Office for the Community Sector Improving ICT uptake in … ICT... · 2015. 2. 23. · contributed...

THINKING DOING LEADING

Office for the Community Sector

Improving ICT uptake in community sector

organisations

OCS: Improving ICT uptake in community sector organisations 10 December 2010

© The Nous Group www. nousgroup.com.au Page i i i

Glossary and abbreviations Abbreviation Meaning Abbreviation Meaning

ACE Adult Community Education CSS-ICT Project

The Community Services Support Information Communications Technology Project: A project focused on lifting ICT use by NFP and community sector organisations – jointly funded by DHS and DPCD.

ACFE Adult and Community Further Education (Board): Not-For-Profit organisation that acts as a peak body for adult education providers

DHS Department of Human Services

BISQAS Better Integrated Standard Quality Assurance System DIF Digital Inclusion Fund: Government fund that provides grants to assist organisations implement ICT based solutions

CALD Culturally and Linguistically Diverse DPCD Department of Planning and Community Development

CIIF Collaborative Internet Innovation Fund: Government fund that provides grants to assist organisations implement ICT based solutions

DVD Digital Video Disk – a commonly used portable storage device

COBS Community Options Brokerage Service: community based organisation that provides a unique service offering a wide range of vocation, education, recreation, rural, and social programs

FTE Full-Time-Equivalent: Refers to staffing availability / levels. For example, 0.5 FTE is one-half of a person’s capacity for a given time period

CRIS / CRISP Client Relationship Information System / Client Relationship Information System for Service Providers – a DHS system used in the community sector

Google Apps A free internet based software package allowing users to perform many administrative tasks on a single shared platform

CSO Community Sector Organisation: Community based entities delivering a range of services to individuals and groups in their community on a not-for-profit basis.

ICT Information Communications Technology: Term refers to all equipment, and support services, that use an electronic platform for their delivery and / or functionality – including computers and telephony


© The Nous Group www. nousgroup.com.au Page iv

Abbreviation Meaning Abbreviation Meaning

Intranet(s) Refers to a closed internet platform, typically used within one community or organisation

PABX Private Automated Branch Exchange: Refers to a system that allows and controls the sharing of phone lines between telephones and other communication devices

LGA Local Government Authority: Councils or municipalities PC Personal Computer – including desktops and laptops

LLEN Local Learning and Employment Network(s): A Not-For-Profit organisation providing community based support

PICSAR Participation in Community Sport and Active Recreation (program): VicHealth funded program to increase participation in sport and related activities

MC2 Refers to My Connected Community - an interactive space where online communities are created, funded by the Victorian Government

RFT Request For Tender: Process by which organisations, including government departments, request prices from suppliers for products and /or services

MMV Multi Media Victoria SCOP The Stronger Community Organisations Project

NEAMI A mental health rehabilitation and support provider working with, and on behalf of, people with a mental illness

SSA State Services Authority

NFP Not-For-Profit: Refers to organisations providing services and / or products at “No” to “Low” cost, typically serving a community’s needs

VCOSS Victorian Council of Social Services: A peak body representing the social and community services sector

OCS The Office for the Community Sector: The designated government agency responsible for the community sector, part of the Department for Planning and Community Development (DPCD)

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol: Technology by which phone calls and other communications are made using the internet rather than standard phone lines


© The Nous Group www. nousgroup.com.au Page v

Contents 1 Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6

2 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

3 Vision for ICT in the community sector ........................................................................................................................................ 13

4 The ICT requirements of community sector organisations ........................................................................................................... 15 4.1 CSOs require access to ICT knowledge and skills ........................................................................................................... 16 4.2 CSOs require quality, cost effective hardware, software and communications services ................................................... 17 4.3 CSOs require applications that meet their particular requirements ................................................................................... 18

5 Barriers that limit uptake of ICT in community sector organisations ............................................................................................. 19 5.1 Current use of ICT in community sector organisations ..................................................................................................... 20 5.2 Four primary barriers inhibit uptake of ICT in CSOs ......................................................................................................... 21 5.3 Secondary (or compounding) barriers .............................................................................................................................. 23 5.4 Current projects that reduce the primary barriers to CSO ICT uptake .............................................................................. 25

6 Recommended projects to improve the uptake of ICT in CSOs ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.1 Priority projects ................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.2 Short – medium term projects ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.3 Longer-term projects........................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 28


© The Nous Group www. nousgroup.com.au Page 6

1 Executive summary Community sector organisations play a critical role in strengthening local communities for a fairer Victoria. An estimated 120,000 organisations cover a diverse spectrum including community welfare, the environment, sport and recreation, community arts and culture, adult and community education, employment and health services and community housing. The Productivity Commission identified that the not-for-profit sector contributed more than $43 billion to Australia’s GDP in 2006-07, provided 8% of employment and engaged 4.6 million volunteers with a wage equivalent value of $15 billion. However, use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the community sector lags behind other sectors. Community sector organisations are often not supported by the same degree of reliable, efficient technology found in similar sized private and government sector organisations.

The Office for the Community Sector has a leadership role in strengthening community sector organisations. Improving the uptake of ICT across the sector will enable the sector to more readily share experiences, move towards best practice, improve efficiency and better serve their community. Nous recommends an integrated program of ten projects over the next two years to sustainably and measurably improve the sector’s use of ICT – strengthening local communities and helping to deliver A Fairer Victoria.

Background The Office for the Community Sector engaged The Nous Group to identify the barriers which limit use of ICT in the community sector and what initiatives could be lead by the Office to reduce these barriers. This project defined a vision for ICT in the community sector, specified the ICT requirements that must be met to achieve the vision, identified the primary barriers that restrict ICT use and scoped ten projects to improve ICT uptake. This work was informed by discussions with peak bodies and consultations with a wide spectrum of community sector organisations – both those who lead the sector in use of ICT and those who are challenged by it.

Vision for ICT in community sector organisations Effective use of ICT is becoming increasingly important to business – across the private, government and community sectors. An ever growing wealth of information is available through the internet, and much of the Victorian Government’s effort to reduce red tape for the community sector – lead by the Office – will rely upon the capability of community sector organisations to use the internet effectively. To position the sector for a successful future and ensure it can benefit from planned activity to streamline interactions with government, the Office’s vision is that:

All community sector organisations have the skills, knowledge and ability to access and leverage the information, tools and resources available through the web and to use ICT effectively to strengthen their local community



To achieve this vision, all community sector organisations have three fundamental ICT requirements. These requirements, if met, will facilitate an organisation reaching its full potential and better supporting its local community. Organisations require:

1. Access to ICT knowledge and skills to help identify what technology is of potential value; to implement, manage and support technology; and assist staff, volunteers and members to make effective use of technology

2. Quality, cost effective hardware, software and communications services which meet the requirements of the organisation. This includes hardware (PCs and networking equipment), software (antivirus and Office software), standard telecommunications services (internet access and telephones), internet communications services (website and access to shared discussion groups) as well as installation and support services to configure and maintain the technology

3. Applications that support the specific needs of the organisation, the segment it works within (arts, sports, welfare, etc) or the community sector as a whole.

Unfortunately many community sector organisations find it difficult to meet these requirements. Use of technology can therefore be limited. It is often safer and easier to invest an organisation’s limited resources in direct services to support a community without the benefits offered by ICT than risk wasting scarce funds on a technology that may not be of any value.

