isandwell-blog

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Funding to run your own digital community-centric projects

iSandwell Accelerator is back in 2020, call for submissions are open now 

Digital is not always about getting online, it can also be a vehicle to make our community a better place to live via showcasing what is good about our area and shining a light on what we’d like to change.

Sandwell Council’s iSandwell wants to help the third sector to test out their new ideas by offering another cohort of our iSandwell Accelerator programme to be launched in 2020.  All community-driven organisations can apply to take part.

So what is the iSandwell Accelerator?

In partnership with Sandwell Community Hubs, it is a program that offers up to £2000 to run a digitally-minded project that enhances digital activity in Sandwell.  This could be creating? a website, mobile applications, digital workshops, events or even digital campaigns, but be mindful, we’ll only fund the most innovative ideas.

Alongside this, you will receive mentoring from a civic tech professional who has experience of building digitalisation projects with Government across Europe. You will learn about open data, how your organisation can fit into a smart city initiative and how digital can maximise your capacity.

The idea behind this is to not only supply funding for your idea but install new skills in the region, we hope you’ll pass on this knowledge to your colleagues within your own organisation and beyond.

We want you to think of ways we can use digital to really make change for the people you support. But, we do not just want to fund a one of, we want to give you a launchpad to create something new that will support your work for years to come - so, if you are thinking of applying, we’d most likely consider projects that are sustainable. 

This is the second cohort of the accelerator programme following a highly successful first cohort.  To give you an idea of what we funded last time, here is a taster of 3 of the 7 projects that were successful:

Future VI Festival

A series of events looking at how technology can involve to better support visually impaired

people in Sandwell including the creation of a people’s charter that Sandwell Council and

stakeholders can use to include visually impaired peoples views in regards to digitalisation plans.

Facilitated by Sandwell VI, they held two participative workshops.

The first was a workshop that looked at tech that already exists and how visually impaired people already interact with it. This workshop also took vital consultation on how visually impaired people use digital in Sandwell but also what they would find useful changes.

The second event was a visually impaired led hackathon which they based around 4 questions which consisted of:

What is important for visually impaired people in Sandwell when it comes to digital

engagement

Where do you see the gaps in regard to digital accessibility?

What would be beneficial in regards to digital innovation in the region?

Here, we support from a local coder, the group used the answers of these activities to create a mobile and desktop application called the ‘Sandwell Visually Impaired Digital Chater.’

This piece of work is vital learning for Sandwell Council as it is a body of work we can consult when we are writing future policy and strategy. But it is also important to acknowledge other Government bodies can use this when forming their own strategic documentation.

#iCanSandwell

#iCANsandwell, a youth-led empowerment campaign facilitated by Creative Academies that gave young people a platform to have their voice heard while accelerating aspirations and ambitions within Sandwell. The campaign's mission was to listen to young people and learn from them, so that they can have the power to lead!

The campaign connects with local people and organisations within Sandwell to engage with

the hashtag #iCANsandwell through social action and digital activities in order to spread an

empowering message and have their say.

The organisation employed 25 young Digital Champions and took a codesigned approach with them, including the young people creating marketing material such as the project's website.

Aside from the social media campaign the #iCan team held roadshows in all of the Sandwell

towns, asking young people to record their aspirations and upload images with placards. Creative Academies also ran a series of youth-led workshops in schools.

The project interacted with 214,000 people online and on social media. They also interacted with 1381 physically in workshops and street sessions.

This project led as the launchpad for the next stage of the organisation who rebranded as iCan Foundation, continuing their fantastic work across Sandwell. 

Young people taking part in the iCan campaign

Datatools Sandwell

During the GDPR changes, a lot of Sandwell third sector expressed a need for support so we

worked with local CIC Inside Outcomes to develop Datatools Sandwell.

This is an online toolkit and a series of workshops to support Sandwell’s voluntary organisations to understand their legal obligations around collecting data, the practical barriers to collecting data and some of the benefits to growing their group. The toolkit will set out best practice, in relation to managing data, as well as developing a structured process to develop a fit for purpose data management strategy.

Inside Outcomes took a codesigned approach by running 3 workshops in the towns of West

Bromwich, Oldbury and Wednesbury. Here they took consultation on building the tool while

sharing knowledge on important data related issues specific to Sandwell and showcasing the

importance of open data.

There are a range of resources local third sector can access including policy and support with data analyst - the website continues to offer support to the third sector in Sandwell and it can be accessed here, www.datatools-sandwell.org.uk.

The programme did not escape the attention from Westminster with the then Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Margot James MP saying “a crucial part of the development of the digital agenda is the third sector. As both the private and public sectors upskill and develop their use of digital, so must the third sector to continue to achieve the great successes that organisations up and down the country achieve on a daily basis. In order to do that we must involve local communities and projects like iSandwell can help to perform that function.”

And former Labour Deputy Leader and the then Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Tom Watson MP stating “I think is a great initiative and I think the iSandwell Accelerator is something we should think about on a greater scale. It’s great that with all these projects you are putting the citizen at the heart of policy, because I think digitisation is about emancipating people by giving them the power of their own lives and you are doing that with this project, so very many congratulations.”

So, are you ready to apply? All you need to do is email hello@isandwell.org.uk for your application pack and return it by Friday 13th December and you must make sure you can develop the project in January 2020 for delivery between February and April 2020.

For more information on iSandwell visit isandwell.org.uk or follow them on Twitter @iSandwellHQ.

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#iDF19: Are you a Sandwell based community group, charity or TRA and can’t afford a website? Read on...

So, you are a Sandwell third sector organisation, you are the lifeblood of community work in Sandwell and you just want to concentrate on the excellent work you do without having to worry about raising funds for marketing materials such as websites or stressing through having to bodge one out yourself.

We hear you.

It is actually really important to have a professional website if you are third sector as it’s the first thing people will look at from a distance, everything from potential volunteers to funders (we knew that one would resonate).

That’s why as part of the iSandwell Digital Festival we have enlisted the help of digital experts Data Brew to design you a brand new website and offer you professional advice all in 15-minute sessions across the whole of Sandwell.

Wait?!?!?! 15 minutes, how is that possible?

