Developing an ICT Strategy

Almost 200 organisations responded to the survey over November and December 2006 giving us an excellent picture of ICT usage in the sector in Northern Ireland.

Surveys findings

The findings from the survey include:

• Organisations believe that there is a pressing need for impartial advice on ICT within the sector
• There is an ad-hoc approach to ICT training
• Organisations are relying on companies with a vested interest in certain products to provide ICT support
• Organisations are not using resources on strategic projects outside the normal maintenance of ICT systems
• Organisations experience a lack of consistency from funders in relation to ICT spending
• Less than one in six of small organisations have a specific ICT budget
• Organisations have made the effort to get online, however, they are not fully utilising the potential benefits this can bring

Developing a strategy

We are committed to developing an ICT strategy that is responsive to the needs of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. Building on the finding of the survey we have produced a draft strategy outline. This is available online at http://www.ictconsortiumni.org/strategy/.

This is your chance to discuss what you feel should be in an ICT strategy for your sector. This blog will be open to anyone who want to register on the site and we’d appreciate it if you could take the time to have a look at what we’re developing.

Consultation seminar

We recognise that online consultations have their limitations. We want to get as much feedback from the sector as possible. We want to find out about the key practical things that you feel need addressed.

We are holding a consultation seminar on 17th April at NICVA in Belfast to get your views on the most pressing issues in ICT. You can register at http://www.ictconsortiumni.org/strategy/ and we’ll send you out more details closer to the event.