Four primary barriers limit uptake of ICT in community sector organisations Project consultations identified four barriers which must be overcome for a community sector organisation to use technology effectively:

Barriers to improving uptake of ICT in CSOs

1. An awareness of ICT benefits and opportunities – or in their words “When it comes to ICT, we don’t know what we don’t know”

2. A fear of making ICT investment decisions – “We fear making the wrong ICT investment decision”

3. The funds and resources to enact and maintain ICT decisions – “We don’t have the funds to purchase or maintain our ICT capability”

4. The skills and capabilities to enact and maintain ICT platforms – “We don’t have the required skills or support to optimise ICT use”

The barriers listed in the order in which they must be overcome:

1. Firstly, an organisation needs to know how it could use technology in new or different ways and the potential benefits that arise. While many are aware that it is possible to do a lot more with technology, exactly what, how and why are questions they often find difficult to answer.



2. Once an organisation is aware of how it could use technology, it must then become confident it is worth the investment of time and effort, and that it is not a risky decision – something which can be hard given the difficulty differentiating between good and bad ICT advice.

3. Then the organisation must find the resources (financial and people) to invest in ICT. Funding constraints often limit an organisations’ capability to invest, though the non-financial return that comes from efficiency improvements does enable new capital investment in the community sector in the same way that it does in the private sector.

4. Lastly, an organisation must find, develop or purchase the skills and capabilities to maintain and optimise their use of ICT. Without a sustainable model that allows staff and volunteers to make the most of a technology investment, an organisation will not continue to use technology effectively.

Each of these barriers must be addressed for a community sector organisation to increase use of ICT. Addressing some but not all of the barriers will not make the required difference or lead to the desired outcomes.

Existing government investment primarily focuses on the first two barriers. OCS effort should therefore target the last two barriers. Eighteen government initiatives were reviewed and their impact on their four barriers was assessed. Most initiatives target disadvantaged individuals, and therefore have limited impact on uptake of ICT in community sector organisations. However, the DPCD Showcasing ICT Innovation Grants and the recently awarded Community Service Sector Information and Communication Technology (CSS ICT) Project both have a significant impact on the four barriers – particularly the first two of the four identified barriers (awareness and decision making). OCS effort should therefore focus more heavily on the third and fourth – i.e. reducing the barriers to obtaining:

• The funds and resources to enact and maintain ICT decisions – by reducing the cost of ICT or sharing innovative, practical ways to achieve more from ICT for less

• The skills and capabilities to enact and maintain ICT platforms – by assisting organisations to better develop or access the skills and capabilities to make and then sustain ICT platforms.

Ten strategic projects provide OCS with the opportunity to substantially increase ICT uptake across the sector An integrated program of work has been designed to reduce the barriers to ICT uptake across the community sector. These have been selected because they leverage work or opportunities that already exist within government, and because they offer the potential of a significant change for limited investment. The recommended projects are summarised in the table below.



Projects Targeted barriers Impact on barriers

Effort Timeline Awareness Decision

making Funds &

resources Skills &

capabilities 1. Priority projects

1.1 Assess the feasibility of requiring all members of the next eServices panel to provide some pro-bono services for CSOs Potentially

High Low Dec 10 – May

2011

1.2 Improve the accessibility of government “bulk purchasing” arrangements for CSOs Potentially

High Low Jan – Dec 2011

1.3 Best-practice grants that show-case how CSOs successfully overcome the remaining primary barriers Medium Medium Jan – Jun 2011

2. Short – medium term projects

2.1 Create and maintain an OCS “one-stop-shop” ICT portal for CSOs Medium Low –

Medium Feb 2011 onwards

2.2 Co-ordinate and facilitate CSO access to ex-government ICT assets Low –

Medium Low Apr 2011 – Feb 2012

2.3 Develop and undertake an annual survey of CSO ICT uptake Low –

Medium Low July 2011 ongoing

3. Longer term projects

3.1 Enhancing regional ICT mentoring and support networks Medium – High Medium Sep 2011 – mid

2012

3.2 Regional workshops: Snr Exec info; ICT Decision Making; & leveraging free web-based tools Medium –

High Medium Dec 2011 – mid 2012

3.3 Assess the feasibility/value of a CSO volume purchasing / support service and potentially encourage its establishment Low – High Low Feb – mid 2012

3.4 Regional ICT uptake pilot (simultaneous rollout of selected projects in a specific region) High High Feb – mid 2012

These ten projects will measurably increase the uptake of ICT across the sector, help to build stronger communities and a fairer Victoria.



2 Background The Office for the Community Sector (OCS), in implementing the Victorian Government’s Action Plan: Strengthening Community Organisations, identified an overarching need of the sector to become much better in its use of ICT. Effective ICT use across the sector, and by individual CSOs, supports three key OCS objectives:

• To improve the sector’s capacity, efficiency and effectiveness

• To establish a coordinated approach by government to ICT investment in the sector

• To enable the sector to fully participate in the significant sector reforms being lead by OCS, such as the Single Funding Agreement and Quality Standards rationalisation.

The OCS and the Department of Human Services (DHS) have both funded projects to develop a better understanding of how ICT is used across and within the community sector. These projects identified that many CSOs do not take full advantage of ICT. This limits the capacity of CSOs to support their community, achieve their objectives and build a stronger and fairer Victoria. While many Victorian government departments are investing in projects to develop the ICT capability of the sector, the barriers that limit ICT uptake by CSOs have not been well understood. Without this understanding it is difficult to develop a strategic and coordinated approach across government to ICT investment in the sector.

Project context and history The Stronger Community Organisations Project (SCOP), which had its origins in the Victorian Government’s A Fairer Victoria strategy, was formed in February 2007. The SCOP delivered its report to the responsible minister, The Hon. Peter Batchelor, MP, at the end of October 2007. The report, drawing on considerable and broad consultation with the community sector, focused on providing an overview of the main changes to, and the challenges faced by, the Victorian not-for-profit sector.

The SCOP report and the State Services Authority (SSA) report, A Review of Not-for-Profit Regulation, informed the Victorian Government’s action plan, Strengthening Community Organisation. The action plan was also informed by three earlier reports:

• A Fairer Victoria

• Growing Victoria Together – A Vision of Victoria to 2010 and beyond

• National Reform Agenda (Victoria’s initiatives).



The resultant Victorian Government’s action plan, Strengthening Community Organisation (the Action Plan), included specific focus on the development of organisational support services and networks (Action 16: Developing organisational support services and networks). To reduce the regulatory burden, and increase the efficiencies of interacting with government, the requirement for CSOs to use web based technologies will increase. Additionally, the web already contains a wide range of tools and information that can assist CSOs to strengthen their communities and make Victoria fairer. However, CSO uptake of ICT must increase if they are to benefit.

Multiple research projects and reports have been undertaken that have considered ICT use within the community sector. However, none have focused on the barriers to greater ICT uptake. This project was commissioned as a result of these three drivers – the Action Plan; the need for greater ICT use within the community sector; and the lack of detailed analysis regarding the barriers to greater ICT use.

Project objective The objective of this project is to understand what barriers restrict ICT uptake in the community sector and to provide a strategic, practical plan for OCS to enable greater use of ICT in community sector organisations. It will draw from, and build on, the current research into the sector’s needs. At the completion of this project, OCS will:

• Have an quantitative, evidenced-based view of the current state of ICT within the community sector that incorporates recent research, current and planned initiatives or projects and sector needs

• Understand the reasons why community organisations are not making effective use of ICT • Know where effort and activity must be directed to build long term and self-sustaining ICT capability within the sector • Be ready to pilot and implement a suite of well designed and planned initiatives or projects to build ICT capability across the sector.

