Connecting Bristol

Pete Taylor from Knowle West cares full-time for his son who has a limiting health condition.

Pete was given a free, “no strings attached” recycled council computer and no-frills Internet access as part of our Digital Neighbourhoods programme.

In this video Pete talks about the amazing impact that being on line has had on his life and on the way he cares for his son.

Since appearing in this film, Pete has taken his “computer life style” one step further and has signed-up to a commercial broadband deal.

Pete is just one of many people who want to become connected via Knowle West Web, part of the Digital Neighbourhoods programme, which is a partnership between Bristol City Council, Knowle West Media Centre and Citizens on Line.

During the coming year, we aim to extend the reach of this project in Knowle West and in other parts of the city.

There is an incredible amount of useful and important information held by various bodies across the public sector. Much of it could be accessible under Freedom of Information legislation if you know how to ask for it.

MySociety has been building websites to improve civic and community life since 2003. As well as launching WriteToThem, PledgeBank and HearFromYourMP they built the No 10 Downing Street Petitions Website and FixMyStreet. More recently they launched WhatDoTheyKnow, a site designed to help you make Freedom of Information requests, read what other people have been asking, and see what replies they’ve been getting. MySociety are also using the site to campaign for improvements to freedom of information law.

Bristol City Council has received 123 requests through the system to date, ranging from enquiries about plans for the new stadium to traffic light changing cycles.

The huddle public sector team have organised a series of webinars to look into the potential impact of web 2.0 within the public sector.

In our first session on Thursday, 4 February, 2pm, will introduce the most common Web 2.0 practices, popular technology and marketing tools iluustrated by successful government Web 2.0 case studies.

To attend this webinar register your details here in advance.

If you are interested in learning how you can take advantage of the new opportunities offered by Web 2.0 there is a workshop taking place  at the Hub in  Bristol on 16th February.  The workshop will explore how to use the latest web technologies to develop an audience and build relationships.

The event is being facilitated by Chris Smith of Ecotube, the Green Youtube.

The Sustainable Development Commission has released a report encouraging the Public Sector to deploy the latest ICT innovations to cut down on unnecessary journeys, improve fuel consumption on the journeys we need to take, and make the time we spend travelling more useful and enjoyable.

The report called ‘Smarter Moves: How Information Communications Technology can promote Sustainable Mobility’ looks at how eco-driving and videoconferencing  could help reduce the need to travel, impacting carbon emissions, congestion, accidents and noise levels. It also claims that increased connectivity on public transport would make it a more useful and pleasant option thereby encouraging people to travel more efficiently.

The Government has launched a website to give the public access to a range of information and data sets. The site’s development was overseen by Sir Tim Berners Lee and builds upon the model developed in the USA with the launch of data.gov.

The site encourages innovation and novel re-use of the information to produce unforeseen outputs and data. Application developers have already produced ten apps employing the new data feeds. People with creative ideas, but without the necessary technical skills to develop applications, can submit their ideas via the website.

Boris Johnson has also announced that London’s authorities will launch a data warehouse at the end of this month to allow similar re-use and re-purposing of the capital’s information.

Up to 5,000 families in Bristol could benefit from free computers and broadband web access to help with learning at home, Bristol City Council announced today.

The Home Access project is a £300m government scheme to provide computer and internet access for low income families with children aged 7 to 14.

To apply for a Home Access grant, call the Becta national help line on 0333 200 1004. Grants will be made on a first come, first served basis.

If Bristol families need help with filling in the form they can call 0117 352 6000.

Council Leader, Cllr Barbara Janke, said: “While most children are extremely knowledgeable about computers and the internet, there is a danger that some will get left behind because they can’t access either of these at home. National research shows that having access to the internet at home can increase GCSE results by half a grade.

“It is also important for more people to have access to the internet and parents will benefit from greater access to broadband. I welcome this initiative to close the digital divide by helping more Bristol families use computers and the internet to aid their work, leisure and education.”

Through Home Access, families will be able to claim ‘credit’ that will enable them to purchase a computer with internet supply for one year and technical support. It is anticipated that the first families will be getting connected over the next couple of months.