After you have picked where is best for you and signed up via this form: http://bit.ly/WalkOutWithAWebsite

You will receive an email with a timeslot and a form to fill out requesting information such as your logo and text for certain sections of your website, this will then go to Data Brew who will put it together so when you attend your session you will be talked through you brand new website along with how to get the best out of it and get the word out there.

Even if you have a website but you think it just doesn't cut the mustard, we are happy help.

We will even pay for your hosting and if you need a logo, we can help you with that also.

This is a great opportunity to get something that will usually cost thousands of pounds so make sure you book your slot, spaces are extremely limited.

So what are you waiting for, sign up before it is too late!!

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iSandwell Digital Festival -  the quick low down

If you have come across iSandwell before you will know we are very passionate about putting community development at the heart of our digital agenda and feel that working with our wonderful third sector in Sandwell is the best way to achieve citizen-led digitisation. So that basically means we have not been doing it alone, we are lucky enough to be able to work with a wide range of community groups from normal people who live in Sandwell neighbourhoods via our volunteering network to social enterprise, the charity sector, and community groups. Which is why from the 13th to the 18th May we are holding the first iSandwell Digital Festival with events from partners across Sandwell. Now, it's important to note that not all of these events are going to be public due to the user group specific organisations work with but we still want to let you know what is happened - you will know if that event is public as we will add sign up details. Monday 13th May The Recovery College / MAN_AGE Social Media Survival Kit for Men It is no secret that social media can have an impact on anybody's mental health but how can men with mental health issues navigate this minefield safely. In this workshop male mental project MAN_AGE teams up with The Recovery College (Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) to work with the people they support to create a toolkit we all could use. Tuesday 14th May SAFL iPad sessions for beginners Friar Park Millennium Centre - 10am till 12pm With the invention of the tablet it has actually opened a new door for connectivity, from keeping in touch with family who have moved away to looking to tackle loneliness for older people - if you are interested in learning more about using your tablet come and learn about how you can get the best out of it in this relaxed session from SAFL. To book call: 01215560139 

Tuesday 14th May West Bromwich Albion Foundation Young Reporters Great news, FIFA has announced that the Champions League final is going to be held at West Bromwich Albion’s very own Hawthorns and we’ve tasked a group of crack young reporters to tell viewers more about Sandwell and what it means to them in the form of live reports from the home of Sandwell football itself, The Hawthorns.

Wednesday 15th May Options For Life Sensory Music Experience Acorn Lodge Hub, Langley Green 11am to 12:30pm With funding from the National Lottery, Options For Life have been doing some really innovative work. In this workshop they will be showcasing Digital Tech and how it supports participants with profound and multiple learning disabilities access music and enhance their sensory experience. To sign up email https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/options-for-life-sensory-music-experience-tickets-61241682521 

Wednesday 15th May Fab Lab Children & Digital Making Schools across Sandwell  Giving young people the opportunity to have a go with 3D printing and taking part in a series of exercises - oh, and having a go at making their own robot. Wednesday 15th May Black Country Housing Group/Click Start IT support and Benefit Advice Drop In. Central Library, West Bromwich from 10am till 4pm 

Black Country Housing Group/Click Start are offering a free IT support and benefit advice drop in. We are offering advice with Universal Credit/benefits, help with smart phones/technology, social media, job search and training as well as 1-2-1 appointments.

Thursday 16th May Black Country Housing Group/Click Start Phone, Text and Whatsapp Advice Line. Can contact me directly on 07794275047 from 10am till 12pm Anyone can call, text or WhatsApp on 07794275047 for advice with or information on a variety of issues or concerns with debt, Universal Credit/benefits, employment or training. It’s a free service but network provider charges may apply. 

Thursday 16th May Ebony Hemmings / Sandwell Council Youth Democracy Services The Power of Community Vlogging Schools across Sandwell A local creative entrepreneur is linking up with the Sandwell Council Youth Democracy Service to show local young people how they can use the medium of vlogging (video blogging) for social campaigning. 

Thursday 16th May Sandwell College #DemJam - The Future of Work in Sandwell West Bromwich From the eyes of our eye people how do they feel about the Sandwell working landscape and what changes they would like to see? Using the #DemJam hackathon model we’ll be gathering information on aspiration and the changes young people would like to see, we will also be giving young people to formulate questions to put towards our local MPs.

Thursday 16th and Friday 17th May Data Brew / Sandwell Libraries Walk out with a Website Venues across Sandwell One of the biggest issues smaller third sector organisation and community groups face when starting up is not having the funds for a professional website, sometimes an project like a Tenants & Residents Association can go without a website full stop - having a digital platform is a great tool to attract new people to your project and help with funding which is why we have enlisted the help of Data Brew with the support of Sandwell Libraries to make sure you have a professional website along with expert digital advice, free of charge. 

Sign up here: http://bit.ly/WalkOutWithAWebsite Saturday 18th May The Art Yard Advanced Digital Editing at The Art Yard 59 Reddal Hill Rd, Cradley Heath B64 5JT A unique experience for people from the local area to work closely with local artists and view historical images from the area. Participants are encouraged to bring their own images with them.and have the opportunity to learn how to edit their images, you could even have your work exhibited across the region. The theme is 'Faces & Places seen about Sandwell, you can use a camera or even just your phone but do not worry if you don't have the eye for photography, you can still come along and get involved. To sign up contact: infoartyard@gmail.com And that is not all, we'll also have events from Murray Hall and Black Country Click Start, we will release details of these as soon as they are finalised. So, which event do you think you would like to attend? Get talking using the #iDF19 hashtag. If you would like any more information, email: hello@isandwell.org.uk

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How fit is your fittle? A conversation about food poverty

Around our neck of the woods we call food ‘fittle’ and if it especially a good bit of tucker, we’d call it bostin fittle, but how fit is your fittle and what are the barriers for us to eat well in Sandwell?

Well, okay, maybe we don’t go around using this kind of language any more but fittle is definitely Black Country dialect for food, I remember as a child my Grandmother used to take me for lunch while shopping in Blackheath “bostin bit of fittle ay it our chap.’

Now, we live in a different age and we face different challenges to our Grandparents generation and one of those is food poverty - it’s a prevalent issue, we hear about it in the news and almost every town in the UK has a food bank.

It’s time to have a community-led conversation about food poverty and here in the Sandwell we can proudly say we have a community that’s loud, proud and never afraid to share what they think.