Project approach This project was delivered in three stages:

1. Stage one

a. Fourteen interviews were conducted with peak bodies and individual CSOs – the consulted organisations, and a summary of the key themes are included as

focused on research and consultation across the sector to establish a clear picture of the ICT needs of the sector, the ICT initiatives underway and barriers to improved ICT uptake. During this stage:

Appendix A



b. More than 40 individuals participated in five workshops across the DPCD region of Hume and Whittlesea Local Government Authority (LGA) to identify opportunities and barriers to improve ICT uptake – a summary of the workshops’ findings and of the organisations who participated are listed in Appendix B

c. A review of recent and relevant local, state, federal and international reports was undertaken – these reports are listed in Appendix C

d. Review of current and planned state government projects that improve CSO ICT uptake – these projects are listed in Appendix D.

2. Stage two

3.

developed a ‘Vision for future use of ICT within the sector’. The barriers to achieving this vision were then considered in light of government investment and projects to identify where further OCS effort is best targeted.

Stage three

This report is the final report that details the responses and findings to all three stages.

identified, prioritised and scoped the initiatives or projects in which the State Government, through the OCS, may focus its efforts to improve ICT uptake in CSOs in line with the stated objectives.



3 Vision for ICT in the community sector Every community sector organisation reflects the community it supports. No two communities are the same – each has different socio-economics; demography; size; accessibility to services; and the people who live in the community have different interests and skills. Reflecting these differences between communities, each community sector organisation is unique.

Some community sector organisations are large, offering one or many different services across a wide area. Others are small, close-knit groups that support the community in a specific area of interest to their members and community. As the size differs, so do the interests served and services offered. Those services or interests might be as diverse as: genealogy; a particular environmental issue; a disability or educational service; or encouraging a particular sport.

The activities of each organisation and way they undertake these activities will also vary depending on the objectives of the organisation, the interests and skills of current members, the resources the organisation has at its disposal and the needs of the people living in the community. Organisations focus on supporting their local community in one of many areas – arts and culture; sport and recreation; child care and kindergarten; adult education; environmental; indigenous or multicultural groups; community welfare; or other issues important in their local area.

All community sector organisations must become more familiar and comfortable with ICT and use of the internet if they are to interact effectively with government and better support their community.

The Office for the Community Sector’s vision for ICT in the community sector is that:

All community sector organisations have the skills, knowledge and ability to access and leverage the information, tools and resources available through the web and to use ICT effectively to strengthen their local community

The skills, knowledge and ability required by CSOs to use technology effectively is essential to ensure the organisation can identify what technology might be useful, maintain the technology as staff and volunteers change, and get the greatest possible value from an investment of limited dollars and people.

The information, tools and resources available on the web are, both figuratively and literally, limitless and ever changing. To define a specific set that are uniquely suited to any one organisation is difficult, to define them for a sector that covers more than 120,000 organisations is all but impossible. Within the context of this report, and the stated vision, the information, tools and resources are those that an individual CSO needs to



achieve its objectives in the most efficient and productive manner – the pertinent challenge is to ensure that CSOs have the skills and knowledge to determine what their unique needs are, and how to independently go about satisfying those needs.

The benefits that flow from CSO efforts to use ICT effectively to strengthen their local community relates to the specific objectives, capability and vision of the CSO. While each organisation seeks to use ICT in different ways, the benefits highlighted during project interviews and workshops often included:

• Improved service delivery to remote areas by using Skype or other videoconferencing technology to reduce or eliminate the need for travel and podcasts and other client interface platforms, to deliver services into the homes and businesses of existing or potential clients

• Attracting new members, volunteers or funding by utilising existing ICT platforms, including social networking platforms, CSOs will be better able to market their services, promote their individual missions and communicate with existing or potential stakeholders

• Communications with members and the community though the broader use of many ICT platforms including, but not limited to: blogs, social networking, Web 2.0, emails and instant messaging

• Improving internal efficiency by utilising many readily available ICT tools including Google Apps, intranets, document sharing technologies and videoconferencing, Skype and VoIP.

Assisting CSOs to achieve these and other benefits will strengthen local communities and enable a fairer Victoria. This is only possible when a CSO’s ICT requirements and needs are met. These requirements and needs are discussed in the next section.



4 The ICT requirements of community sector organisations To leverage the information, tools and resources available through the web and to use ICT effectively to strengthen their local community, community sector organisations have three requirements. They require access to basic ICT hardware, software and communications services. They require access to ICT knowledge and skills to procure, use, manage and support technology effectively and sustainably. CSOs will also benefit from purpose-built internet-enabled applications which are designed to support all CSOs (such as DPCD’s MC2) or a specific segment of the sector – such as neighbourhood houses, sporting clubs, welfare organisations or other groups. Figure 1 below summarises these needs.

Figure 1: ICT requirements of Community Sector Organisations



4.1 CSOs require access to ICT knowledge and skills Effective selection, installation, support and use of ICT is only possible when the organisation has access to ICT knowledge and skills. CSOs gain access to people with ICT knowledge and skills through their volunteers, staff or IT service organisations. Access to knowledgeable people is essential to:

1. Stay abreast of recent technology developments and their potential implications

2. Understand how other similar organisations are using technology and what is best practice across the sector and provide advice about which of the many technology options are of sufficient value for the organisation to invest its limited time, effort and funds

3. Decide what to invest in

4. Install, configure and support new technology to support the organisation

5. Educate and encourage staff, volunteers, members and clients of the organisation to embrace and use technology to maximise its potential.

As the members, volunteers and staff of an organisation change over time, so too will the source of ICT knowledge and skills. Organisations consulted during the course of this project were conscious of the fact that no one person could support all their needs, and that as the staff, volunteers and members of an organisation change, so might their need for external ICT support. Many CSOs look for external advice and assistance for the items higher on the above list. To conserve limited funds and maximise flexibility, CSOs often seek to support items four or five with internal staff or volunteers as a preference to paying external organisations. However, a backup plan is required in the event that the people who maintain and support the organisation’s ICT are no longer available.



4.2 CSOs require quality, cost effective hardware, software and communications services Quality, cost effective hardware, software and communications services are essential needs for a CSO to benefit from information and communication technologies. These fall in the five categories outlined below, broadly aligned with the market and supplier offerings:

1. Hardware such as PCs, laptops, networking equipment, mobile devices and servers.

2. Standard software to support the basic activities for CSO performance. Smaller CSOs require software including operating system/antivirus software, word processing, presentations, email, and sometimes accounting or finance software. Larger CSOs may also require server software including e-mail, file sharing, backup, and intranet functionality, although increasingly more of this more complex software is becoming accessible as an internet service rather than dedicated server infrastructure.

3. Standard communications services including an internet connection, telephones and PABX services, VoIP and (if the organisation has multiple sites) a wide area network or Virtual Private Network functionality.

4. Internet communications services to use the internet to communicate with staff, volunteers and clients. These service requirements vary depending on the business strategy and the degree of comfort their clients, stakeholders, members and volunteers have with using technology. Services may include a website (from simple static pages to an engaging web 2.0 environment), use of community-specific internet discussion groups (e.g. Google groups), social media (Twitter and Facebook) and the use of other mediums to engage members or clients, attract funds and volunteers and engage with their community and other like-minded organisations or individuals.