Bristol champion for Home Access, businesswomen and mother, Jaya Chakrebarti, said: “I am working with the project board to help ensure that the families that will benefit can make the most of this opportunity. As a mother, an employer of fresh young talent and a self-confessed geek-girl, I can absolutely vouch for how access to this sort of technology and connectivity can change the aspirations and achievements of young people.”

Government agency Becta will be running the programme. Chief Executive, Stephen Crowne, said: “The benefits of technology are clear, but it is vital that children are not excluded from access to technology – whether at school or, just as importantly, in the home. The Home Access programme seeks to support this aspiration, by offering this opportunity to more families.

“Technology is opening up the world of learning to parents, helping them gain a greater understanding of how their child’s school works, as well as improving the dialogue between parents, learners and the school. We hope that more parents and children will exploit the opportunity to further engage with their children’s learning and with their children’s school.”

Headteacher at St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Amanda Pritchard, said: “The Home Access Programme will help us to cross the digital divide between home and school, enabling families to have ‘24/7’ access to technology to support personalised learning.”

A gathering of Neighbourhood Partnerships and community organisations to look at how digital technologies can build and serve communities.

Sign up here

Tel 0117 353 2895 / email makala@kwmc.org.uk

The South Bristol Digital Neighbourhoods programme is organising a lively informal event at the Tobacco Factory: come prepared to suggest three ideas in answer to the question: ‘what needs doing to create a world-class digital Bristol?’ and discuss them.

Sign up here

Tel 0117 353 2895 / email makala@kwmc.org.uk

The fifth National Digital Inclusion Conference will be taking place at the Vinopolis Conference Centre over the two days on the 10th and 11th March.

Returning conference chair Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive at the RSA, will be joined by newly appointed champion for Digital Inclusion Martha Lane Fox, Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Nominet Trust Jonathan Welfare, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP, along with many others.

Delegates will have the choice of four Workstream sessions, focusing on the following themes: Digital Skills for All, Digital Government for All, Housing Plus, and Health and Well-being, which will allow interaction, panel debates, and small group discussions.

Conference places can be booked on the event website.

As we reported in December, the Government will be charging a 50p per month ‘broadband tax’ on all fixed phone lines. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has launched a consultation into how the fund created by this tax should be used.

Contributions are being sought from any individual or organisation with an interest in Next Generation Connectivity, such as communications providers, network owners and consumers. The closing date for this consultation is 1st April 2010.

How ‘open’ should local authorities be with the data they manage? It seems clear that in order to involve residents further in local decision making, and to improve accountability, there will need to be a move toward ‘openness’, but what does that really mean and how should it be achieved?

The Open Knowledge Foundation has been working on this agenda for five years and they have come up with a definition of Open Knowledge which outlines some of the areas which need to be considered by authorities when opening up data sources;

Legally Open
Data needs to be free of most of the standard legal restrictions and requirements. In particular it should be accessible without restriction, reproducible freely, and reusable – that is, free to incorporate in derivative works.

Socially Open
Social Openness refers to making information available in a way which supports sharing and reuse as well as collaborative working processes. This would require that access is given to the raw, underlying data and not simply through a particular, usually limiting, interface.

Technologically Open
Technological openness requires that data is provided in a form and format that does not unnecessarily hinder access by humans or machines. This would mean providing all necessary documentation and information about structuring and presentation of data so as to ensure comprehension and usability.

The Nintendo Wii video game console uses a unique control system which can detect movement in three dimensions. Accelerometers in the controller allow the users physical actions to be replicated by in-game characters. A Balance Board can also be added to the system allowing measurement and monitoring of users weight and centre of balance.

Health care practitioners are begining to explore the potential for employing the console in a range of contexts to increase fitness, strengthen muscles, improve dexterity and coordination, and enhance rehabilitation therapies. The Department of Health is even endorsing Wii Fit Plus under their Change 4 Life programme.

The BBC recently reported how pensioners in a nursing home in France have been using the Wii to excercise, stay fit, and have fun.

