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Consortium awarded contract to deliver project to bridge the digital divide

A consortium led by the Wales Co-operative Centre has been awarded the contract to deliver Communities 2.0 a new initiative to tackle digital exclusion in Wales, Deputy Minister for Regeneration Leighton Andrews announced today.

The Wales Co-operative Centre will work in partnership with the University of Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire County Council, Novas Scarman, and the Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services to deliver the six year project from April 1st 2009.

The programme, which will build on the Welsh Assembly Government’s highly successful Communities @One initiative, will provide community groups, social enterprises and individuals with support to use technologies and to help people in the most disadvantaged areas of Wales engage with new technology in ways that are directly relevant to their lives.

Mr Andrews said: “I look forward to working with the consortium to deliver Communities 2.0. I hope we will develop a more co-ordinated approach to digital inclusion and to work with community groups and voluntary organisations to help them engage with technologies. We will also help new and existing social enterprises to engage with ICT by providing training, mentoring and business support.”
Simon Harris, Chief Executive of the Wales Co-operative Centre said: “On behalf of the consortium, I wish to express our delight at being awarded the Communities 2.0 contract. We look forward to building on previous work to bridge the digital divide in Wales, while meeting fresh challenges of supporting community groups, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and individuals to maximise the economic and social potential of ICT.”

Notes to Editors

Details of the Communities 2.0 consortium:

Wales Co-operative Centre
The Wales Co-operative Centre has a wealth of experience in digital inclusion and social enterprise support work, having delivered the Communities @One project since 2005. The organisation has been offering co-operative support services for over 25 years and offers unparalleled expertise and experience in this field.

Carmarthenshire County Council
Carmarthenshire County Council has long standing expertise in both business support and community development, which it will utilise in delivering digital inclusion and business support services within the county. As a local authority, it will also take the lead on initiatives to digitally connect communities to government services.

Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS)
PAVS brings key IT technical expertise to the project, which was clearly demonstrated during Communities @One. The organisation’s key role will be in developing and expanding the Circuit Rider movement to cover the whole region whilst also offering other technical services and training.

Novas Scarman (formerly known as The Scarman Trust)
Novas Scarman brings widespread experience and expertise in digital inclusion, wider community development and social enterprise support. Its work in Communities 2.0 will involve elements of all those strands as well as support for socially excluded individuals.

University of Glamorgan
The University’s involvement in the project will come through the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling (GEECS), which sits in the faculty of Creative Cultural Industries. GEECS’ key contribution will be the development of a Centre of Excellence in digital storytelling. The Centre will also investigate the potential of different forms of digital and participatory media as areas of enterprise within Wales’ creative digital economy.

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