5. Installation and support services to supplement the organisation’s own skills and capability to deploy, configure and maintain the technology above.

While the size and individual objectives of the CSO impacts on the organisation’s needs, many similarities exist:

• Small CSOs all require PCs, basic software such as email and Office and an internet connection – even if these are in the home of members

• Medium and large CSOs often require most if not all of the above services, with specific details (such as support service levels) aligned to the specific needs of the organisation

This commonality of basic ICT needs across CSOs could provide an opportunity for economies of scale through volume purchasing.



4.3 CSOs require applications that meet their particular requirements To supplement the standard hardware, software and communications services that are available (free-of-charge or for a price), community sector organisations also require tailored applications that have been designed specifically for the sector, subsector or an individual organisation. These applications are usually most cost effective when they are widely available through the internet. Examples of existing applications which support the community sector include the Victorian Governments’ my connected community (MC2) and Volunteering Victoria web environments. During interviews and workshops, it became clear that many community sector organisations have similar needs for tailored solutions. These could suit the sector as a whole, a specific segment of the sector or tailored to a specific organisation as outlined below:

• Tailored applications which would suit many CSOs are ones which support functions that are common to many organisations across the sector, but for which no cost-effective commercial application is available – for example to support fundraising activities. The redevelopment of MC2 to become a Web 2.0 enabled environment for community sector organisations will also be of significant value to the sector.

• Tailored applications which support the needs of a specific segment of the community sector have the potential to streamline and enhance the operations of a large number of organisations. Examples of existing applications in this category include Community ChildCare’s discussion and web training environment and Infoxchange’s suite of services such as Service2Service and ServiceSeeker. Other possible opportunities include applications to support the operations of neighbourhood houses, or an environment to support the marketing and communications of sporting (or other) clubs with their members.

• Larger organisations can also require specific applications purpose-built to meet their needs – for example Travellers Aid developed a travel brokerage service to share information with key stakeholders. While larger community sector organisations often have needs for organisation-specific applications, CSOs with these needs generally have sufficient access to appropriate ICT expertise and there is little opportunity for OCS to add additional value.

Tailored applications to support common needs across the sector could potentially offer significant efficiency and effective benefits for a large number of CSOs. However they may require a significant capital investment. Sector buy-in to the need for the application, an appropriate ownership and governance structure as well as a sustainable, equitable funding model which encourages use across the sector are all issues that have limited successes to-date.



5 Barriers that limit uptake of ICT in community sector organisations Four primary barriers currently restrict or limit many CSOs uptake of ICT. The following table articulates these barriers and their relative impact on ICT uptake.

Primary barrier Significance of barrier Impact of current projects Remaining barrier significance (and importance for OCS action)

The awareness of ICT benefits and opportunities – “When it comes to ICT, we don’t know what we don’t know” High Medium – High 4. Low – Medium

A fear of making ICT investment decisions – “We fear making the wrong ICT investment decision”

Medium Medium 3. Low – Medium

The funds and resources to enact and maintain ICT decisions – “We don’t have the funds to purchase or maintain our ICT capability”

Medium Low – Medium 2. Medium

The skills and capabilities to enact and maintain ICT platforms – “We don’t have the required skills or support to optimise ICT use”

High Low – Medium 1. Medium – High

• Significance of barrier – Is determined using the reported prevalence, and impact of the barrier on ICT uptake – as reported by community sector organisations during project consultations. It also reflects the overall importance of reducing the barrier

Note:

• Current projects’ impact – A number of Victorian government projects are working to reduce the barriers to ICT uptake (as detailed in Appendix D). This dimension reflects the combined impact of those projects in reducing the identified barriers

• Remaining barrier – Reflects the relative significance of the barriers post the impact of the existing projects, considering the significance of the barrier (before the impact of the projects), and the impact of the projects planned and already underway which will reduce the barriers.

The first primary barrier, the awareness of ICT benefits and opportunities, is of particular significance as it relates to the levels of awareness of key decision makers within CSOs. The identified barriers are sequential, with greater awareness of the benefits of ICT uptake; the fear of making investment decisions is reduced; access to funds and resources can then, generally, be sourced; and the skills and capabilities attended to. By



building awareness, all other barriers can then be addressed and attended to more readily. Inversely, if awareness is not built the necessary decisions and resources required to uptake ICT can not be enacted or acquired.

5.1 Current use of ICT in community sector organisations A number of previous reports previously assessed the degree of ICT uptake in community service organisations and other CSOs. While previous reports did not focus on smaller CSOs, it corroborates the quantitative feedback gathered during this project – that many CSOs find it difficult to use ICT effectively. This is shown in the figure below using a range of informative data points which illustrate the current uptake of ICT in CSOs.



5.2 Four primary barriers inhibit uptake of ICT in CSOs Four primary barriers have been identified through workshops and interviews with both CSO delegates and peak bodies during this project. They represent a qualitative interpretation of consultations and interviews throughout this project. The four primary barriers are illustrated below:

1. “We don’t know what we don’t know” 2. “We fear making the wrong investment decision”

3. “We don’t have the funds to purchase or maintain new ICT capability”

4. “We don’t have the required skills or support structures to optimise ICT use”

Delegates suggested that the emerging possibilities created by ICT were so numerous and constantly evolving that knowing what is possible for their organisations was an almost impossible task. This barrier is evident in a number of ways: • The time required to do the research • The willingness to invest the time • The difficulty in trusting varied or

differing ‘expert-opinions’ • Limited access to training, tools and

templates for the development of ICT strategies.

It was often repeated that this barrier was most evident amongst the key decision-makers of CSOs: the CEOs; Boards; management committees. The lack of knowledge at this level in the organisation resulted in limited organisational motivation to explore, or enact, the possibilities that ICT offers. A vision for the future could not be developed without a working knowledge of what the future might look like.

Delegates suggested that they were fearful of making investment decisions, and fearful of the risks that ICT presented to their organisations. This barrier was expressed in a variety of ways: • The risk of using scarce resources

unwisely • The security risk to their organisation • The security risk of client information • Investing in (soon to be) redundant

equipment or software • The lack of easily accessible ‘decision-

making’ templates or tools. Additionally, it was suggested that the lack of easy access to preferred supplier agreements and / or lists compounded the difficulty of navigating the investment decision process. An often expressed sentiment was that with so few resources, organisations often fell into a state of ‘decision-making’ paralysis. They wanted to be sure that they were spending their investment dollar in the most effective way. Yet, the risks inherent in that decision often stymied both timely and correct decision-making.

This barrier was the most cited reason for the sub-optimal uptake of ICT. Delegates repeatedly suggested that they did not have the funds to adequately investigate, purchase or maintain new technology opportunities. Many delegates suggested that this restriction is felt both in terms of initial investment and more acutely, in the on-going support, maintenance and replacement of ICT. Whilst delegates suggested that funding was available, in particular for ‘point-in-time’ investments, access to on-going funding that reflected the costs of operating, maintaining and supporting ICT was not as easily obtained, and that funding models did not necessarily reflect these costs. It was suggested that funding models were often based on historic costs that did not reflect modern ICT platforms and costs, and investing a lump-sum of capital in a new ICT capacity was often impractical within government funding constraints. It was also suggested that this difficulty may be compounded by the lack of accurate benchmark costs that reflect ‘ICT best-practice within CSOs. This limits the ability of CSOs to mount credible requests for additional funding.

