Presentation on the current state of CoTech - I need your help!

#1

At the CoTech gathering next week I’ve volunteered to give a presentation on the current state of CoTech, some of our achievements in the last year and where we’re hoping to go next.

I need your help!

Could you answer these questions:

  1. What are some key highlights from your co-op in the last 12 months? Things you’ve done alone are great, but even better are things you might have done with other CoTech members. Links to posts you’ve written are fine!

  2. What do you think is going well within the CoTech network?

  3. What do you think the network should concentrate on in the future?

Even if you aren’t able to attend the gathering, please do contribute if you can - I’m hoping to share the presentation as a blog post on the CoTech site after the event.

Could you send me things by this Thursday (18th April) please? I’ll then have a week to put the presentation together.

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#2

Hey Chris,

Thanks for taking this on. Sorry not to have sent anything over for this yet. Here is a quick overview of what CoTech has meant to us so far (I’m sure this list is my no means exhaustive!). I hope to add some more detail to this tomorrow in terms of the ££ value of work, as well as the lessons learnt etc from the client projects we’ve collaborated on.

Client Project Collaborations:

  • WashData, with Agile (2016-2019)
  • School Cuts, with Small Axe (2016-2019)
  • Start Network, with Agile (2018)

Space4 (etc)

  • Set up Space4 in order to have a place for coops to meet and locate in London.
  • Colocating with other co-ops means that we can provide adhoc advice and support, in terms of tech projects and in terms of setting up and running a co-op
  • A regular programme of events means that we are providing more publicity for teh co-op movement and raising awareness of it. We have given a platform to numerous CoTech members and affiliates
  • Most co-ops have used it in some way, particularly:
    ** GFR having 3 desks in year 1
    ** Digital Liberties having desks in year 1 and year 2
    ** Animorph having desks in year 1 and then moving upstairs to locate with Outlandish after 1 year
    ** Founders and Coders becoming anchor tenants at the end of year 1 and running their programme from the space
    ** Aptivate using the meeting room once per month in year 2
    ** InFact starting as students in FAC and then taking desks in Space4 and now in Outlandish offices

Other stuff

  • Do some hosting through Web Architects, and hired Chris to do some sys admin work
  • Bringing GFR in to do some specialist work on the School Cuts site (we didn’t have the capacity or specialism needed to do this)
  • Skills and knowledge sharing days with Agile (Found out about R&D tax credits through one of them which = 50k of benefit)
  • Worked with Dot Project on a pitch to the Co-Op group. Didn’t win it but it helped up understand how CoTech might work together on big tenders in the future
  • Proposed for a piece of work with Animorph. We didn’t win it but we got an understanding of what each of us do and how we work/like to work.
  • We also proposed for work with Cetis which we didn’t win again but we identified our strengths and weaknesses and where to improve next time.
  • Brought the Dot Project in to provide some consultancy for one of our ongoing clients (EU), to develop a case study/proposal for a cloud hosting service
  • Being part of CoTech has given us a bigger platform to talk from and about at almost all events (we are part of a wider network of specialists etc) as well as ‘sales’ meetings/pitches etc - we can nearly always offer a solution even if it isn’t us doing it.
  • We delivered a sociocracy training session at Marmalade in Oxford with Aaron. It was an ‘ecosystem’ event for the Skoll world forum
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