That is why Sandwell Council’s iSandwell project has teamed up with the excellent Jubilee Food Network to bring you the #FitFittle campaign.

Over the next few weeks you will find displays in all of Sandwell Council Libraries and as many community centers as we can. Here, you can grab a paper plate and write down your thoughts on what you feel stops us from eating well in Sandwell.

And if you do pop down to your local library or community center you people have already been busy - we went around some of the centers on opening day of the campaign.

What will we do with all of this information?

We will take all of the findings to create a consultation report which will be presented at a food poverty hackathon event on the 6th June, following that event we will make the report public.

There will also be consultation forms across at all Sandwell food banks, any information from those will stay 100% confidential.

If you have any thoughts on tackling food poverty in Sandwell join the conversation on Twitter using the #FitFittle hashtag or if you would like to get involved in any way please do not hesitate to get in touch via hello@isandwell.org.uk and we will love to hear from you. 

For now, ask yourself what really are the issues that face us regarding food in our wonderful area, as a community we can be at least the start of an answer to the question.

Nathan

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Digital Making, learn with these free iSandwell events

This month’s theme for iSandwell Lab is on digital making and we’ll be teaming up with Fab Lab and The Raspberry Pi Foundation to bring you two free events.

So, what is digital making?

In a nutshell, it’s using tech to make anything from products, games to activities. It could be as simple as children learning code, people 3D printing anything from limbs to key rings and creating robots out of cardboard.

Wait? Limbs?

Yep, you read that correctly, digital making really does have the power to change peoples lives such as printing prosthetic limbs making it far cheaper and accessible.

A 3D printed hand

If you wanted to do something similar or you had a great idea, did you know you would not even have to travel out of Sandwell? Well, you wouldn't because we have a Fab Lab here which is based in Sandwell College that is open to everybody.

Admittedly I was aware of the Fab Lab but I thought it was it was only accessible to Sandwell College students which is not correct as anybody in Sandwell can go and access it, residents to social enterprises to charities.

There are lots of really cool things you can do with digital making that will aid your cause so if you are interested in learning more and some ideas on how you could use it, Fab Lab is hosting a free event on the 28th February at 1pm.

You can sign up for this event via this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/isandwell-academy-how-the-sandwell-voluntary-sector-social-enterprise-and-community-groups-can-tickets-54978616522?aff=ebapi

But that’s not all…..

Coding is now seen as a language and it’s a highly important skill, so much so schools are starting to teach it in some lessons.

For the older generations, we shake at the terror of hearing the word ‘coding’ but there are really simple ways to learn and if you work with young people did you know you would be able to set up your own code club without any coding experience?

Scratch - a program that teaches children the basics of code

Guess what! Yes, you can and you can find out how at our free iSandwell Academy event facilitated by The Raspberry Pi on the 5th March at SCIPS.

You can learn more about the event and sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/isandwell-academy-inspiring-the-next-generation-through-coding-and-digital-making-tools-for-youth-tickets-54795368422

There are plenty of opportunities to learn more about digital making in Sandwell this month and as always they are free, make sure you take advantage of it.

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Digital Champion Blog: Can Young People Use And Significantly Benefit From Digital Technology To Improve Their Health And Wellbeing?

Young people’s health is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed - can this be done digitally?

By building support services via a channel that is familiar and second nature to many young people, this can help young people to reach out for advice/help without doing anything out the ordinary.

Having a digital-based platform can help people with different forms of information whether it is looking for advice or possible treatments and the advantage of this is that it is likely to be used more widely as the majority of people today are digitally and connected online. There several different apps that can help manage health issues such as self-management apps. These apps monitor moods and help the user to practice and understand self-judgement of why such feelings occurred, e.g. shame, pleasure, despair. Other apps such as GP apps can also be used. The tools allow young people to book a video consultation with GPs from the comfort of their home. Young people with health issues often have difficulties finding self-help resources and accessing services. Well-designed digital tools, like this, can help young people easily obtain and take control of their mental health.

Majority of the youth prefer for their identity to be concealed and for them to be addressed anonymously. A digital-based platform can do this, therefore more of the youth will not hesitate about reaching out. They can file their health issues/problems in an online survey/questionnaire. As services can be accessed online via a computer, smartphone or tablet, digital health can be used for anyone who doesn’t want to work face-to-face with a therapist, or anyone who finds it difficult to leave home.

Digital health resources can be available around the clock, therefore, can fit around your timings and schedule. Online or blended approaches are likely to be cost-effective and can possibly reduce the direct costs of treatment.

Youth organisations play a big part in young people today. To listen and respond to young people, organisations should aim to gain an insight of what young people’s needs are. This could be done by online surveys, feedback forms, social media and forum pages. This is also a way of getting views across as well as remaining anonymous if preferred. If young people prefer meeting people face to face, then youth organisations could set up informal focus groups or drop-in sessions where people could attend and speak about any issues they may have and delegate any new ideas which could help. These sessions could bring people together and foster a sense of confidence and self-esteem. Young People need to feel safe to in order to talk openly and express their concerns and this is very important as expressing your feelings is very important to one’s well-being.

To conclude, to reach out for help, it is not necessary for young people to step out their comfort zone to address an issue and for youth organisations to offer that help does not need direct contact with an individual - the world of online and digital have made many things accessible so why not take advantage of this tool and click away your concerns!

By Leila Malik - iSandwell Digital Champion for Young Persons Health Issues

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iSandwell Lab: Creating a Digital Citizen Charter in Sandwell

Should we just let Government make decisions on our digital health?

If you like it or not, the world is getting more and more digital originated every day, everything from paying your rent, how your energy is calculated to how people get their benefits paid.

So considering how it has an impact on our lives should we make more noise about our needs and wants when it comes to digital, what's important to use and what we would like to change? The answer I hope is ‘damn straight.’

Over the course of the iSandwell project we have put citizens at the heart of our agenda and we’ve never shied away from informing people they have a lot of influence over us by using digital, in fact we built our whole Digital Champion programme around that ethos.

The next iSandwell Camp will look at community cohesion and as part of that we want to build a ‘Digital Citizen Charter’ for Sandwell and we will be using this as our iSandwell Lab theme for this month.