CSOs reported that they did not have the necessary skills, or ICT support, to adequately move towards an optimised ICT platform for organisations. Issue that resulted in this barrier being felt by many CSOs included: • With staff levels being reflective of service

delivery requirements, they did not have staff capacity to devote to staff training

• Many organisations did not have dedicated ICT staff thus in-house training and support was difficult or restricted

• The remoteness of some CSOs meant that local ICT support was not readily available or able to physically support ICT needs.

Put another way, many CSOs believed that they did not have access to the necessary third-party skills or support to generate the skills and support in-house or on-the-ground to allow for ICT self-sufficiency. The noted secondary barriers of staff demographics, broadband access and geographic remoteness and / or dispersion most acutely affected this barrier.



Previous reports supported these four primary barriers. While the methodology, nature and focus of the reviewed reports did not always enable direct correlation with the four primary barriers above, it did reinforce this report’s conclusions. Indirect comparisons can be drawn from previous research with this report’s findings. Those inferences and comparisons are listed below.

Input source Awareness Decision Making Funds and resources Skills and capabilities

From consultations

“We really don’t know what we don’t know – there is so much information available, how do we make sense of it?” “We hear about web 2, and all the amazing things that IT can do for us, but we really don’t understand what it can do for us and where we can get it”

“We avoid making any decision because we are afraid of making the wrong one” “We have limited resources, we want to make sure we invest it wisely – but who do we listen to? There are so many views about how to upgrade our IT”

“These costs are on-going, a simple grant is great but it only allows for a one off investment – but the investment is on-going, something always needs to be replaced, up-graded or maintained” “We only have limited resources, we have to divert resources and funds from service delivery if we are to improve our ICT”

“Its tough, we have so much we need to do to improve ICT, but we don’t have the skills internally to do this and to keep doing it” “We want to train our people but finding the time, and knowing what exactly to train them in, is often beyond us” “We want to be self-sufficient, we need skills and training for this”

From previous reports

• 18% of surveyed CSOs identified a lack of understanding as the biggest barrier to technology use1

• CSOs tend to use software they are familiar with and rarely experiment or explore new forms of software

1 • Only two of the 120 surveyed CSOs

were working with an effective ICT development plan, whilst 84% had no ICT development 1

• Only 10% of surveyed CSOs indicated that they have a plan for upgrading hardware1

• 23% of surveyed CSOs identified a lack of time (to invest in all aspects of the ICT investment decision and ICT use and training) as the biggest barrier to technology use1

• CSO staff do not know how to find the right software application to meet their needs1

• Only 71% of metropolitan CSOs, and less than 40% of regional CSOs, had included ICT in their annual budgets1

• Only 44% of surveyed CSOs are satisfied with their current ICT infrastructure2

• CSOs do not take advantage of government bulk purchasing agreements with between 50 & 74% buying their ICT equipment from ‘high-street’ retailers

1 • 22% of surveyed CSOs identified a

lack of funding as the biggest barrier to technology use1

• CSOs reported that they needed information regarding where to source ICT needs economically2

• Most surveyed CSOs thought that they were paying too much for ICT equipment including telephony services1

• Of surveyed CSOs, 19% identified a lack of training as the biggest barrier to technology use1

• 15% identified a lack of internal IT staff or lack of external IT staff as the biggest barrier to technology use1

• Only 28% of surveyed CSOs are satisfied with current staff ICT capability and only 33% of surveyed CSOs are satisfied with current ICT support2

• In the last twelve months, 51% of CSO staff did not receive any ICT training1

1 Source: Digital proficiency in small to medium CSOs, 2009 – Infoxchange Measure IT (Report #1) 2 Source: Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, Technology Consultation and Audit Project Final Report – Infoxchange Australia



5.3 Secondary (or compounding) barriers Three secondary barriers were identified during the consultations and interviews. This group of barriers are secondary because they cannot be directly addressed, or mitigated, by the OCS. They have been identified to inform the detailed design and scoping of the recommended projects to reduce the primary barriers. For example, an identified secondary barrier was the lack of universal, and reliable, broadband access across the state. Providing training, communications, and other interactions purely via the internet is counter-intuitive due to this secondary barrier. It suggests that this type of interaction should also be made available in non-internet based forms, for example, printed material and / or distributable DVDs. Considering these secondary barriers when undertaking the recommended projects will improve the uptake of ICT by CSOs.

Secondary barrier: In many remote and regional areas, CSOs do not have access to reliable and fast broadband Access to reliable and fast broadband is not universally available across the State. This restricts the ICT options and use for many of the consulted CSOs. Those that had restricted or limited access were less likely to look to ICT as a means to optimise their organisation’s service delivery.

A similar restriction was also evident with regard to reliable access to mobile phone technologies and reception. The most striking example of this was evident in the Seymour workshop where some of the represented CSOs – notably those from Reidy Creek, a small township less than three hours from Melbourne – suggested that they had no mobile phone services and only broadband access using ‘dialup’ or satellite technologies. This limits the value the CSO can gain from ICT to interact with clients, members and stakeholders.

Secondary barrier: The geographic spread of the sector, and of many multi-site CSOs, restricts, or limits, access to resources The broad nature of our state and the large distances between major population centres, or CSO sites, impacts CSOs’ ICT uptake in two ways:

• Many towns or regions throughout the state do not have adequate populations to draw resources to them that are required to optimise ICT. For example, many centres do not have shops or retailers selling the latest technologies, they do not have abundant ICT support services, and they do not have embedded local knowledge of the possibilities that ICT offers

• Many CSOs operate with a ‘multi-site’ business model. This spreads their scant resources over a broad area restricting the sharing of both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ resources. For example, ‘hard’ resources include hardware, software, networks and other physical equipments. ‘Soft’ examples include knowledge, know-how, training and other support mechanisms.

Expressed more directly, where CSOs are concentrated in larger population centres and / or have single site operation, the provision of all ICT resources and support is more readily available and more easily delivered and supported.



Compounding this barrier is the lack of resources, willingness or readiness of many CSOs to explore a shared-services model of operation wherein the ‘back-of-house’ services or functions of multiple CSOs are performed using a shared platform.

Secondary barrier: The demographics and ICT literacy of the staff, volunteers, members and clients of many CSOs The demographic profile of staff and volunteers in many CSOs has the resultant effect of reducing the uptake of ICT. This is evident in a number of ways:

• Age

•

– Many organisations reported that they were staffed by older persons. Though this is not necessarily a barrier, it was evident this resulted in many staff members not having ‘grown-up-with’ ICT and were as such less likely to be ICT savvy and more likely to be resistant to change and re-training

Part-timers and volunteers

•

– A large number of organisations reported that being heavily staffed by part-timers and / or volunteers negatively impacted their uptake of ICT. Most often cited was the resultant reluctance to invest in their training and the availability of resources that may be targeted to the number of FTEs rather than the organisation’s literal head-count

Members and clients – CSOs who provide services to a reasonable proportion of members or clients who do not have easy access to the internet, must maintain service delivery through traditional methods to ensure they deliver the services their community requires.



