EU Money For Local Technology Community
Wired West, the non-profit making organisation representing the thriving Information, Communications and Technology community in the South West, has won a £70,000 award from the European Union to encourage businesses make full use of technology.
The grant will pay for Wired West to run 28 events highlighting particular aspects of technology to businesses in the seven counties, set up a ICT code of practice and a free tendering system.
The £70,000 from the EU is matched by £20,000 from the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) and £50,000 of services from Digital Peninsula Network and Wired West.
At the end of the project a report, including video case studies, will be sent to the EU and translated into French for use in Brittany.
Edmund Probert, Chairman of Wired West and partner at South West law firm Foot Anstey, explains “This grant will make a huge difference to our members and businesses working in technology but it will also encourage businesses to use ICT effectively.
“The RDA’s recent research shows businesses lack confidence in buying ICT and this grant will help overcome this problem by developing a code of practice, producing a standard tendering systems and holding 28 events for businesses.
“The grant will enable us to roll out a key activity – a tendering system. This will allow any size business in the region to send Wired West its ICT requirement i.e. a new website, maintenance for a network or some IT consultation, without charge. Wired West will then send this need to appropriate members of the ICT community.”
Seminars for the ICT businesses themselves will be run to help them raise their profile.
The partners for this project are Connecting South West, which is supported by the RDA, and encompasses projects such as actnow, Broadband for Devon, and Connecting Somerset, together with DPN (Digital Peninsula Network), which are based in Penzance and provide services to the ICT industry on a non-profit making basis in Cornwall, and Wired West.
