Comic Relief's Tech for Good programme for charities and social enterprises etc
User needs are what make your TfG boat rock. Fudge the needs and you’ll sink. Nail them and you’ll be cresting a wave of user value from here to Tech for Good Bay.
Warning: There are a fair few ‘musts‘ and ‘shoulds‘ in this article. Stop reading now if you don’t want to be told what you ‘should’ do…
Every part of your digital service. Whether it’s app, website or something else. Not just some. All.
[Read more…] about Why It’s Wrong to Shirk Your Users Needs
The Tech for Good movement isn’t new anymore. There’s folk who’ve already walked the path, who’ve dived into its depths and retrieved it’s pearls. We should listen to these old timers.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It’s precious as a pearl. But when its wisdom belongs to [Read more…] about 7 Pearls of Wisdom from the Tech for Good Old Timers
Understand what early stage success looks like and you’ll be well placed to set the right expectations for your team and funders.
If you’re a funder then understand that definitions of success for these projects can’t be measured by number of users or volume of impact, not even by size of product delivered.
We asked nine of our current project cohort to define what success might look like when their grant ends.
Did they say “a finished product“? Did they say “a fully launched digital service“?
No. The majority described success as [Read more…] about How to Know If Your Early Stage Tech for Good Project Is Being Successful
If you understand the common reasons why tech for good projects fail then you’ll feel more confident about how to avoid them.
Many charities fear failing at tech projects. That’s not surprising given the amount of money historically squandered on digital projects (NHS IT system anyone?).
But we’ve got to try. Or risk going to the wall if we don’t.
Trying starts by taking small steps and learning as you go. It means building digital services and organisational capacity to solve user problems aswell as social ones. It’s a journey every charity is going to have to make over the next decade. So it’s inevitable there will be failures. That’s OK. [Read more…] about 3 Tragic Reasons Why Tech for Good Projects Fail
Imagine being a new Tech for Good project about to embark on your first exciting digital development journey. One day it could be you. For now though, it’s the thirteen projects that we’ve just funded. Here’s what they are going through.
Once upon a time Dorothy Gale was just like the rest of us.
She lived a quiet, simple life. She had no big adventures.
But then a strange wind stirred and spun her and Toto off into an amazing adventure.
Just like Dorothy you’re about to begin a big adventure, not to Oz, but into the world of Tech for Good. [Read more…] about What Dorothy Gale Can Teach Us About Running a New Tech for Good Project
You’re more likely to win Tech for Good funding if you show a clear understanding of the problem. And if you have this understanding then you’ll find it’s much easier to build something that solves the problem and that people will actually use.
For most of us in the third sector ideas are easy. Lets do some blue sky thinking! Or how about a solution-focused brainstorming session?
Or perhaps we should dig up that idea we had last year because it fits this funding programme?
Even better, lets ask people what they want, then create it for them!
Ever done any of these?
That’s OK, I have too. [Read more…] about How 5 New Tech for Good Projects are Starting With the Problem, Not the Solution