5.4 Current projects that reduce the primary barriers to CSO ICT uptake Many projects and initiatives are underway to reduce the barriers to improved ICT uptake for CSOs. While a significant proportion of projects focus on improving ICT uptake for disadvantaged individuals rather than community sector organisations, the CSS ICT project will have a significant impact on the four primary barriers above – particularly the first two barriers. After considering the cumulative effect of the projects, the primary focus of future DPCD efforts should be directed towards the third and fourth barriers – i.e.

• The funds and resources to enact and maintain ICT decisions

• The skills and capabilities to enact and maintain ICT platforms

The analysis which supports this recommendation and assesses each project or initiative, together with its impact on the identified primary barriers is outlined below.

Current project or initiative ‘Awareness’ ‘Decision making’

‘Funds & resources’

‘Skills & Capability’

Commentary

Better Integrated Standards and Quality Assurance System (BISQAS)

- - - - Focuses on identifying how to reduce CSO reporting duplication and simplify processes – not on reducing barriers to ICT uptake.

Redevelopment of My Connected Communities (MC²) website3

Low

- - - An easier to use and more functional MC2 will improve awareness of the value of using ICT.

Public Internet Access Program/CommunityNet3

Low - - - 297 organisations that are funded to provide public internet access also provide this access to CSOs. Training provided by this initiative to high disadvantage communities will also have some flow-on effect to CSOs.

Better Information for NFP organisations on Regulatory Requirements

- - - - This project focuses on reducing the administrative burden for CSOs in accessing regulatory information.

DiVine website (Disability Online) - - - - The new DiVine website is intended to facilitate communication with and between individuals with a disability.

3 Funded (wholly or partially) through the Digital Inclusion Fund






Commentary

Collaborative Internet Innovation Fund (CIIF)

Low - - - Round one of this project funded 22 projects to CSOs and other organisations. This project can be used as a case study, but did little else to reduce barriers; the project focus is on early adopters. Round two focuses on health, education and the environment sectors.

Victorian Landcare Gateway Website

- - - - Considers integration of Victorian volunteering portal with Landcare gateway. The project will not substantively reduce barriers.

Vic Government E-Learning Program 2010 Low Low - - Provides e-mentors to assist with e-learning. This will assist ACE providers to better understand e-learning (and ICT) opportunities.

CALD Senior Surfers3 Low - - Low In 20 CSOs trained, volunteers will help CALD senior surfers to access the internet. This will improve the awareness and skills/capability of the volunteers in these organisations.

Internet Training for People with a Disability3

Low - - Low Twelve organisations have been funded to train volunteers in a ‘train the trainer program’ and provide adaptive equipment to assist people with a disability to get online.

Computer for Every Child (CFEC) 3

- - - - Program focused on 400 disadvantaged families with primary school children (not

CSOs).

Volunteering and Participation Portal - - - - Central volunteering portal will be of value once they are online, but be of little assistance in reducing the barriers. Nb. There may be a potential to use the portal in the future to find/advertise ICT assistance?

Whole of Victorian Government ICT Framework

- - - - The framework focuses on ICT’s contribution to economic and social development and is unlikely to assist in reducing barriers.

VCOSS Doing IT Better Seminars Low Low Low Low This three year project helped many CSOs to reduce barriers and increase ICT uptake. However, the project finished in April 2010 and while a community of practice still supports some CSOs, little ongoing assistance is provided – so barriers still exist for CSOs that did not participate in the project.






Commentary

A Future for E-Learning in Adult Community Education (ACE): Review Project

- - - - Focused on future of e-learning in the ACE environment. Does not tangibly reduce barriers to CSO ICT uptake.

Community Services Sector ICT project3 High High Medium Medium As scoped, this project can have a significant effect on reducing the four barriers through: • Development of a suite of ICT resources for CSOs, freely available through

the DHS Funded Agency Channel website which will help to reduce all four barriers

• ICT strategy workshops across the state • Support (for 12 months) of community of practice networks • A ‘whole of community’ ICT demonstration project.

Showcasing ICT Innovation Grants

High Medium Low Low Recognising and showcasing excellence by CSOs in use of ICT will help raise awareness of how CSOs can use ICT effectively, give them added confidence in deciding to use technology and also improve their access to skills and funds through a greater understanding of how other CSOs have overcome these barriers.

Cumulative effect of current and planned projects

Medium – High Medium Low –

Medium Low –

Medium

Resultant gap/remaining barrier Low – Medium Medium Medium –

High Medium –

High

The analysis above shows that further effort is required to effectively reduce the four identified primary barriers. The greatest need for effort is required for the barriers relating to the ICT funds and resources and access to ICT skills and capabilities for CSOs. The review also suggests that some, yet relatively less effort, is required to reduce the barriers relating to informing CSO decision makers of the possibilities that ICT offers to improve their organisation’s service delivery, and the capability or willingness to make ICT investment decisions.



Appendix A Organisations interviewed and key emerging themes In developing this report, a range of interviews were conducted in metro Melbourne and in the Hume region and Whittlesea LGA. These are detailed below:

Individual interviews

• Adult Community and Further Education (Ross Tinkler, Hume Regional Manager) • The Centre for Continuing Education (Judy Jeffrey, Executive Officer)

• Community Child Care Victoria (Barbara Romeril, Executive Director) • Travellers Aid (Jodie Willmer, CEO)

• Council to Homeless Persons (Jodi Mohr, NW Metro Regional Networker) • Victorian Council of Social Services (Marina Henley, Sector Development Manager & Dean Lombard, IT Projects Coordinator)

• DPCD Hume Regional Team (Sheree Brown, Community Engagement Officer) • VicSport (Aaron Tenabel, Senior Research Officer)

• Field (Linda Budd, Manager of Professional Services and Online Resources) • Whittlesea Community Connections (Jemal Ahmet, CEO)

• Infoxchange (Andrew Mahar, Executive Director) • Whittlesea Men's Shed (Sandy Norton)

• National Disability Services (Sarah Fordyce, Senior Policy Advisor) • North East Neighbourhood House Network (Mary Robb)



The key themes emerging from the individual interviews identified the following barriers to greater ICT uptake

Individual CSOs: • The mindset, knowledge, time and money to allow for investigation, and identification, of opportunities (we don’t know what we don’t know) –

this is especially true of the key decision makers within CSOs

• The mindset and knowledge to take the risk to make the investments to meet those opportunities (there are so many options: which is the right one; the fear of making the wrong decision)

• The geographic spread of the CSOs makes addressing the first two more challenging

• Compounding these two issues is the pace of change – how does a CSO’s ICT knowledge stay up to date?

• The funding, and funding model, to allow for hardware, software, training and ongoing support

• Lack of benchmarks of case studies of success and ICT costs for like organisations – lack of targets to aim for (CSOs don’t know what is possible)

• Lack of access to bulk supplier arrangements and / or standardised options for hardware and software

• Lack of shared infrastructure (for example, shared back-of-house functions)

• Poor, or intermittent, broadband access

• Change comes most often when a new senior individual (board or CEO) joins the organisation. While this is often not possible, education of boards and management teams can assist

• Poor access to suitably tailored training (or the lack of knowledge of what training is available)

• Services, training, information, etc. not being available in multi-lingual formats.



