Could my Community host a Broadplace?

The Switch on Shropshire project has now finished and we are no longer funding new Broadplaces.

However if you are looking at setting up community ICT facilities, we would be happy to share our experiences and knowledge. Visit www.shropshirebroadplaces.org.uk for our contact details and information about existing Broadplaces.



More information about how we set up the Broadplaces is below:


Listed below are the sort of questions the Community ICT Advisor asked when invited to meet people from the community.

Is your Community located in the eligible area? Is your building suitable? Is your Community supporting this? Sustainability

Is your Community located in the eligible area?

	Rural Regeneration Zone map of eligible areas here Are you in the RRZ eligible area? If not, then Switch on Shropshire cannot support you. However, please get in touch with us and we will still try to provide you with information about alternative funding sources.
	Objective 2 Eligibility Checker Check your postcode to find out whether your Community is in the Objective 2 European Funding area

Is your building suitable?

• Could you host some computers or laptops without compromising your existing activities?
• Is your building located centrally or already well used, making it likely that people will want to visit and use the Broadplace facility?
• Is your local management committee prepared to be flexible about the opening of the building to facilitate access to the Broadplace?
• Is there flexible access to the whole building if there are a number of events happening at the same time?

Is your Community supporting this?

• Are you prepared to consult with all user groups and organisations in your Community to explore their interest in using such a facility.
• Are you prepared to consider setting up a separate sub-committee or Steering Group to manage the Broadplace and bring new faces onto the committee?
• Do you have someone or a number of people who will promote and champion the Broadplace to encourage use?
• Do you think local people will be willing to volunteer to open up the Broadplace for users and support users in the use of the equipment?
• Do you have a good range of user groups already involved in using your centre?
• Are you prepared to expand this number of groups to accommodate new/interested users?
• Do you think your Community will be willing to be creative about the type of use of your Broadplace?
• Is your Community likely to support the introduction of learning opportunities using ICT and Broadband?

Sustainability

• Do you think your Community will be willing to take over these running costs?
• Are you prepared, as a Community, to work with the Community ICT Advisor to explore ideas for funding your Broadplace longterm?

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