Tech For Good Hub

Comic Relief's Tech for Good programme for charities and social enterprises etc

Funding Tech for Good

Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation launch ‘Build’, a £1 million digital development fund

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‘Build’ launches today, the 12th of January 2021. This is an exciting new opportunity to enable UK charities to test and develop digital solutions, with applications opening today and funding available from June 2021.

The Tech for Good programme was launched in 2016 to enable charities to utilise technology to deliver better services. The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the need for organisations to further explore how digital and design capabilities can help transform or maximise their work in supporting vulnerable people.

The Build programme offers long-term funding to individual not-for-profit organisations, or those working in partnerships, to define, test and develop digital solutions, or re-purpose existing technology in order to meet a social need or challenge linked to Comic Relief’s Social Change Strategy. Applicants should be committed to work in one or more of Comic Relief’s four core issue areas: Children Survive and Thrive, Global Mental Health Matters, Fighting for Gender Justice, or A Safe Place to Be. More information on these themes is available here. Comic Relief also welcomes applications addressing challenges related to disability and inclusion outside of the themes specified above, in acknowledgement of the potential of digital technology to address these issues.

The Build programme will offer funding to up to 18 digital projects to a maximum of £70,000 per project. Funding will be available over a nine-month period commencing in June 2021. Alongside funding, successful applicants will have access to technical support from experts and advisors. Funding is open to UK not-for-profit organisations with incomes of between £75,000 and £10 million.

The programme aims to fund a portfolio of digital projects at different stages of development. ‘Build’ is suitable for organisations both at concept stage, as well as organisations who have already commenced digital development.

Applicants that seek to adapt or re-purpose existing technology are also actively encouraged. Re-use can be just as important and effective as building something new. Applications from partnerships between multiple not-for-profit organisations that aim to jointly address or improve a service delivery problem in their areas of work are also welcome.

The Tech for Good programme nurtures digital learning across organisations through the design journey. Participants are expected to collaborate, take part in relevant online training, and share learning at key milestones. Digital development requires distinct working practices, and for this reason, the programme is working with CAST (Centre for the  Acceleration of Social Technology) to provide an intensive package of support for the cohort of funded partners, which will include 1-1 support, collaborative workshops with peers on the programme, and online learning sessions.

Comic Relief and CAST will be running Q&A webinars and providing additional guidance over the application period. Sign up using the links below.

Tech for Good 2021 Programme Q&A – Thurs, 14 Jan (12:00 – 13:00)

Tech for Good 2021 Programme Q&A – Thurs, 21 Jan (14:00 – 15:00)

Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive, Paul Hamlyn Foundation:

“The Covid-19 crisis has forced charities to adapt their services at pace. We hope that our Tech for Good programme with Comic Relief will help them to explore and develop the digital solutions they need to improve the way they work and the support they provide to people and communities. The programme is not only about creating a new product or tool – existing technology can be re-purposed or adapted. It’s about understanding where and how a digital approach can make a positive difference for organisations and those they work with.”

Ruth Davison, Chief Executive, Comic Relief:

“The Tech for Good programme will offer organisations the opportunity to build and test a digital solution that could strengthen their services and ultimately better support people and communities. Taking a user-centred and learning-driven approach to designing services is more important than ever: we are so pleased to be able to work with Paul Hamlyn Foundation to make this funding and tailored technical expertise accessible to charities at such a crucial time. This year, we hope the re-design of the fund encourages organisations to also apply with ideas that adapt existing products to suit their needs. We know positively transforming services doesn’t always involve building a new product from scratch.”

Applications close at 12pm on 12 February 2021. Visit https://www.comicrelief.com/funding/funding-opportunities/tech-for-good-build-2021/ for further information.

How and why we changed our Tech for Good initiative in 2020

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The Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation Tech for Good fund has been running since 2016. It has supported non-profits to take a significant digital step forward by funding them to develop digital solutions that make their work or services more effective, and providing access to digital experts.

A core ethos of the Tech for Good fund has always been encouraging organisations to keep their users’ needs at the heart of development. As funders, we are mindful that our users are the non-profits engaging with us, applying to our programmes, and accessing our funding.

That’s why, in 2019, we reviewed the fund with the help of Think Social Tech to make sure it was still fit for those it served. One of the main findings of our review was that organisations needed early stage support, through ring-fenced time and funding, to enable them to focus their energy on thinking about the direction and potential of digital development in their context, before embarking upon full scale development.

While this need was identified by our review, which came before COVID-19 emerged, it’s clear that organisations are now facing more pressure than ever to adopt digital practices – this is being well documented by Catalyst, a charitable network which helps the voluntary sector strengthen its digital capabilities. Through their granular and on-the-ground work with organisations, Catalyst has identified a range of areas that organisations are currently dealing with. One of the biggest mid-to-long term challenges outlined is the way organisations are dealing with the impact on services. Issues include the surge in demand alongside adjusting to rapidly shifting modes of service delivery, understanding the medium-term evolving needs of service users, and how to effectively safeguard them.

We were due to launch a new strand of our funding, ‘Explore’, in summer 2020, offering short, early stage scoping funding and support to organisations. We have worked with CAST to slightly adapt this offer to the current circumstances. However, we think the same broad principles still apply. We want teams to access the right conditions for meaningful digital development; this is even more crucial for charities thinking about the challenges outlined above, and the implications for mid-to-long term service delivery as the consequences of COVID-19 become clearer.

The Tech for Good ‘Explore’ programme, delivered by CAST, and co-funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, will support 40-50 organisations to undertake early stage digital scoping:

  • It will guide organisations through a three-month structured design programme supporting teams to gain experience and understanding of user-led, test-driven approaches, and enable them to develop a prototype to test with their service users
  • It will also offer £5,000 grants for single organisations and £7,500 for collaborations to backfill staff time and operational cost. This was designed to make digital service development conceivable and feasible for organisations, ensuring their use of digital was best suited to their contexts.