Peak bodies (their observations of the sector): Barriers are not universal, rather they are tiered. Generally speaking, the larger the organisation the lesser the barriers, especially to hardware. At the ‘grassroots’ level (for example the staff members or volunteers of smaller CSOs) many do not have laptops and / or smart phones. More specifically, barriers include:

• The mindset, knowledge, time and money to allow for investigation, and identification, of opportunities (we don’t know, what we don’t know) – this is especially true of the key decision makers within CSOs

• The mindset, and knowledge to take the risks to make the investments to meet those opportunities (there are so many options: which is the right one; the fear of making the wrong decision)

• Lack of ’evidence based’ advice – knowing what truly works

• Donor supplied ICT already being outdated – ongoing maintenance and support and compatibility with other systems / platforms

• Existing programs (Green PC, Doing IT Better) have made a difference, however a lack of resources to support programs limits effectiveness

• Having to deal with / find a way through government bureaucracy and regulation to get advice / funding / etc

• Other areas of risk include: security of data and the organisation; employees digitally loitering (for example, staff using ICT platforms for non-work related purposes); and the age profile of staff

• The lack of the provision of ongoing, rather than point in time, funding – especially for support and upgrades

• The perceived, or real, lack of access to modern hardware and software

• Lack of staff to focus on ICT needs

• Lack of, or poor, centralised ICT support

• Some CSOs deal with multiple government agencies, and the agencies do not use a single platform requiring CSOs to fund and support multiple systems thereby creating inefficiencies and duplicated resource allocation

• Duplication of hardware and software within CSOs, as there may not have been a centralised approach to ICT strategy or implementation

• The age of many CSO staff is older therein creating a barrier due to “fear of change” and lack of inherent knowledge (when compared to tech savvy youth)



Appendix B Summary of stage one workshops List of organisations represented in workshops

Whittlesea – 9 September 2010

• Berry Street • Epping Football Club • Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service

• Centrelink • Kingsbury Out of School Hours & Vacation Care Program

Seymour – 10 September 2010

• Avenel Neighbourhood House • Hands on Health Australia • Reidy Creek Progress Association

• DPCD Hume • Mitchell Wellness Action Group • Strath Creek / Reidy Creek Fire Brigade

• Goulburn NE Association of Community Centres • Reidy Creek Community Advisory Group

Wangaratta – 16 September 2010

• Carers and Parents Support Group Inc. • Gateway Community Health • Upper Murray Family Care

• Central Access Limited • Kingsbury Out of School Hrs & Vacation Care Program • Wodonga Sports & Leisure Centre

• Central Hume Support Services • Opendoor Neighbourhood House • COBS

Shepparton – 24 September 2010

• DPCD Hume • Nagambie Lakes Community House • Shepparton Access

• Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre • PICSAR Valley Sport • Tatura Community House



List of organisations represented in workshops (may not be actual attendees, rather those organisations invited to attend)

Whittlesea – 1 October 2010 (Community Futures Partnership Meeting)

• Anglicare • Australian Hearing • Centacare

• Centrelink • Children and Parents Service (CPS) • City of Whittlesea – Ageing and Disability Services

• City of Whittlesea – Family Services • City of Whittlesea – Youth Services • City of Whittlesea – Multicultural Services

• CrossRoads (Salvation Army) • Department Education & Early Childhood Development (DEECD)

• EPIC

• Growth Area Authority • Headspace • Hope Street

• Hume Whittlesea Primary Care Partnership • Kildonan Unitingcare • Lalor Living & Learning

• Melbourne Citymission • NEAMI • Norparrin

• Northern Division of General Practice • Olive Tree Neighborhood House • Plenty Valley Community Health

• Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre • The Smith Family • Victoria Police (Whittlesea Police Service Area)

• VicUrban • Whittlesea Community Connections • Whittlesea U3A

• Whittlesea Community Connections / Hume Whittlesea LLEN

• Yarra Plenty Regional Library



Workshop one

Current and future ICT uses: Hard and soft barriers:

• Internet browsing for a variety of uses including seeking funding • General communications, video conferencing and emails (internally and externally) • General admin and book-keeping including payroll, and vehicle management • Access to government databases including CRIS / CRISSP • Provision of internal and external training • Governance, accounting, financials and document management • Web 2.0 including blogs, networking, linking with other organisations • FUTURE USES: Globally shared resources, streamlined communications, minimise admin,

greater networking, hot-desking, information gathering and mining

SOFT: • Education; culture and training (including on-going support); concerns regarding privacy and

legality; lack of understanding of benefits; information and education not being available in a ‘human-form’ (written for ICT specialists rather than ‘real’ people); fear of learning something new; a fear of losing social skills; the cost and the return on investment.

HARD: • The costs of hardware and software, not just the up-front investment, the maintenance and on-

going need to up-grade software with resultant re-training; poor investment decision due to lack of ICT understanding and education

Note:

Overcoming the challenges:

many of these items were repeated by participants, though recorded here once only

Possible OCS ICT initiatives:

• Helping CSOs to develop ICT strategic plans • Leverage off (share regional) library infrastructure • Streamline legislative barriers (none specified) • ICT guidelines / strategy • Link funding to demonstrated ICT capability • Series of two-day ICT training workshops, from strategy to use

• Mechanisms to allow for sharing of ‘best-use’ stories, including on-line access to ‘sharing-networks’

• Portal allowing access to ICT needs including regulatory concerns, general information and volume purchasing agreements

• Use existing regional networks and infrastructure (e.g., libraries and / or neighbourhood houses) to offer access, training, networking info sharing, etc.

• Reduce regulatory burden (none specified)



Workshop two


• Internet browsing for a variety of uses including downloading of information and forms, general and specific research and seeking funding

• General communications, volunteer and member comm’s, website creation and maintenance, video conferences and emails (internally and externally)

• General admin and book-keeping including payroll, and vehicle management • Access to government websites and databases including CRIS / CRISSP • Provision of internal and external training • Governance, accounting, financials and document management • Web 2.0 including blogs, networking, linking with other organisations • FUTURE USES: Globally shared resources, streamlined communications, minimise admin,

greater networking, hot-desking, information gathering and mining; attracting funding, members, clients and / or volunteers, increased / wider use of mobile services for staff and clients, virtual services

SOFT: • Mature age users (learning issues), demographics of users (staff and clients) including age,

motivation and education levels, lack of evidence based advice, much of ICT is old or second hand (not fit for purpose); resistance to up-grades (are we doing the right thing?) a lack of standard systems (not having one platform).

HARD: • Resourcing costs for hardware, software, training, up-grades, etc., lack of on-going and

accessible advice and support, the pace of ICT change and funding models not reflecting this on-going need, knowing how to overcome the bureaucracy and regulation.

OTHER: • No access, no phone lines in some regions (especially after Black Saturday) Note:

Overcoming the challenges:



• Not captured in this workshop • Not captured in this workshop



Workshop three


• Internet browsing for a variety of uses including downloading of information and forms, general and specific research and seeking funding

• General communications, volunteer and member comm’s, website creation and maintenance, video conferences and emails (internally and externally)

• General admin and book-keeping including payroll, and vehicle management • Access to government websites and databases including CRIS / CRISSP • Provision of internal and external training • Governance, accounting, financials and document management • Web 2.0 including blogs, networking, linking with other organisations • FUTURE USES: Globally shared resources, streamlined communications, minimise admin,

greater networking, hot-desking, information gathering and mining; attracting funding, members, clients and / or volunteers, increased / wider use of mobile services (incl. iPads) for staff and clients, virtual services

SOFT: • General attitude to change, keeping pace with change, fear of using ICT (for example,

Facebook), demographics including socio-economic, ethnicity and age, knowing what to ‘change’ to, security and privacy issues, time (and other resources) for training and justifying training part-time or volunteer staff.