We want community organisations of all sizes to chip in and tell us what is important to the people you support, which is why we have created this form which you can fill out and ensure your views are represented.

Helping us do this and our iSandwell Lab content partner for this month is SCIPS, an independent charitable organisation that offers support and expertise to TRAs (Tenant and Residents' Associations), community groups and individual living in Sandwell, you can learn more about them here, www.scips.org.uk.

So, here is a real opportunity to tell decision makers what is really important to you and the people you support - we’ll also release all of the data with personal excluded so you can use it as evidence for funding and writing tenders.

We’ll be releasing a range of content via the usual place, our Twitter, which you can find here @iSandwellHQ.

Just in case you missed it, here is the link to the form again: https://goo.gl/forms/VWQDh1n5MO1Xtllw2

Nathan Coyle

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Digital Champion Blog: Social media affecting body image

Last month, Leila Malik, iSandwell Digital Champion for young persons health issues ran an open data campaign looking at what are the biggest issues young people face in Sandwell. Social media affecting body image can out on top by big margin.

In this blog Leila who is herself a young person based in Tipton, reflects on this issue. You can share your views on Twitter with the #iSandwell hashtag.

Social media plays a big part in our lives. It is such a great, easy way to connect with friends via electronic communication as well as keeping up to date with your favourite celebrities – it has many benefits with so little effort from the comfort of wherever you are. So, with having many benefits, can social media still be bad for us?

Research suggests that we are sacrificing too much of our mental-health, well-being as well as our time on social media, such a communication tool could be regarded as an ‘abstract presence’, which could potentially metaphorically be presenting the ‘effects of a drug’.

Social media can bring about countless different feelings and be the cause of several issues, for instance, depression, eating disorders as well as other health issues. An endless stream of stress is often resembled as an ‘aftereffect’ of social media.  This is exposed through unimportant thoughts, such as how many likes you have on your media handle on a photo as compared to your friends. Although this type of reinforcement can build self-confidence, it can also destroy it!

Social media not only exposes young people to certain beauty standards but also develops different ways of perceiving what ‘beauty’ is. This way of perception contributes to the development of many health issues, whether it is depression or eating disorders and to begin disliking yourself aiming to be like others on social media. Research suggests that this does not just affect females but men too. The advertising of models being pretty, charming and ‘thin’ brings a sense of dissatisfaction to people with their own bodies -they are sending across the wrong message regarding what is acceptable and what is not.

There has always been a notion that models are a certain way such as slim and eye catching and has always been shown in the media. Before the progression of social media, television advertisements and billboard adverts were the way forward which meant that it was to promote products but as people are on their phone’s constantly for many hours a day, these images of being perfect and acceptable are popping up every other minute - this is a constant reminder of how todays idea of acceptable is. This is leading young people to damage their health by going on extreme diets to lose weight in order to look ‘good’. This also affects people mentally as they are irritable and desperate to fit in todays generation causing negative affects on the mind leading to depression.

Overall, Social media has many benefits, but does, indeed, have its drawbacks. Research clearly suggests that people who are on social media for more time are damaging their health both physically and mentally and to tackle this issue, people need to be educated on how social media use could be making them feel about themselves as social media use is correlated with depression, stress and anxiety.

By Leila Malik - iSandwell Digital Champion for Young Persons Health Issues

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Data report: What are the issues that affect young people’s health?

What are the issues that affect young people’s health?

This month’s theme was to look at young people’s health and see what people are thinking what they think is affecting young people’s health today and how these issues can be tackled.

This report is based on information from an online survey which was circulated for people who live in Sandwell.  This was put out to anyone in Sandwell whether it was a young person, a parent/guardian, someone who works with young people or any health organisations.

The survey carried out questions in regards to some of our biggest health issues, child obesity, mental health and alcohol according to the Sandwell Trends and also asked what people think which 3 issues they feel can affect a young person. The options were from the following issues;

Child obesity

Social media affecting body image

Eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia

Bullying (including online)

Sexual Health

Smoking

Mental health issues

Deprivation

Violence

Other

The findings from this report were that 81 people in Sandwell completed and submitted this survey. From this 81 people,

64 were young people

8 worked with young people

6 were a parent

1 was an organisation who supports groups in Sandwell

1 was a guardian

1 was a pharmacist

The illustration below shows the statistics of the survey showing what people thought which issues were most concerning - Social media affecting body image topped people’s concerns by being one out of three choices selected by 54 people. This shows that social media has a lot of power on young people and has a huge effect on young people’s body confidence.

You can see from the illustration - mental health issues, deprivation and bullying were also selected by many people.

In regards to Sandwell Trends the biggest health concerns were; mental health issues, alcohol and obesity  – people completing this survey were also asked to give their opinions on how these issues could be addressed to result in minimising these problems.

Each person completing the survey suggested that for all the issues stated, workshops/interactive and discrete learning and education could help young people address these issues and fast food outlets should introduce healthier menus with low fat products. Other suggestions for these issues were that people would want someone that has lived these experiences to help others overcome or be in that similar position, e.g. a youth group where people from the youth community could approach a youth service for help and advice.

Below are some quotes from the survey in regards to these issues;

Mental health – how do you feel as a community we could raise awareness to this?

“As a community, we could educate children in high schools about signs and symptoms of mental health problems.

We could encourage children to talk about their problems with their parents/guardians so children can get help early. Also, we could sign-post parents to get help from organisations that specialise in mental health and also pharmacies – this would help make children aware of the type of help available, if they need it.” –

Zain, Pharmacist (Young Person).

“Raise awareness of what mental health actually is - I think a lot of young people like to say they have mental health. But also to build their self-confidence as social media plays a big part in their mental health and looking and feeling a certain way to match the celebrities that they see online.” –

Luke, ( Working with young people).

How do you feel we can better equip young people of dangers of alcohol?

“Create more awareness with young people around safe limits of alcohol use. More opportunities for them to have safe places to meet and socialize with their peers, e.g. open access youth provision or youth cafes.” –

Tariq, (Working with young people)

“Educate parents on the importance of speaking to their children about the risks of alcohol, understanding how their behaviour has an impact on young people's views towards alcohol.  Providing a greater range of free activities for young people to engage in” –

Lydia, (Working with young people)

In terms of child obesity – what work would you like to see undertaken to solve this issue?

