Digital governance

A version of this article was first published in bvsc Update Dec 2015-Jan 2016 as the second in a series of three articles on the role of digital technology and data in the transformation of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) in Birmingham and beyond; article links updated for accuracy Nov 2018

Strategic processes In this article we will concentrate on the strategic processes which are needed to help us in the VCSE sector to begin the transformation which will benefit our beneficiaries and our organisations. Establishing, developing and overseeing strategy is the remit of the board of a charity. Boards need to be supported in identifying the strategy to […]

Regional CVSs and Covid-19

Councils for Voluntary Service “A Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is a type of charity in England. CVSs are “the place at which local voluntary and community organisations speak to each other”. They offer a wide variety of services and support for local organisations, for example training, or advice on funding” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_for_Voluntary_Service Each CVS in the various […]

Digital WM News: Brum digital meetup

We held our first ever Digital WM News online meetup, a Brum digital meetup, on 15th April 2020, organised by Pauline Roche from RnR Organisation. The meetup was for Digital WM News subscribers and others in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, to allow social changemakers to check in with each other and share information […]

Funders and data for good: regional funders network at the first national Data4Good conference

Funders are a key audience for the Data for good community. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the presence of members of WM Funders Network (WMFN) at the first national Data4Good conference held on Nov 14th 2018 was part of the draw for other delegates.

Background RnR Organisation was delighted to see the involvement of WM Funders Network (WMFN) in the 1st national data4good conference in 2018. We saw it as a potential opportunity for others attending the conference to influence WMFN members in how they may use data in their own organisations. During the event, some funder representative attendees […]

Charities need communications: reading list

A series of articles curated from CharityComms Knowledge Hub Friends at the top: getting to know your trustees  by Kay Parris, 8th November 2016 Help them understand the role and value of comms For Trustees Week 2016, we’ve produced Understanding communications: a brief guide for charity trustees. Why not ask your CEO to circulate it to […]

Smart Cities: smarter VCSE

A version of this article was first published in infrastructure organisation bvsc 'Update' Oct-Nov 2015 as the first in a series of three articles on the role of digital technology and data in the transformation of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) in Birmingham and beyond. The article was updated slightly in November 2017 and again in January 2019

Tech and data for good Technology and the understanding and usage of data can help us in the VCSE sectors. Digital tools and approaches can help us work better, sometimes freeing us up to spend more of our valuable time helping our beneficiaries, sometimes allowing us to make better decisions and work smarter. The concepts […]

Mapping charities in the West Midlands

James Bowles, a PhD student at the Third Sector Research Centre at University of Birmingham had a go at mapping all registered charities in the West Midlands

The map shows all 13,653 charities that were registered with the Charity Commission in September 2016, and had registered with a postcode that falls within the West Midlands. The layers tab on the right allows for filtering by category of activity (proportional by income), the search function on the left searches by charity name. The layers […]

What are your charity’s digital identity needs?

Reposted from a blogpost originally published by Yoti on 6th September 2018 https://www.yoti.com/blog/uk-charitys-digital-identity-needs/

How could digital identification help UK charities to more effectively collect information about people using their services? Do charities need to prove who people are, ensure that they are legally eligible for services or to record and recall information about them? If they do, what worries them about the process? Could Yoti Keys help people […]