HARD: • The cost of hardware, software and training (point in time and on-going), access to best-case

case studies and advice, non-standard (the range of) hardware and software (internally and externally), funding not reflecting individual CSO needs, rapidly changing ICT environment and equipment, access (BB not always available), understanding what is possible

Note:



• Awareness building and training around what is possible with ICT and how to achieve this both strategically and practically

• Virtual (regional) networks of CSOs sharing information, software, stories, documents and resources

• Increased and on-going training (for both internal (staff) and external (users) stakeholders) available locally

• Benchmarking information regarding ICT uses and costs within the sector

• Access to hardware and software – purchasing agreements and / or changes to funding (to reflect ICT needs and expectations)

• A website or portal – a one-stop-ICT-shop – to gain access to, or information concerning, all CSO ICT needs

• Audits of CSO ICT needs to inform individual CSOs of ICT strategy and actions Note:




Workshop four


• Internet browsing for a variety of uses including down loading of information and forms, general and specific research and seeking funding

• General communications, marketing, volunteer and member comm’s, website creation and maintenance, video conferences and emails (internally and externally)

• General admin and book-keeping including payroll, and vehicle management • Access to government websites and databases including CRIS / CRISSP • Provision of internal and external training • Governance, reporting, accounting, financials and document management • Web 2.0 including blogs, networking, linking with other organisations • FUTURE USES: Globally shared resources, streamlined communications, minimise admin,

greater networking, hot-desking, information gathering and mining; attracting funding, members, clients and / or volunteers, increased / wider use of mobile services for staff and clients, virtual services, eBusiness and on-line procurement

SOFT and HARD: • Staffing and human resources (paying people for training and justifying training), funding

(models) to train and up-grade equipment, lack of expertise and / or trusted advice prior to investment in hardware and software, staff time for keeping information and systems up-to-date, lack of need as many users are not using ICT yet and people being afraid of change and ICT generally

Note:



• An IT schedule with recommendations for ICT start-up and for on-going maintenance and support of ICT

• Recommendations regarding minimum ICT hardware standards, maintenance schedule and providers, training protocols

• Ensure that any initiatives reflect the diversity of the sector – not all CSOs have the same needs

• Using, and supporting with resources, equipment and training, a local / regional CSO to provide support and training to other regional CSOs – for example, neighbourhood houses or libraries

• Bulk purchasing agreements with 3 year hardware warranty for: CSOs; seniors; and concession card holders

• Funding for audits to determine current and future ICT needs



Workshop five Workshop five was conducted with the aim of not capturing input in the same manner as the first four workshops. Rather, workshop five was used to test / validate the feedback received in the prior workshops. In particular, the aim of this workshop was to test the ‘straw-man’ version of the four primary barriers identified in the previously conducted workshops. The workshop was attended by senior delegates from the represented organisations.

Barrier: Fear of making the wrong investment decision Barrier: Lack of knowledge around ICT benefits

In general terms, this barrier was confirmed. Additional comments included: • This is not always true, especially for better resourced CSOs • More true for CSOs with satellite locations, or where based regionally • This barrier is compounded by the multiple systems required by different government

departments for funding and reporting

In general terms, this barrier was confirmed. Additional comments included: • How do we know how to get full functionality out of our existing and future ICT resources? • This is compounded for smaller organisations, especially when ICT hardware is either

provided by, or located within, staff members’ homes

Barrier: Don’t have enough resources, including funding Barrier: Lack of internal, or externally available, ICT skills

In general terms, this barrier was confirmed. Additional comments included: • There is both an on-going and up-front cost to hardware, software, training and support – do

the various government (and other) funding models reflect this? • These costs are regularly ignored or underestimated by both funders and CSOs • How to manage privacy and other issues within the current funding arrangements?

In general terms, this barrier was confirmed. Additional comments included: • This is severely impacted by the demographics of staff, especially the rapid turnover of staff

and volunteers • How do we get everyone to a suitable level of ICT knowledge and skills? • Once everyone has reached a suitable level, how do we keep them there?



Appendix C Relevant reports reviewed by the project

• Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, Technology Consultation and Audit Project Final Report

• KPMG / DPCD VCOSS Clearinghouse Independent Evaluation and Evidence Based Business Case, Final Report

• Australian Communication and Media Authority, Adult Digital Media Literacy Needs Qualitative Research Report

• Digital Proficiency of Small to Medium Community Service Organisations, 2009 – Infoxchange Measure IT (Report #1) for DHS

• Building Britain’s Future, Digital Britain Final Report June 2009 • Support Services and Networks Final Report – DK2 Consulting

• DIIRD (Multimedia Victoria) Broadband Development Element Victorian Government participation presentation (Victorian) Report

• VCOSS / Monash University Doing IT Better project – Final Report

• Access and Utilisation of Online Resources within Victorian Community Service Organisations – A survey for the Office for the Community Sector, (Infoxchange Australia, June 2009)



Appendix D Summary of reviewed government ICT initiatives focused on the community sector

Better Integrated Standards and Quality Assurance System (BISQAS) Contact: Nicholas Allitt, Office for the Community Sector, DPCD

Digital Inclusion Fund (DIF) Contact: David Penman / Josh Meggitt, Community Participation, DPCD

Redevelopment of My Connected Communities (MC²) website. Contact: Joshua Meggitt, Community Participation, DPCD

CALD Senior Surfers Contact: Paul McGee, Community Participation, DPCD

Public Internet Access Program/CommunityNet Contact: Paul McGee, Community Participation, DPCD

Internet Training for People with a Disability Contact: Paul McGee, Community Participation, DPCD

Better Information for NFP organisations on Regulatory Requirements Contact: Nicholas Allitt, Office for the Community Sector, DPCD

Computer for Every Child (CFEC) Contact: Paul McGee, Community Participation, DPCD

DiVine website (Disability Online) Contact: Olivia March, Office for Disability, DPCD

Volunteering and Participation Portal Contact: Beau Zlatkovic, Community Participation, DPCD

Collaborative Internet Innovation Fund (CIIF) Contact: Peter Ziebell, DIIRD

Whole of Victorian Government ICT Framework Contact: Annick Philipsz, DIIRD

Victorian Landcare Gateway Website Contact: Stephanie Cam, Landcare and Community Engagement Unit, DSE

VCOSS Doing IT Better Seminars Contact: Peter Ziebell, DIIRD

Vic Government E-Learning Program 2010 Contact: Hugh Kiernan, Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE)

A Future for E-Learning in Adult Community Education (ACE): Review Project Contact: Hugh Kiernan, ACFE

Community Services Sector ICT Project Contact: Lorena Felicetti, Community Services Sector Investment Fund, DHS

Showcasing ICT Innovation Grants Contact: Carla Pascoe, Office for the Community Sector, DPCD

Source: ICT and the Community Sector Working Group



Appendix E Desktop services economies of scale

$ p

er D

eskt

op

The figure above illustrates the potential savings through economies of scale available in the provision of ICT support and maintenance services. Source: Compass Management Consulting Ltd (2008).

Desktop economy of scale ( $ / Desktop / Year)

- 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000

# Desktops

Office for the Community Sector Improving ICT uptake in … ICT... · 2015. 2. 23. · contributed...

Documents

Transcript of Office for the Community Sector Improving ICT uptake in … ICT... · 2015. 2. 23. · contributed...