Comic Relief's Tech for Good programme for charities and social enterprises etc
Guest blog by Kirsten Naudé, Director of New Ventures, The Children’s Society
Talking about ‘Agile’ in charities is tricky. Especially larger, more traditional ones.
My mind is a bit of a haze on the topic. It’s a sticky subject. Having just read that under one third of agile projects in charities fail because the teams are too geographically dispersed. And that 34% fail through lack of planning – doesn’t fill me with hope. [Read more…] about Beyond the Fad: Busting Some Agile Myths
Back in July our funded projects had a rough idea of what their users needed. Since then they’ve been developing more specific ‘user stories’. Learn how to use user stories to make sure you’re creating what your users need, not what you think they want.
In all my days of working with agile service and product designers there’s one trick they use that never fails to impress me.
It’s user stories. Or more specifically, the power of [Read more…] about What are User Stories?
Guest blog from John Dunford, Campaigns Lead, The Developer Society
With reports from across civil society and government regularly highlighting the digital skills gap in the third sector, the need for charities to collaborate with tech partners is greater than ever.
For changemakers this isn’t simply about upskilling internally, the real issue is how their ability to deliver on their mission is undermined by not being able to take advantage of the latest technology. If you were trying to reach a mass audience in the 15th century [Read more…] about You Say ‘Development’, We Say ‘…’: Why There’s a Gap Between Charities and Tech Organisations and How to Bridge it Together
The Tech for Good Programme doesn’t fund solutions. It funds solution finding projects. Understanding what this means in practice will help you apply for your first Tech for Good grant.
Samaritans had an idea. It helped them win funding from this programme. But then data analysis and user research changed their understanding of the problem. This in turn challenged their ideas and assumptions about the solution. We talked to Simon Stewart, Product Manager about how this happened. [Read more…] about Demand Spikes and Testing Loops: Why One Project Scrapped Its First Solution
Loads of us have great Tech for Good ideas. But while having an idea is relatively easy, knowing what to do with it next is much harder.
We asked Ellie Hale from the Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology what voluntary sector organisations should do with their ideas, before they try and fund them.
Running a Tech for Good project will be fun and frustrating, terrific and terrifying. Be ready for the emotional rollercoaster so you don’t get TfG whiplash.
Three months ago you spent an intense couple of weeks slogging away on your Tech for Good funding application. Evidencing the need and showing why a digital solution might be the way to tackle it was hard work. Your application also asked you to [Read more…] about “Thrilling!” Why Your Tech for Good Project will be an Emotional Rollercoaster
