US specialist Terry Grunwald offers advice on how to involve the community including 5 Reasons why, 10 Guidelines, and 15 Ideas

The community

Who is the Community?

• People who Need Services: Segment the different groups according to their needs
• Decision-makers / Power Brokers
• Potential ICT Champions / Project Drivers
• Potential Volunteers of all kinds
• Informal community leaders who are trusted / responsible for the "buzz" about your project
• Collaborators: Staff at Centres, voluntary groups, service agencies
• Media

Your Community Wants to Know:

• How you will reach out to involve a broader range of citizens - especially the socially excluded populations?
• Are you open to new ideas? Able to listen? Willing to share ownership? Take risks?
• Do you understand and will you maintain community values?
• Can they trust you? What’s more important:

  The vision or the funding?
  The vision or the status quo?

5 Reasons to Involve the Community

• Understand what is truly needed Don’t assume! (this rule will be repeated).
• Demonstrate you can listen — gain their trust
• Share the Work — and the Responsibility
• Tap their wisdom / Get feedback along the way
• Increase prospects for Success and Sustainability

10 Guidelines

1. Understand that People Determine Success - not the Technology
2. Focus on building Demand as well as creating Supply. It’s the "chicken & egg syndrome"
3. Respect people’s dignity. Always.
4. Find the "hooks" / Address the fears
5. Give people a sense of ownership
6. Outreach: the more personal the better / Find the informal networks
7. Support voluntary organisations and they will help you involve the people they serve
8. Start with the "stones that roll" - the people who are already motivated
9. Document and publicise Success Stories
10. Be prepared. Your ICT initiative is a launchpad. It will grow - but not always in the ways you expect. Plan to reassess periodically.

The 3 Ls: The Tried & True Techniques

• Letters
• Leaflets
• Listings (in the newspaper)

  But psssh! They don’t work so well.....here's some other ideas

15 ideas

Idea # 1: Take the Technology to the People

• Take laptops out into the community: to clubs, to community centres, to benefit offices, to shops - even to pubs
• Set up "hands-on" demonstrations at local events: street festivals, celebrations, Provide opportunities for people to actually touch and handle all the different parts of a computer
• Start a laptop-lending programme with community champions who agree to share their computer experiences with their neighbours.
• Establish a mobile lab that provides public access to outlying areas on a regular schedule

Idea # 2: Look Everywhere for Everything

• Realise that you will need volunteers of all kinds - not just tech volunteers
• Look for Grassroots Leaders/ ICT Champions / Project Drivers / Future Collaborators & Partners
• Look for information sources to determine needs & gaps
• Be open to resources for any & all aspects of your ICT initiative ( Example: some projects collect donations for online auctions)
• Be on the alert for sources of future sustainability
• People you help now can be recruited as volunteers for the future

Idea # 3: "Snowball" to Find Informal Networks

• Kids, Parents & Extended Families
• Boards & staff of clubs and organisations
• Churches of all sizes
• Community centres
• Service providers & advocates
• Where folks hang-out
• Local "Mom & Pop" Stores
• The Mall or McDonalds
• Fire Stations
• The Pub

Idea # 4: Do Focus Groups -- or Just Ask!

• Farmers, ethnic groups, teens, people with disabilities, community groups, seniors, teachers, storeowners, immigrants, people who want to start a business, job-seekers, sports teams, local techies, club members, health care workers, people with health problems, power brokers, lone parents, mothers, people who want IT skills, home-bound, young girls, games enthusiasts, etc. etc.
• Always ask: "What do you need? AND What can you offer?"

Idea # 5: Use ICT Projects Games

• Review and customise the Making the Net Work Projects Game for your community
• Help local leaders understand they CAN make decisions about ICT in their future

Idea # 6: Do Resource Audits

• Locate public access sites, numbers of workstations, local web sites, trainers
• But also... Technology champions, specialised demonstration and training spaces, community media and arts projects, annual events, free and discounted Internet services, possibilities for co-location and bulk purchase, sponsors for public access sites, presentation equipment, late model computers for recycling
• Volunteers: tech, trainers of all kinds, new user mentors, group facilitators, outreach workers, online editors, graphic artists, admin people
• Bring everyone together for Brainstorming & a Resource Swap

Idea # 7: Find Win-Win Collaborations

• School & Community Projects: class learning opportunities, internships, work-study
• Business & Community Partnerships: work force development skills, employee training
• Arts & Community Program: graphics support in exchange for web site creation
• Serve voluntary organisations in exchange for their help with outreach
• Seek out opportunities for ICT exchanges

  equipment or space … for customised training
  training slots ... for training labs

Idea # 8: Treasure your Volunteers

• Volunteers are ambassadors, evangelists, champions, "open ears" in the community, evaluators, back-up for one another, trouble-spotters, supporters, new leaders
• … and occasionally a pain in the "you know what". Signed volunteer agreements can help!
• Provide personal development opportunities
• Create a "community" of volunteers
• Building an ICT project = Building Community

Idea # 9: Don’t forget Kids and the Elderly

• Include them in planning, governance, and evaluation.

Idea #10: Hold online Scavenger Hunts

• "Know Your Community"
• "Find solutions to local problems" Education or Housing or Health
• "Play Online Detective for your Neighbour"
• Use Teams and Prizes
• Add to your community web site as an interactive feature
• Spot the "gaps"

Idea # 11: Build a Web site to fill the Gaps

• Make sure your site reflects the ethnic diversity of your community
• Provide translations into the most commonly used languages
• Include information on all of the local churches, synagogues and mosques
• Use lots of photos of local people, places, and history
• Make sure you have up-to-date information on social services they need
• Provide opportunities for civic participation online

Idea # 12: "Piggyback" on Other Events

• Town Meetings
• School Events
• Local Festivals
• Get on "agendas" for organisation and club meetings
• Create intergenerational family nights where tech is just part of the programme
• Make sure you are visible - not in the corner 

Idea # 13: Create A Wall of Success Stories

• Encourage end users to share their successes; Encourage trainers to capture them
• Take photos with digital cameras.
• Post the best stories (w/ photos) on your web site. Try recording stories & post as audio clips
• Use stories as "hooks" for new users
• Use for press releases, interviews, awards submissions, funding proposals

Idea # 14: Chart your Progress

• Create a Project Portfolio that documents the progress and barriers you faced. Also, the success stories, lessons learned & best practices.
• Make it multimedia
• Develop feedback loops: guestbooks, exit interviews, volunteer and mentor assessments
• Include as part of your Evaluation Plan

Idea #15: Celebrate: Loud & Often!