While the origin of community networking can be traced back to the freenets of the USA, our project sought from the outset to address local needs as opposed to following a predefined model. The components of the project - online learning, careers guidance, jobsearching via the Internet - and the locations - community centres - came together fortuitously to form an actual network, rather than being designed in advance to do so. The communities of Shipley East are thus integrated into a practical framework based upon everyday co-operation amongst the partner organisations involved in the project.

Commonly accepted definitions of community networking put a stress upon the locality; the progressive social agenda involved; and free access. Information and communication technologies are viewed as the crucial means of enabling the formation and evolution of community networks.

In Shipley East, the various communities of the locality are connected via the Shipley Communities Online website, which carries a bulletin board and links to each community's website. The participating organisations are linked through the ONElist internet mailing list. Individual clients making use of the project can register for an e-mail address to aid with their own networking. Free access is guaranteed to residents of Shipley East. The local community websites are developing as sources of information within and beyond their immediate localities.

An innovative approach to self-development, through the Online Learning element of the project equips people with the skills and confidence necessary to participate in an IT-dominated economy and society. This progressive aspect is further met by the potential that people will be empowered to express their interests and form communities based around shared values, and in this process harness the technology to fulfill their own aspirations.

As the project evolves there is increasing interest in developing links with other parties - for example, the public library service, the community radio sector and healthy living centres - which all have the benefit of local communities as their focus. Shipley Communities Online is also seeking to share experience with projects in other locations facing similar challenges.

Community development is both the condition and the conclusion of the networking process. Where communities have an established tradition of activity the networking process appears as a natural, technology-boosted extension. The existence in Shipley East of such established centres makes the development of community networking easier than in areas lacking such a tradition. On the other hand, new networking communities may evolve where previously the ground was barren. In either case, the opportunity for community networking is that both relatively integrated and fragmented communities will benefit.