Telecentres 2000 ERDF Funded Project -Successor to the Telecentre Development Project.

The following is drawn directly from the bid for funding:

The project is a support and development service for 20 community telecentre groups (14 existing and up to 6 new) in Powys. It will fund a manager, 1 technical and 4 'peripatetic' telecentre auxiliary support staff, and provide a small grants fund for telecentre development and provision of service where none exists currently.

The project will provide a range of technical and managerial support mechanisms to existing telecentres to widen their range of services and move them significantly towards self-sufficiency. In addition the project will help establish up to 6 new community telecentres and provide similar technical and managerial support. The project logically splits into 2 strands; core support services and the development of new telecentres.

Core Support Services

The project will support the existing network of 14 telecentres through project management which will include managerial, marketing and technical inputs aimed at co-ordinating telecentre development to maximise effectiveness and efficiency in their use of resources and promote networking to minimise duplication of effort. This role will also include the strategic development of new services in Powys such as electronic commerce, community web authoring and community e-mail and will ensure co-ordination between other agencies such as the DBRW, Business Connect, Powys County Council, Coleg Powys and the WDA

Specialist/strategic technical support for telecentres (an average of 12 days per telecentre per year) including the use of innovative methods using Microsoft's 'Netmeeting' and 'See you See me' desktop video conferencing over the Intranet using existing network resources.

• co-ordinated networking infrastructure development
• co-ordinated networking applications support e.g. community web sites and community e-mail
• peripatetic support workers (an average of 1 day per week per telecentre) to support the volunteer staff (telecentres are run almost exclusively by voluntary effort) with user and managerial skills
• upgrading of equipment and connection to network services will be co-ordinated by the project manager who will manage a small grants fund and ensure that services and materials will be procured at the most advantageous rates
• represent the interests of telecentres (and rural communities) in forums at a regional and national level

Development of new Telecentres

• work with community groups and identify 6 new community telecentre locations
• provide network connections and equipment for the new telecentres
• provide technical and managerial support for the new telecentres

The 'peripatetic' telecentre auxiliary support staff would be selected by interview:

Telecentre support staff could be seen to assist in telecentres in the following ways:

• Training of Telecentre staff
  • in IT skills
  • in operational skills
• Dealing with enquiries from members of the public
• Assisting in the promotion of telecentre facilities in conjunction with voluntary telecentre staff
• Contributing to aspects of core activities of telecentres in conjunction with voluntary telecentre staff
• Contribute to the development of sustainability plans for telecentres
• Contribute to the development of 'standards' in telecentres.
• Collect data on telecentre use
• Complete returns required by the Telecentres 2000 project

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