“Ban junk food adverts.” –

Gerry, (Parent)

“Less advertised takeaways.” –

Sam, (Young person)

“Physical activity clubs.” –

Ayah, (Guardian)

“I think things like community fridges, community gardens and spice banks that have easy to follow recipes with cheap ingredients would be great.

But it does all come to education, things like frozen burgers, huge bags of chicken nuggets and etc are so cheap, people who live on a budget will gravitate towards that naturally - maybe if we did recipe cards outlaying how we can make family meals with cheap fresh ingredients along with workshops, it could be a start. It can't come across like we are telling people what to do or how to live their lives, the community needs to set the agenda.” –

Nathan, (Working with young people)

The aim of this survey was to see which health issues are more concerning which affect young people and social media affecting body image was at the top of the list for people’s concerns along with many other issues following.

A range of different people took part in this survey in different capacities whether it was a young person, parent, people who work with young people and other organisations. Reflecting from the survey participants quotes, it shows that they all felt that addressing the issue by educating young people and parents is key, whether it is through school workshops, youth services, discrete learning and visual aids such as posters.  

Addressing health issue’s is very important in order to tackle them – parents, schools, youth services and health organisations all play a part in reducing health issues which means to start tackling these issues, there needs to be a greater focus on prevention through early identification and intervention.

By Leila Malik - iSandwell Digital Champion for Young Persons Health Issues

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iSandwell Lab: Do only visible signs indicate health issues?

This month's iSandwell Lab theme we are looking into how we can get the community to use and better understand open data. Digital Champion, Leila Malik from Tipton has created a project that is collecting data on youth health issues to use as data journalism and influence policy in Sandwell - here she is to tell you more.

Why do people, generally, identify health issues only if it is physically perceived?

You’ve all heard of the saying,

“don’t judge a book by its cover”

If someone looks alright from the outside does not always mean they are okay from the inside.

Mental health & physical health both reflect on a person’s well-being - the two should not be thought of as separate.

Poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of developing mental health problems, similarly, poor mental health can negatively impact on physical health.

Mental health issues can be anything that affects the mind state resulting to becoming unhappy and unwell - it is all about what we think, feel and behave and this is the makeup of one-self.

One of the biggest challenges with poor mental health is removing the stigma that surrounds it.

Many do not hesitate seeking help for a physical problem yet so many ignore emotional and mental health issues so why is that?

Is it that we feel too embarrassed, confused or scared to talk about it?                

If yes, WHY?  

If you had a broken arm, you’d seek help so why is mental issue any different?

There are a lot of issues that affect young people’s health such as; eating disorders, child obesity, bullying, social media obsession, alcohol/drugs and many more. This can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and could also lead to depression. Therefore, it is very important to talk about every nook and cranny to whoever you feel comfortable with. It could be a family member, a friend or even a counselor, it can be anyone – Just don’t keep it all bottled up!

Although public awareness and understanding of health issues have improved dramatically in recent years, there are still people scared to speak out because of what others think.

So, what do you think can help towards increasing awareness?

To spread awareness, I feel that mental health should be added to the national curriculum and introduced to primary schools followed by in-depth at secondary schools. By this being a topic addressed and spoken about will give individuals the confidence to approach for help instead of shying away from talking about any health issues they might have.

By expressing yourself and your feelings you will have a better mindset as physical and psychological impacts can be linked and by addressing these matters could avoid any distress.               

Eliminating any health issues results to a happier you!

We would love to get your views on board, so please take a few moments out and complete the survey below to help us understand what is affecting young people and any opinions on how it can be addressed – Thank you!

Link: https://goo.gl/forms/0g8DWD4m82rGKp123

Leila Malik, Digital Champion for Young Persons Health

[isandwell-blog]

November iSandwell Lab Findings - Open Data and Sandwell Communities

On Monday 19th November we held the first iSandwell Lab meeting at Sandwell Council House, these are regular get-togethers where local people talk about social issues, what we can do to solve them and influence how the wider iSandwell project works.

Every 4 weeks we will be working on themes, some of these coming up in the future will be Universal Credit, food poverty and youth participation but for the first theme we are looking at how we get more of Sandwell using open data to add value to their work.

We feel open data is a great resource that can be utilised by the community and we need to discover how it is best to translate the practice.

One of the problems with open data and even the wider social innovation agenda is that the language around its is not very inclusive, it is sometimes seen as an academic practice and I am sure we have all encountered people who just talk in buzzwords, right?

But do not let that put you off, open data can help you with everything funding, gather evidence for writing great reports and articles to even measuring the impact of your work in the community.

So in the interest of open data, here are finds from the last iSandwell Lab.

We talked about what kind of data would be useful to the room and they said information on local demographics such as ethnicity, age and communities, other organisations sharing best practice, mapping, funding information, employment, sporting activities and health data

When we looked into what is important to us and in regards to data, participants stated:

What we can use locally

How we can shine sharing data in a positive light as sharing information is seen as something scary to organisations

Examples of data being used well, especially in Sandwell and the West Midlands

Evidence of cohesiveness

Using data to improve things

Sandwell Council working closely with communities and sharing evidence

More learning, how to connect data we already hold and how to convert it to open data

On how we can encourage more third sector to use open data in Sandwell, people stated:

Looking at the language around the process, not speaking in jargon

Using video media such as how to guides and vlogs

Making it user friendly

Collecting people’s views on why it’s important from a Sandwell narrative

Sandwell Council senior management getting involved in the wider iSandwell agenda and attending meetings with community around digital policy

It is easy to access

Helping more Sandwell organisations to share their data

A workshop showcasing examples of open data being used at community level

Social media campaigns

Case studies of open data being used such as guest blogs from professionals

Sandwell Council and organisations sharing data with each other

The room also discussed how it would be useful to have a community owned open data platform in which will share data between partners, hold Council data and have the functionality to upload their own data such as reports and community surveys.

Finally, we asked what kind of content how iSandwell Digital Champions could create on open data:

Vox pops on open data and video guides

Find case studies and examples

Articles on community organisation skill gaps

You can still feed into the open data conversation by filling out t the Google Form link here.

For more information on iSandwell, visit www.isandwell.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @iSandwellHQ.

