Dear Chris

Thank you for your letter and raising your concerns with me. I am responding on behalf of the ICT Hub steering group who discussed your letter at the last ICT Hub steering group meeting on the 26th March 2007.

The ICT Hub has a remit to raise awareness of the options available to voluntary and community organisations to enable them, with the best information and guidance available, to decide what ICT helps them meet their missions more effectively and efficiently. We are vendor neutral and whilst we remain committed to championing FOSS as an option in 2007 and focusing on the strategic goal and fit of technology we have also decided, based on our independent, external evaluation, to concentrate our efforts on developing the market place rather than on more FOSS focused service delivery.

Our independent, external evaluation has highlighted that the impact we and NCC (who managed the FOSS project) had for the FOSS project has not manifested itself in the way we had initially anticipated. There has been low take up and demand for the FOSS resources developed by NCC and significantly this low demand has been at odds with the exceptional demand for other Hub resources during 2006 and 2007.

Changing hearts and minds will continue to remain central to our approach in 2007 and whilst it was right to develop resources in the first phase of the Hub, which continue to be available and benefit the sector, it is also right to reduce this funding at this time, respond to our external evaluation findings, and concentrate on developing the market place. We will however continue to build on work completed by NCC throughout 2007. As well as commissioning a piece of work to raise awareness of FOSS as an option we will mainstream FOSS work into other Hub work such as in the development of the suppliers directory and content for the knowledgebase.

The ICT Hub project steering group would like to thank you for your letter and bringing your concerns to our attention. It is our intention to begin the process to commission a programme of work to raise awareness of FOSS as an option for the voluntary and community sector by the end of May 2007 and this tender will be made available in the commissioning section of our website.

Best wishes

Nicola Thompson on behalf of the ICT Hub project steering group

Nicola Thompson
Head of ICT Hub
020 7520 2501
www.icthub.org.uk

ICT Hub, NCVO, Regent’s Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL

The ICT Hub is a consortium of voluntary sector organisations who have come together to plan and deliver a co-ordinated framework of ICT guidance, good practice, advice and support for voluntary and community organisations, accessible at a local level.

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