This video covers some of the potential rehabilitation benefits identified in work undertaken in America;

A Facebook campaign to keep the X factor single off the Christmas number one spot has been successful. This year Rage against the Machine will be at the top of the festive chart with “Killing in the Name”. Within a matter of weeks the facebook group attracted almost a million members and raised over £60,000 for the charity Shelter.

If you are looking to start your own online campaign there is plenty of guidance to refer to; Bristol City Council, the Scarman Trust and Friends of the Earth produced a handbook on campaigning which you can download here, and recently the Tactical Technology Collective have released a 50 minute film outlining 10 tips for making online rights campaigns successful. The accompanying website has a some excellent assets and tools and is well worth a visit.

Connecting Bristol is delighted to welcome you to our new look blog.

What have we done? We have restructured the way that information is organised to reflect the big ICT and Digital themes that we are working on, such as Green ICT and Connectivity.  We have also included more ways for you to link with us, for example, via Twitter.  Finally, we have spruced up the design of the blog, which was looking a little tired after 4 years.

We hope you like what we have done and look forward to hearing from you.

Stephen

Kevin

The Connecting Bristol Team

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has confirmed in his pre-Budget statement that all householders with a fixed phone line will be required to pay £6 per year as a Broadband Tax.

The money is to upgrade the exisiting telecommunications infrastructure so that super-fast broadband can be made available to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017.

Broadband coverage in Rural areas has been seen to be a particular challenge that will require much of this additional funding. BT concedes that currently over 150,000 households are not able to access the internet at all, and 11% of households can only achieve the minimum speeds, making access to online video and multiple online applications difficult.

The Chancellor stated;

“We are modernising the UK’s digital infrastructure and, in the process, creating thousands more skilled jobs. We have provided funding to help extend the opportunities of the broadband network to more remote communities. We now want to go further, so we can provide the next generation of super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has confirmed in his pre-Budget statement that all householders with a fixed phone line will be required to pay £6 per year as a Broadband Tax.

The money is to upgrade the exisiting telecommunications infrastructure so that super-fast broadband can be made available to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017.

Broadband coverage in Rural areas has been seen to be a particular challenge that will require much of this additional funding. BT concedes that currently over 150,000 households are not able to access the internet at all, and 11% of households can only achieve the minimum speeds, making access to online video and multiple online applications difficult.

The Chancellor stated;

“We are modernising the UK’s digital infrastructure and, in the process, creating thousands more skilled jobs. We have provided funding to help extend the opportunities of the broadband network to more remote communities. We now want to go further, so we can provide the next generation of super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017.”

Oneplace is a new website that provides independent information on how public services are performing. It brings together the views of six independent inspectorates: the Audit Commission, Care Quality Commission, Ofsted, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons and Probation.

Public services can have a big impact on people’s lives – they do things like collecting rubbish, providing education and health services and fighting crime.

So how is Bristol City Council doing?

According to the site “Bristol City Council is performing well. The Council’s corporate leadership is strong and performance is improving. Performance management has improved significantly. The Council is realistic and self aware and targets its efforts at areas of poorer performance. This is resulting in sustained improvements in areas of historically low performance, although more remains to be done.”

Oneplace is a new website that provides independent information on how public services are performing.  It brings together the views of six independent inspectorates: the Audit Commission, Care Quality Commission, Ofsted, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons and Probation.

Public services can have a big impact on people’s lives - they do things like collecting rubbish, providing education and health services and fighting crime.

So how is Bristol City Council doing?

According to the site “Bristol City Council is performing well. The Council’s corporate leadership is strong and performance is improving. Performance management has improved significantly. The Council is realistic and self aware and targets its efforts at areas of poorer performance. This is resulting in sustained improvements in areas of historically low performance, although more remains to be done.”

A truck carrying humanitarian aid, and postcards from students at the City Academy School, left Bristol on 4th December on the way to Gaza. The truck met up with a convoy of other vehicles which left London on 5th December, and should cross into Gaza on 27th December.

Viva Palestina, the organisation behind the enterprise, have mapped the route and the progress of the convoy using Google Maps.