Latest News
Updated: 4th September 2009
DIGBETH TRUST ‘BROADCAST’ BLOG SELECTED AS FINALIST IN THE BCS & COMPUTING UK IT INDUSTRY AWARDS 2009
The Digbeth Trust Broadcast blog has been selected as a Finalist in the BCS & Computing UK IT Industry Awards 2009 - Project Excellence for the "Community Project of the Year Award" at this years Computing Awards 2009. The Trust’s Chair, Eddie Currall said: “We are delighted with the selection and say a big thank you to all current and former Trust staff who have helped us to develop the Broadcast into such a useful communication tool for and between voluntary and community organisations in Birmingham and the West Midlands”.
The Broadcast provides information and links about news, funding and events of interest to VCOs in an online blog / web pages with a manageable online interface where Digbeth Trust staff manage outgoing material, view/manage subscriptions, and can see a list of signed-up subscribers with an automatic archive of posts. Subscription is free and can be done at www.digbethtrust.org.uk/Broadcast.html
Described as the 'Oscars of the IT Industry', the Computing Awards for Excellence are the most sought after awards in the industry and reward people for that very word, 'excellence'.
The Trust’s entry in the BCS & Computing UK IT Industry Awards will now go forward to a Final Judging Panel on Friday 2nd October at The Madejski Stadium, Reading, where the judges will determine a winner and two medallists in each category.
The other projects shortlisted in the Community Project of the Year Award category are:
Strategic Systems Solutions - Advanced IT apprenticeship programme
Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust - Community midwives: Meditech on the move
Bradford Chronic Kidney Disease Electronic Advisory Service - E-consultations
Yorkshire Air Ambulance Service / SICL - Cisco WAN and unified communications
Metropolitan Police - Crime mapping
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council - Integrated Children’s System
Volunteer Action – Drives system
Lincolnshire County Council - Community web sites
Comic Relief / Carrenza - Red Nose Day 2009
Further details:
Kate Hazlewood, The Digbeth Trust
0121 753 0706
katehazlewood@digbethtrust.org.uk
Updated: 5th June 2009
Capacitybuilders Modernisation Grants (Digbeth Trust Local Delivery Agent Birmingham and Solihull) and Barrow Cadbury Trust grants event
This programme closed for applications on Friday 17th July 2009.To view more information on the programme Click here.
This free event was held on 2nd June 2009 with the aim of exploring the impact of the economic downturn and signpost organisations to useful resources and funding, including Capacitybuilders Modernisation Fund Grants Programme. The event included a presentation focussed on marketing and communications during the recession, given by Anthony Howell, Marketing Director of Mediascope.
The event was also an opportunity for groups to hear from and speak to Barrow Cadbury Trust staff about their new grant programmes for small and medium sized community organisations in Birmingham and the Black Country.
If you were unable to attend the event, you can view more information about what was covered by clicking here.
Updated: 6th April 2009
Birmingham Strong Communities Partnership (BSCP) Launched
The
Digbeth Trust, B.STRONG and Birmingham New Communities Network launched the Birmingham Strong Communities Partnership on 6th March 2009 as part of an Improving Reach programme funded by Capacitybuilders.
To view the Capacitybuilders press release, please click here.
Updated: 4th February 2009
Digbeth Trust celebrates Big Lottery BASIS Grant
The Digbeth Trust is delighted to announce that it is one of the two voluntary organisations in Birmingham to have been awarded a 3-year grant under the WM7 theme (projects that will increase infrastructure services for the full range of small VCS organisations) of the BIG Lottery BASIS programme.
The aim of the project to be called ‘Platform’ is to increase access by small VCS organisations across Birmingham as a whole to infrastructure support by building on the platform of their existing strengths and capacity.
The project will formalise links with existing basic capacity building service providers with the aim of developing a seamless pattern of service for smaller groups.
Funding will provide 6 part-time Development Workers based with 6 of the project partners (The Digbeth Trust, Birmingham New Communities Network, Women Acting in Today’s Society (WAITS), Disability Support Group, Birmingham Association of Neighbourhood Forums and Community Network for Birmingham).
The project will also provide training for people involved in small groups to become community researchers and consultants through the Centre for Community Research and the Chamberlain Forum. Finally there will be an innovative strand in the project to share good practice from community of place-focussed working (e.g. the Guide Neighbourhoods).