[isandwell-blog]

iSandwell Lab: Improving your neighbourhood with the power of Open Data

Data Brew have partnered up with iSandwell for their monthly theme and this October we are discussing how digital can improve our neighbourhoods in Sandwell. We started a series of workshops in July where we looked at the world of Open Data and presented a real beginner’s guide to what it all means and what you can do with it, and kicked it all off with our first session right here in Sandwell.

Photos from Data Brew’s Open Data workshop at Sandwell Council

Our aim is very much a case of utilising Open Data to enable and encourage conversation between community stakeholders - just normal people, social activists, community and voluntary organisations who all have a say in how their neighbourhood is affected - and then creating projects with a view to resolving issues that affect the neighbourhoods and communities they work with.

We feel we have a duty to ensure that not only is Open Data accessible to people but they also understand it can be used to create change.

So, let’s develop a scenario. Imagine you keep hearing from residents on your street about a few break-in’s that have happened recently, or some car theft in the surrounding areas. You want to do something about it but don’t know where to start. Did you know that you can log on to www.police.uk and search your local area for crime statistics? These statistics are open data, and freely available to everyone, to use and republish as they wish, completely free from restrictions. You can obtain statistics for your street and surrounding areas and take these to your local Neighbourhood Watch group, or go direct to Sandwell council to discuss what can be done about it.

Opening up a dialogue is the first step, and having the data to hand, in hard evidence, gives you the power to create change. It gives you control in creating a difference for your neighbourhood, and improving Sandwell for social good.

Let’s also imagine you are a budding journalist and social activist based in Sandwell. You like writing about your neighbourhood but you also notice there are problem areas and want to address these and get people talking, maybe even get people doing something about it. You can look at various portals of Open Data, the UK Government’s data.gov.uk site houses data from local to national institutions, but especially pertinent to Sandwell is the Sandwell Trends website, which has a wealth of information and statistics on key areas like population, deprivation, diversity, housing, health and education. You may be seeing some issues with deprivation in Sandwell and here you will find maps and charts and even contextual data to back up your claims, and really drill down into the problem areas. You can then use your findings to write an article or a blog, presenting your findings as you wish.

So, if you aren’t already, get set up on social media, primarily Twitter, and start researching local community organisations, voluntary organisations and other local activists and start sharing the blog around, and getting your thoughts out there. See if you can find a common goal.

Get your article noticed. And what better way to get noticed than with solid evidence as the foundation of your article. Evidence that is solely rooted in freely available data. You could potentially team up with a local organisation and provide your findings as part of a bid application to get funding to directly help alleviate the issues you are highlighting.

You could even encourage your neighbours to capture their own data, which really is as simple as collecting surveys on a single issue. This is great for community involvement, and can have a real impact on regional decisions.

Anything is possible with the right foundation.

By Gareth Davies - Head of Data Brew

@gi_davies @letsdatabrew

[isandwell-blog]

Black Country Click Start, our work in Sandwell

I’m one of three Support Workers with Black Country Housing Group.  The project I’m working on is called Black Country Click Start and it’s aimed at helping people aged 18 – 64 make the most of the internet to manage their money and find training, volunteering or employment opportunities.  We give people the skills to be able to get online confidently and safely and help people to set up an email address and then learn how to send and receive emails.  We also enable people to apply for job and volunteering opportunities online, compare the prices of products online, look at budgeting and learn how to watch TV programmes online.

We have referrals from different agencies but unsurprisingly, many are from jobcentres and we tend to meet our customers in community venues such as libraries.  Many of the customers referred to us have been in their late 40’s or older, they haven’t used a computer before and don’t want to use a computer. They are adamant that they don’t want to entertain the idea of internet banking or buying things online.  We’ve found that by chatting to customers to find out their hobbies and interests before commencing any training and then incorporating elements from their hobbies and interests ensures that the training sessions are more relevant and interesting.

We’ve been receiving referrals from jobcentres in the Dudley borough for a number of months.  The reason for these referrals is that Dudley is a ‘full service’ area for Universal Credit. For those who are unaware, Universal Credit is the benefit to replace six previous benefits namely;

·         income-based Jobseekers Allowance

·         income-related Employment and Support Allowance

·         Income Support

·         Working Tax Credits

·         Child Tax Credits

·         Housing Benefit

This benefit will be paid monthly e.g. on the same date every month, 12 equal monthly payments per year.  All new claimants (single people and families with two or less children) will now automatically receive Universal Credit.  This benefit is managed via an online account whereby claimants have to respond to tasks and report any change of circumstances in their ‘journal’. The account can be accessed on any internet enabled device.  Housing benefit is being replaced with ���Housing element’ and this is paid to ALL tenants, be they private or social housing (council and housing association) tenants and it will be the responsibility of the tenant to pay/redirect the Housing element back to the landlord.  Claimants have to wait for a minimum of 5 weeks to receive their first Universal Credit payment unless they apply or a Short term advance (loan).

The jobcentres are referring customers to us that don’t have the skills or the confidence to get online.

The big issue facing many Sandwell residents is the introduction of Universal Credit from 14th November when our four jobcentres go ‘full service’.  Not everyone will be immediately moved over to Universal Credit.  New claimants with two or more children will (from 14th November) go immediately onto Universal Credit and so will families where there’s a change in circumstances.  Others will be ‘migrated’ over a phased introduction.  All claimants have to manage their Universal Credit account online and this raises a number of key issues;

·         budgeting for a month rather than fortnightly

·         having IT skills

·         having internet access

There could be a substantial impact on the borough.  All community groups will need to be aware of the move to full service from November as a potential lack of finances for claimants could impact on the whole of the borough.  The National Audit Office has reported that “In 2017, around one quarter (113,000) of new claims were not paid in full on time. Late payments were delayed on average by four weeks, but from January to October 2017, 40% of those affected by late payments waited in total around 11 weeks or more, and 20% waited almost five months. Despite improvements in payment timeliness, in March 2018 21% of new claimants did not receive their full entitlement on time with 13% receiving no payment on time.”  The most obvious sign of problems occurring following the introduction of Universal Credit may be an increase in demand for food banks

Very few people we see can afford to have a mobile phone with a data package included.  This will force people towards and increase demand for community venues that have internet access available to the public e.g. libraries.  Library staff are likely to faced increased demand to support customers struggling to access their Universal Credit account.

