Calling fellow wise elephants!
5 questions to consider before you start developing community technology
Are you exploring community technology? You’re in the right place! CAST has launched the Community Explore programme to support community businesses to undertake user research and explore a challenge they have identified, and the opportunity community technology presents to tackle that challenge. It is available to organisations who have been awarded Power To Change’s Discovery Fund — a new fund to develop new ideas and learn new skills. We’re working alongside brilliant partners Power to Change, Promising Trouble, and Third Sector Lab — congratulations to everyone who has been accepted onto the programme!
Today we held a kick off to give everyone a chance to meet and share more about the support available as part of the Discovery Fund, including access to the Community Explore programme. At the end of the session we did a quick temperature gauge to see how everyone is feeling, below is a screenshot of some of the responses. Having had the opportunity to meet everyone on the programme, I’m also feeling very fortunate and excited. (I’m also a much wiser elephant after having had the pleasure to connect with the brilliant brains taking part in the Discovery Fund!)
The programme starts in October and before we dive in, I’m sharing some reflections on what we know about the case for community technology so far, and 5 questions to consider before you start developing it.
Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their answers to these 5 questions during our next kick off session for Community Explore, an interactive workshop that takes place October 4th 10am — 12pm.
Ready? Here we go!
Reflections shared in our kick off call today, we asked: how are you feeling about the support available on the Discovery Fund?
What is Community Technology?
There is a great report from Power to Change and Promising Trouble on The Case for Community Tech. It defines community technology as:
The term “community tech” means any hardware or software that delivers benefit to a community group, and which that community group has the authority to influence or control. A community group may create a piece of technology for their own use or use by other groups, or to be governed or adapted by other groups
Community technology initiatives can encompass a wide range of areas, including:
Digital Inclusion: Ensuring that all members of a community have access to digital resources, such as the internet, computers, and digital skills training.
Community Development: Using technology to support economic development, job creation, and sustainable practices within a community.
Civic Engagement: Utilising technology to enable citizens to participate in local governance, decision-making processes, and community-driven projects.
Education: Implementing technology in educational programs to provide more accessible and effective learning opportunities for community members.
Healthcare: Leveraging technology to improve healthcare access and or help communities engage with health information.
Social Services: Using technology to streamline the delivery of social services, connect individuals with resources and support.
Environmental Sustainability: Applying technology to monitor and manage environmental issues within a community, such as pollution, waste management, and sustainable energy solutions.
Collaboration and Communication: Facilitating communication and collaboration among community members, organisations, and local businesses through technology platforms and tools.
Plus many more! Community technology initiatives can be driven by community businesses, individuals, governments, non-profit organisations, grassroots movements, or private sector entities. The goal is to harness the power of technology to create positive social impact, bridge digital divides, and promote community-driven development.
Design principles
We have created a set of guiding principles that we suggest you keep in mind when exploring community technology. These have been developed in partnership with Power to Change, Promising Trouble and Third Sector Lab.
Which do you think is the most important? Why not pop it on a post-it note around your workplace so it stays front of mind.
Care is our organising principle that underpins all others. Read on to find out why…
Start with our users in mind — take care to engage with users and research to understand their needs — plan for reciprocity and ensure their safety.
Understand the problem first — take care to identify the right problem to solve before jumping to solution conclusions.
Take small steps and learn as we go — take care through taking small steps, this makes it easier to observe the impact of your work and course correct.
Understand what’s out there first and reuse — take care to look for what is already working at the community level before seeking new design solutions.
Build for common ownership — take care to invest in common ownership — including shared decision making with your community, equity and governance.
Build for sustainability — take care by working towards sustainable, community-led and controlled outcomes.
Be inclusive — take care to constantly learn, be curious, and strive to be inclusive and accepting.
Be open — take care of your community by sharing design knowledge and tools.
Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash
When is it better to use existing digital solutions rather than develop community technology?
Deciding whether to use existing digital solutions or develop new community technology depends on various factors, including the specific needs of the community, available resources, the complexity of the problem, and the existing technological landscape. Here are some scenarios when it’s better to use existing solutions:
Urgency: If the community’s needs are urgent, using existing technology can help you move at a quicker pace to provide urgently needed support.
