one of 5 local case studies to contribute to action research undertaken by the Policy Action Team 15 (Access to ICTs).

The aim of the research was to :

	Contribute to the government’s strategy on providing access to ICTs in low income neighbourhoods
	Explore perceptions and attitudes of users and non-users towards ICTs and towards public access to ICTs
	Explore the infrastructural issues of how authorities and other lead agencies establish and maintain such access
	Develop our understanding of how ICTs can contribute to community renewal

The research involved Focus Groups, one to one interviews, surveys and online questionnaires conducted with a range of groups - from children in the Homework club at Windhill Community Centre, to groups of online learners, to older residents working on the Windhill Memories Group web pages. A highly successful ICT Awareness Day was held at Windhill Community Centre, where residents were given an opportunity to ‘have a go’ with a wide range of technology.

The partnership took the research very seriously, resulting in the production of a substantial report which had the dual advantage of giving us some useful data to take our own work forward.

A Partnership seminar held on 30^th September marked the culmination of the activity and an opportunity to share the findings (see attached) from the research activity, and the progress made in SCOL community web development over the last year.

The meeting was supported by Kevin Harris from Community Development Foundation, who commissioned the work on behalf of PAT15, David Wilcox from UKCommunities Online and Partnerships Online, and Drew Mackie, a consultant who has played an important role in online communities. The meeting was also attended by John Humphreys from the Department of Trade and Industry, who is Secretary to the PAT15. A high spot of the seminar was the Neighbourhoods Online game, an interactive exercise designed by David Wilcox and Drew Mackie to help people to think about how ICTs can be used to support local priorities – either at neighbourhood or area level, and how ideas for future development might link to the Bradford Community Plan.

The seminar, which was attended by 45 people, was very well received and a number of people commented how it had given them new ideas and helped them to think in new ways.

‘You saw it first in Shipley East!’