London Regional ICT champion

Marcus Otite is an old circuit riding friend we know from his time in South London with Superhighways.  It’s great to see him back in the saddle, riding the west London circuit with Hillingdon CVS.  Marcus is the new sheriff in town after Mike Veitch and Jason King previously upheld the IT law in Hillingdon.

This is Marcus’ introduction from UK Riders email list:

Hello list!

Loads success stories over the last 8 years I’ve been working for the voluntary and community sector (and some not so successful). Most of you know me as working for Superhighways which was a partnership of 6 CVS’s in the south London sub region, before becoming a social enterprise.

One of the projects I worked on was www.mertonconnected.com which is a community web portal for the voluntary and community organisation in the borough of Merton. I know many have tried and some have failed but I believe if designed and promoted well can be of great benefits for the community. (The proof is in the pudding) Looking at the diary and activities on the portal, members had contacted me saying they the local newspapers contacting them about events, the Merton council, local police, fire brigade, and many over community partnerships use and promote events on it. I believe every Council for Voluntary Service should have one for its members. It gives many groups (especially the smaller one) the opportunity to have a web presence and promote the good work they are doing in the community, and make them feel inclusive.

I’d like to add I am now work with Hillingdon CVS (Hillingdon Association for Voluntary Services) in west London, and hopefully I can mirror some of the success stories achieved with Superhighways and the South London CVS Partnership.

And finally a briefing of what Hillingdon Association of Voluntary Services ICT Development Work will support voluntary and community groups with in he borough of Hillingdon
•    Troubleshooting – both hardware and software
•    ICT best practice – e.g. Antivirus, backing up your data etc
•    ICT Healthchecks and strategy development – planning to meet your current and future ICT needs
•    Signposting to other support services and useful ICT resources – e.g. equipment suppliers and local training opportunities
•    ICT training for staff, volunteers and trustees
•    Development o ICT initiatives targeting clients and users
•    Support with ICT Accessibilities issues
•    Targeted BMER groups through signposting from Refugees in Effective and Active Partnerships (REAP)

And further down the years become a social enterprise like Superhighways.