As Digital Champions, we’re aware of the benefits of digital inclusion such as;

·         financial - access to cheaper online energy tariffs, able to shop around for the best deals on products

·         social – keep in contact with friends and family near and far

We’re likely to be in work or have a regular income to be able to pay for internet access.  We’re likely to have one or more internet-enabled smartphones tablets, lap tops and computers which may be provided by our employer or which we pay for ourselves.  In my experience from the customers I see, many customers in receipt of benefits are unlikely to have an internet connection at home and very few have a data package on their mobile.  They are therefore facing digital and financial exclusion and likely to incur the poverty premium which costs about £490 per year.

For me, in an ‘ideal Sandwell’, for everyone to be digitally aware, there would have to be a free wi-fi network across the borough. If the largest organisations in Sandwell (or benevolent telecoms providers!) could work together to fund a borough-wide wi-fi network, only then can everyone have internet access.  Not everyone will initially have the skills to access the internet for a variety of reasons (functional skills, English as a second language, etc) but at least the physical/financial barrier of wi-fi access will have been removed.

Black Country Click Start seeks to provide wraparound support to improve digital and financial inclusion. The project is funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund, and is jointly led by whg and Accord in partnership with 6 local organisations across the Black Country. If  you need help or would like to find out about the programme, please contact the Black Country Housing Group team on 0121 561 7935 or email bbo-clickstart@bchg.co.uk. You can also contact our Financial and Digital Support Workers: Kevin (0121 289 3932/07969 559155), Nasser (07794 275047) or Chris (07969 559098) for more information.

[isandwell-blog]

iSandwell is back!

Dresden where Nathan was based.

After a two month break iSandwell is back in operation, but where have we been?

Well our Nathan who is the person behind building the project has been in Germany working with the German Government on how citizens can influence digital policy in The Federal State of Saxony, a bit like what we are doing here in Sandwell.

The Saxony Landtag which is the Government building of Saxony

So what have we got planned? There are lots to tell you about such as the launch of our iSandwell Lab which is a place you can share ideas and form projects alongside a host of campaigns and projects - we’ll tell you more about these in seperate blogs.

In the meantime we are looking for bloggers who are passionate about social change in Sandwell, if that is you email us on hello@isandwell.org.uk or reach out to us on Twitter.

Now it’s back to Black Country spake ay it instead of German, we’ll see you out in the 6 towns.

[isandwell-blog]

Digital Champion blog: Do it the deaf way

When seeing the works of iSandwell and the passion it shows for digital inclusion, it got me thinking about my own experiences with certain types of citizens within the area and whether they felt they had digital inclusion.  I’m referring to that of sensory loss and more specifically the Deaf population of Sandwell that at last check numbers at 19941 Deaf people, with around 283 culturally Deaf BSL users, which adds the extra barrier of communication to the mix. Researching further I found that according to a report created in 2014 less than 1% of the total charity investment into medical research was on hearing loss research that adds up too around £1.11 per person affected, which suggests that there is a very low focus on the deaf population in relation to local government funding.

When considering all the problems disabled people find in day to day life, it could be easy to get lost in the idea of the physical world and accessibility around that, you often consider that a blind person could struggle to cross the road, wheelchair user being unable to access a building or even a deaf person struggling to have a simple conversation with a shop keeper. Although these are often very real problems the new era problem is technology and the lack of access to it. The world has now evolved and the use of new media rules the world and disabled people are very much getting left behind, and a lot the time this is based merely on assumptions and digital gestures that are unfounded.

Some time ago, I supported a deaf person to access a well-known internet and television channel provider, this person was having issues with the service and I often went into these situations with the mantra do it the deaf way, so we searched online for either a live chat button or a video call, the website claimed to have both services, the live chat was disabled and down for maintenance ( I had been advised this had been like this for months) and the video call had a link to nowhere. As a deaf person you could consider that all your options to contact that provider is now cut off. These companies are often happy and efficient when it comes to signing people up but will often not care once the contract is signed.

This is just a mere finger print when considering the issue that arise from a deaf person’s standpoint in relation to digital. I often find also that a little can go a long way in relating to people and deaf culture, I have seen examples of deaf people paying more for a service purely on the basis that the customer service is slightly more deaf friendly than the rest, this goes for more than just general service, I have known a local shop owner learn a few phrases in BSL and this has meant the local deaf have flocked to go to this shop and use his service over others. This asks a bigger question; Organisations claim to be doing enough, but with the idea that a little goes a long way are these organisations really doing enough in the right areas.

With the mantra ‘Do it the Deaf’ awareness of how Deaf culture relates to digital inclusion needs and should be explored further. Its often easy to consider a problem when you have full access to all senses and physical abilities most people take for granted, take some of these away how do you address the same problems. That’s a question I would very much like to ask.

Michael Dunlop

Michael has also been collecting consultation with the deaf community in Sandwell as part of a project for iSandwell, we’ll be releasing this project soon so keep your eyes peeled.

[isandwell-blog]

Digital Champion Blog: Shouldn’t we be providing pupils with the skills to adapt to an ever changing future?

I’d like to give my thoughts on how our children are using technology but not taking computing as a lesson in school.  At the outset here, I need to stress that I am not moaning about teachers!  I have friends who are teachers and I’ve been into secondary schools to deliver financial capability sessions for a day at a time, I know how hard it is for teachers.

Computing in schools is a difficult issue.  A recent BBC news item  said that in 2017, just over half of all schools in England offered the subject at GCSE level - smaller schools and those in the independent sector were less likely to give pupils the chance to study computer science.  But overall, only 12% of all students choose to take the subject. It is also proving less attractive to girls than ICT - they make up only 20% of GCSE entrants.  See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44518612

Most adults see ‘digital’.  We’ve had traditional banking, going into a branch, writing cheques, taking cash out of the hole in the wall.  We’ve gone shopping to the supermarket every Friday, fighting for car park spaces, pushing the trolley round the aisles looking for bargains.  We’ve read newspapers looking for jobs and houses.  We’ve found our partners by going out to pubs and clubs.  We’ve gone to the council office to pay the rent and Council Tax.

We’ve seen changes so that now, we don’t have to go to the bank, we can bank ‘online’.  We can shop ‘online’.  We can find jobs, houses and love ‘online’.  We can see what ‘digital’ has done for us.  However, a large number of adults think that although they can use WhatsApp, they don’t have digital skills or can use a computer.