Well-Established Solutions: If there are proven and widely adopted digital solutions that directly address the needs of the community, it may be more efficient and cost-effective to use these existing tools. The behaviour change needed to support communities to change from something working “well enough” to something “a bit better” will come with pros and cons. Is there evidence that an existing solution has successfully addressed similar challenges in other communities? This is a strong indicator that it might work for your community as well. We will support you to deliver research to understand this more.
Limited Resources: Developing technology from scratch requires significant resources, including time, expertise, and funding. If your community has limited resources, it might be more practical to leverage existing solutions in some areas of your project. As part of the Community Explore programme we will support you to secure funding to develop your projects further, there will be Demo Days where you will openly share your work with your community, peers, the sector and potential funders.
Compatibility and Integration: If the existing technology integrates well with other tools, platforms, or systems used by the community, it can be more beneficial to avoid the complexities of custom development. It is also worth considering if new technology will meet growing demands if the need for support, or size of your community grows. Is an existing solution going to help you deliver support more easily at scale? Is it sustainable?
Has your challenge been solved before?
During the programme we will support you to learn more about your challenge. This includes researching who else has identified the same challenge as you, and what digital solutions already exist to meet the needs of your community. This might be things that your organisation has done work before in this area, or it might be that another social impact organisation has tried to solve your challenge. It can be surprising what comes up as you complete this research — you might find out about historic projects or services you’ve never heard about!
Introducing… The Community Tech Library
While a small number of very large companies might seem to dominate the digital landscape, the reality is that the internet is full of alternatives and possibilities — of people making and sharing things for collective benefit. To help you discover more about these inspiring examples, we have created a Community Tech Library which contains a database of community tech solutions. Check it out!
Photo by Mariia Zakatiura on Unsplash
During the programme you will have a chance to explore this Community Tech Library and see what you can learn from how others have tried to solve your challenge before — it might be that nobody has, or lots of people have. Both are okay — the important thing is to do your research so that you learn from other initiatives and approaches.
Is developing custom community technology right for my challenge?
There are situations where developing custom community technology is more appropriate. We can only find this out by thoroughly exploring the needs of the community.
By being accepted onto this programme we believe that:
The challenge you want to explore has potential to be addressed by the development of community technology
And that you are in a position to deliver this
There is one key thing that will help us understand the potential that community technology presents to tackle the challenge you have identified and that is…
…User research!
Understanding the unique needs of your community is the single most important factor. Luckily for us all, that is exactly what the Community Explore programme will support social impact organisations to do!
On the Community Explore programme we will support you to complete user research through a range of support services including:
User Research masterclass — to help you plan and deliver research and understand the needs of your community
Bonus videos from experts — sharing methods and tools you can try right away
Facilitated peer learning — to help you reflect on what you are learning, get unstuck, and hear about research methods your cohort are experimenting with
1:1 coaching — expert support and guidance
And a dedicated Learning Hub — packed full of resources, templates, workbooks, inspirational reading, and much more!
Clarify your goals before you start developing community technology
The decision to use existing digital solutions or develop community technology should be based on a thorough assessment of the community’s needs, available resources, and the potential benefits of each approach.
Asking yourself the right questions before you start can help you clarify your goals, plan effectively, and increase the chances of success.
Here are 5 important questions to consider now:
What specific problem or challenge within the community do I want to address? Watch this short video on how to write your problem statement.
What research do I need to do to understand the needs of my community better? To get started, read this resource on how to create a knowledge board. You don’t need to complete the knowledge board right away. For now, think of one thing you know, think you know, and do not know about your community.
Where are my community? What places, spaces, platforms or networks are they already using that I might be able to access so I can involve them in my project?
Which design principle do I feel is the most important? Why? There are no right or wrong answers here, they are all important!
Am I prepared to adapt, learn, and iterate based on feedback and changing community needs? What other skills and mindsets might I need to bring to this project to help me and others succeed?
Our next kick off session for Community Explore is an interactive workshop that takes place October 4th 10am — 12pm. During this session I will invite participants to share your reflections on each of these questions. I can’t wait to hear how you get on!
Are you taking part in the Community Explore programme and looking for support with your project? Are you a funder interested in supporting the development of community owned technology? Perhaps you have a community tech example we can add to our growing library? Get in touch to hear more about how our Community Explore programme can help you deliver impact: explore@wearecast.org.uk
Originally published on: https://medium.com/we-are-cast/calling-fellow-wise-elephants-c504567f09ef