For the full press release please click here.
Updated: 7th January 2009
Digbeth Trust Information Broadcasts - New Format
The Digbeth Trust has redeveloped the format of our email broadcasts and will be launching these new features in February 2009. Existing subscribers will need to sign-up to receive them.To read more and sign-up for the service Click here.
Receiving our broadcasts
Our new broadcasts can be viewed or received in several ways:
- Sign-up for email update - Organisations or individuals can sign-up to receive our bulletins by email using a very simple two-stage authentication process.
- Sign-up using an RSS feed reader - Subscribe by RSS Feed (no email required - updates direct to a PC browser or news reader). Increasingly popular with many web users.
- Visit the blog pages at any time
- Anyone can view all of our broadcast postings, including archives conveniently grouped into subject areas, by visiting the blog. They can also share any of our posts via email or through several well-known social networking sites, and see news and resources from other agencies or partners that we work with.
- Translation
- The blog can be easily translated to several different languages with a few clicks of the PC mouse
- Subscriptions - Email recipients can un-subscribe and re-subscribe themselves.
Updated: 1st August 2008
Community Asset Transfer Resource for Sport England - forthcoming launch
The CD-rom Community Asset Transfer resource produced by The Digbeth Trust for Sport England is due to be launched at a regional performance improvement conference at the beginning of October. The resource has received positive feedback from the community groups who piloted it, Sport England and other public authorities interested in empowering communities and voluntary organisations by transferring the ownership and/or management of public assets to them.
To access the resource click here.
Updated: 30th July 2008
Independent Evaluation of The Digbeth Trust's work 2004-08
The Digbeth Trust has commissioned an independent evaluation organisation (MEL Research) to carry out a review of the impact of the Trust's work over the past 4 years. This is one of the Trust's regular periodic reviews where we seek to measure the longterm impact of our work to support groups and communities.
The evaluators are currently making contact with a representative sample of our users and stakeholders to seek their feedback on the Trust. If you are approached to participate please do so - the Trust needs your views to help us improve the services we offer.
As part of our commitment to transparency please click here for the evaluator's report.
Updated: 17th June 2008
Improving Reach - Grant Award to The Digbeth Trust and Two of its Partners
Capacitybuilders has just announced that it has awarded The Digbeth Trust and two partner organisations a grant of £300,000 over 3 years under its Improving Reach programme.
The grant will enable the Trust and its two partners in the project - Birmingham New Communities Network and B:STRONG - to improve the range of capacity building services to small groups in Birmingham, particularly targeting BME, migrant and refugee communities.
This is the only grant awarded in this round for work in Birmingham - and is one of only 6 grants made in the West Midlands as a whole.
Updated: 12th May 2008
Neighbourhood Performance Reward Grant - Independent Evaluation Published
During 2007/08 The Digbeth Trust was commissioned by Birmingham Community Safety Partnership to develop and manage a new way of supporting communities to tackle community safety issues in their neighbourhood. The independent evaluation of the Neighbourhood Performance Reward Grant Programme has just been published and found "the work of The Digbeth Trust as the 'broker' or intermediary organisation responsible for developing and delivering the NPRG programme on behalf of the City has been outstanding." (csd Consulting).
The Trust is currently being commissioned to develop and manage NPRG 2.
For more information about the Neighbourhood Performance Reward Grant Programme and other similar capacity building initiatives, please contact the Trust.
Updated: 7th April 2008
The Digbeth Trust's Business Plan 2008/09
The Trust has just published its new business plan for this financial year. You can download a copy from our Publications and Resources page or by clicking here.
Updated 13th February 2008
Neighbourhood Performance Reward Grant - pilots success
The groups participating in the pilot Neighbourhood Performance Reward Grant programme, managed by The Digbeth Trust for the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, have just been notified of the outcome of their bids.
Following the succesful completion of their initial projects, three of the groups have been awarded their full Reward Grant of £15,000 each. The fourth group has been awarded additional funding to continue activities it began under the NPRG programme. You can hear directly about each of the groups by viewing films of them talking about their NPRG projects on Youtube - follow the links below:
Kingstanding Neighbourhood Forum
Sparkbrook Neighbourhood Forum
Washwood Heath Youth & Community Network / Comm:pact