‘Explore’ support forms part of a wider digital journey for organisations, and has been designed with this in mind. We hope that this early stage support will not only help organisations to respond to the current need for digital solutions, but play a role in the longer term digital transformation of the sector within and beyond our own funding programmes.

You can find out more about the ‘Explore’ programme and apply here.

Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation announce ‘Explore’, a new early stage digital funding strand, in partnership with CAST

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Tailored support to help charities accelerate the development of digital solutions

Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation are pleased to announce that they are adding a new early stage strand, Explore, to their Tech for Good funding initiative.

The Tech for Good programme was developed in response to the emerging need for charities to use technology to explore different approaches to delivering better services. The Explore programme will help charities to scope a digital solution to improve outcomes for the people they support, and to build the skills to develop a strong, user-led approach to digital service delivery.

Funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the programme will be delivered by digital service design support partner CAST.

The £230,000 Explore programme will allow charities to engage in a 12-week learning journey to scope out the kinds of digital services they might provide and to explore how digital technology could transform the ways they work. The programme includes grants of £5,000 for individual organisations, or £7,500 for collaborations.

It will offer organisations the chance to:

  • Identify the user need they are trying to address
  • Examine whether a digital solution is the best idea
  • Identify the key implications of implementing a new solution
  • Design a prototype which can be tested and made ready for further development
  • Look at how it might be possible to obtain funding for further work.

The application process is open to UK charities and not-for-profit organisations with incomes of between £75,000 and £10 million, and applications should address one of the following core issue areas – A Safe Place To Be, Fighting For Gender Justice, Children Survive and Thrive, and Global Mental Health Matters. More information on these themes is available here.  Applications addressing challenges related to disability outside of the themes specified above are also welcome, acknowledging the critical potential of digital technology in tackling this issue.

40 to 50 grants are expected to be awarded. Applications open on 20th May, and close on 22nd June 2020. Applicants should visit the CAST website for full details and a link to the application form.

Organisations will receive a flexible and tailored package of support, including access to an online curriculum, one-to-one support calls, and virtual community meet-ups.

The new strand of funding follows a period of learning, listening and reflection by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation after co-funding the fourth round of Tech for Good in 2019.

It also draws on CAST’s experience of providing support to charities in the development of digital services, including on the Tech for Good initiative. In light of COVID-19, this fund is especially relevant now as organisations seek to respond to a new context.

The Explore programme forms part of a wider digital journey. In advance of the programme, applicants should be able to identify key service redesign needs and challenges. Applicants are welcome to participate in CAST’s free Design Hop course, which will help identify these needs.

The initiative also aims to put organisations in a better position to apply for further social tech funding, for example to the wider Tech for Good fund, which the funders plan to launch in late 2020.

Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, said:

“Tech for Good was developed to support charities to deliver better services for their communities through technology. We could hardly have known at the time just how transformational an acceleration was around the corner and how much more relevant this programme would feel as a result.  We hope the introduction of our new Explore strand will give charities the space and support they need to transition to digital service delivery, bridging the digital divide and continuing to connect to the people and communities that need them most.”

Ruth Davison, Chief Executive, Comic Relief, said:

“Our Tech for Good initiative, co-funded with Paul Hamlyn Foundation since 2017, is continuously evolving to ensure it meets the needs of organisations and the people they support. We’re excited to announce Explore, our new funding strand, which will give organisations the crucial time and head-space to scope how a digital approach can be best utilised in their service delivery, a need exacerbated by the current context. We are also excited to be working with CAST and Catalyst to deliver Explore, complementing the work being carried out by them and tapping into their excellent networks of practice to support sustainable and meaningful change.”

Dan Sutch, Director, CAST, said:

“It’s fantastic to be able to work with Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation on this new programme. Now, more than ever, it’s vital that charities have access to the advice and support needed to develop high quality digital services. We look forward to directly working with charities as part of Explore and connecting them to the wider Catalyst network of support.”

8 Smart Tips for First Time Tech For Good Funders

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Just like a little kid getting on a bike the first ride is often the clumsiest. It’s new, awkward and breathtakingly exciting at the same time. Making your first Tech for Good Grant is like that.

If you’re a funder you’ll have heard about Tech for Good. You may have read an article or even attended one of our learning events.

You’ll have noticed that more digital services are getting funded, because more charities want to build them. [Read more…] about 8 Smart Tips for First Time Tech For Good Funders

It’s All New: 5 Ways Tech for Good Grants are Different

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Grant making is changing because charities want to deliver more digital services. This has big implications for traditional grant makers.

I’d like to ask you, please, about how funding tech for good projects is different to funding traditional human powered services?”

That’s what I asked Martha Young and Ali Macfarlane, Comic Relief’s Tech for Good Programme leaders.

Then I opened my ears wide and listened. Here’s my report. [Read more…] about It’s All New: 5 Ways Tech for Good Grants are Different

What My Daughter’s Kitten Taught Me About Tech for Good Grantmaking

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Alfie, the Tech for Good kitten, having a rest from hanging out on the doorstep.
Alfie, the Tech for Good kitten, having a rest from hanging out on the doorstep.

My daughter’s got a new kitten. It’s the cutest ever.

It’s still only a bairn. Too small to go outside, but old enough to run around and tear up the house.

Everytime the back door opens it sprints to the doorstep.

It can smell the garden. It knows it’s different and its interested in the outdoor world’s possibilities.

But when it get to the doorstep it pauses, looks around for my daughter, then runs back inside.

[Read more…] about What My Daughter’s Kitten Taught Me About Tech for Good Grantmaking