My kids don’t see digital, they see Snapchat and sometimes Instagram but they don’t see ‘digital’ as a thing. They think ‘keeping in touch’, usually via Snapchat because it’s the done thing.  They’re aware of wifi and mobile data, especially when it’s not there but don’t treat anything as digital.  It’s always been there for them so it’s a different point of view they have compared to me who they would see as a dinosaur in a techie world. Designing apps or characters in school is a bit of fun but computing is generally boring.

My youngest daughter is in year 7 (or the first year of secondary school for us older people).  She comes home and tells me how much she likes History and English but never talks about computing other than to say it’s boring.  Our oldest daughter has just completed her O Levels.  She likes Art and History but again found computing to be dull.  However, she did use Youtube to help with revision, finding videos that gave tips and hints for answering exam questions.

The teachers have a really difficult job adapting to frequent curriculum changes made in all subjects. The ideas for the school curriculum seem to be created by ‘academics’ of a certain age who seem to be completely out of touch with young people in regard to IT.  The content of computing classes doesn’t appear relevant to young people so it’s no surprise that computing pretty much fails to engage learners.  Even if some changes are made to an IT curriculum, by the time the content for the curriculum has been approved and introduced, IT has developed and moved on.

Even the most non-IT person in the world is aware of the influence of social media on society.  Kim Kardashian has 60m followers on Twitter, a platform that the majority of school pupils don’t use.  She has 110m followers on Instagram and at one point she had over 200m followers on Snapchat.  I’m not saying for one moment that we should teach children about Kim Kardashian and not necessarily about social media either. Social media is developing so rapidly, it’s difficult for anyone to predict with any certainty what’s likely to happen next.  However, it’s clear that social media IS relevant to young people.

Even the most enthusiastic IT teachers are unlikely to be able to incorporate social media into studies within school because the IT manager is unlikely to allow staff and learners to access social media sites via devices connected to the school network.  

A school curriculum has to provide learners with the skills and knowledge to prepare them for life as an adult.  There will always be the need for traditional subjects.  However, that’s not to say that it can’t be delivered using the latest in technology.  IT in school faces many challenges.  Devices can be quickly outdated and are costly to replace.  School IT managers need to be right up to date with the technology kids are using, not just what they learned from University or CISCO courses.

If you really want to engage learners at school, the content of the curriculum has to be engaging and it will be if it’s relevant to the lives of learners.

Children and young people are watching Netflix and Youtube not BBC or ITV.  They’re streaming music via Spotify and Apple Music not buying CDs.  They use Snapchat not Facebook. To them, that isn’t digital, it’s just the way things are.  Advances in technology will create things we haven’t even thought of at this moment in time but will part of everyday life within 20 years.  These sort of things aren’t going to happen by sticking to common, every day methods of thinking.  They’ll be created by the likes of up and coming entrepreneurs who won’t be confined to or constrained by convention.

Just as traditional industries have passed into history, along with shops and businesses that fail to adapt to modern times and customers needs, so schools and exam boards need to adapt so that the school curriculum isn’t teaching children in the same way that it always has.  Most children want to learn.  They need to learn how to be a person who contributes to their local and global community and the curriculum of all subjects should help to address this.  With IT in particular, unless parts of the curriculum can be regularly updated each year to take account of developments, many children will fail to see the relevance to their own lives and will view it with the same potential disdain as other traditional school subjects.

Do we want our schools to be a way of delivering content for academic subjects which children can then ‘regurgitate’ in an exam and thus provide a method for grading schools against one another?  Shouldn’t we be providing pupils with the skills to adapt to an ever changing future? Shouldn’t we be engaging pupils, challenging them to think about the world around them, how we live now and the dangers facing the planet, looking for the way forward to live together in harmony with other people and more importantly, in harmony with the planet?  How do we develop and create the technologies to help us to do that?

By Kevin Priest Financial and Digital Inclusion Support Worker

[isandwell-blog]

iSandwell Accelerator blog: Reflections from Datatools Sandwell

As part of the iSandwell Accelerator we worked with Inside Outcomes to create a toolkit to help Sandwell community organisations manage their own data. The www.datatools-sandwell.org.uk site has developed, over the last few months, into a guide for how to look after data legally and safely. 

Darren of Inside Outcomes running a Datatools Sandwell workshop in Oldbury

As well as creating the website Inside Outcomes held a number of face to face workshops around Sandwell. Coinciding with new data protection regulations this proved to be an excellent opportunity to talk to local organisations about the things they were most worried about. 

Sessions took place in Oldbury, West Bromwich and Wednesbury; in order to try and give people a chance to have a discussion about how they manage data each of the workshops was deigned to be a limited number of people. This gave people a chance to share their experience with other organisations in similar positions. 

Even with limited numbers over forty people came along to the sessions representing nearly thirty organisations. Such a wide range of organisations provided a great opportunity to take back real-world problems that then created more content for the website. 

Because people were concerned about how to create a data protection policies and consent statements, for their organisations, Inside Outcomes were able to draft sample polices and make them available, under an open licensee, on the Datatools Sandwell site.

A lot of the work in the sessions was an attempt to look beyond the technical ways to collect data and the legal reasons why people collect data. Using the new data protection regulations, the sessions provided an opportunity to reflect on how organisations are really just borrowing data from the people they support and as such owe those individuals an explanation for what they will do with data.

One of the main messages that came through from the different workshops was a tension between the sort of information that people who deliver services want to collect and the information they are required to collect from funders. Many of the organisations who came along were not completely sure why they collected much of the information that was required in contracts. 

Coming at a time where organisations are much more accountable for the information they collect it became apparent that there is a need for a wider discussion in Sandwell about the reasons behind data collection. Equally the new data protection regulations provide an opportunity for Sandwell, as whole, to look at how it uses data, to manage contracts, but also to get better informed about its communities. 

The workshops also looked at opportunities that exist for Sandwell organisations to create and use open data in the way they support people. The people that came to the workshops demonstrated that there is a vast knowledge of the diverse communities that live across the six towns. The number of people that came to the workshops demonstrated that there is also enthusiasm for turning that knowledge into data that people can work with.