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What the knowledgebase means to me…

By Lasa Information Systems Team

The Lasa knowledgebase was launched in January 2001 and has been a highly valued third sector resource ever since. We talk to three long time users about when, why and how they use it.

Paula Graham - Director Fossbox

I've been using the Lasa knowledgebase since 2003 to work with our users and signpost them to relevant articles. We also link to relevant knowledgebase articles from our own website. The knowledgebase saves me a lot of time and effort, and is good place to find out about voluntary sector technology in general. There is often an existing article on the knowledgebase that we can refer our users to - which means we don't need to write content ourselves. We only use free and open source software (FOSS), not proprietary software and over the years knowledgebase has responded to our calls to improve its FOSS content.

The knowledgebase has a great glossary and is mainly written in plain language, however, some of the groups we work with just don't want to have to think about technology at all, so we use the knowledgebase to give them pointers about their specific issues and help them translate the information into what they need to do for their particular situation.

I also write content for the knowledgebase. As a lot of our work is around open source software and technology advocacy, the knowledgebase helps us get out to a much wider audience than we would otherwise reach. We'd like to see even more content around FOSS on the knowledgebase so have a responsibility to provide it as it's our area of expertise. Writing for the knowledgebase also helps raise the profile of our organisation.

All in all the knowledgebase is an amazing resource. There's an enormous amount of information, sensibly organised and lots of information about using technology strategically. It's been an invaluable resource for me personally and for Fossbox more generally. For example, content on data protection issues and project management has helped me broaden my own knowledge in these areas so I can work more effectively with groups. Best of all the information is free and accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

Fossbox  provides free software, technology advocacy, support and digital inclusion services for the voluntary and community sector. We work with groups to help them use technology more sustainably and self sufficiently.

Josh Hoole - Communities 2.0 Project Manager

I first started using the Lasa knowledgebase back in 2004 whilst working at Richmond Council for Voluntary Services (RCVS). Initially I used it to learn about useful new technologies that were available and went on to use it to help me develop the RCVS ICT strategy. It also helped me to manage the tender process for a new external IT contractor to install and support our new network. That groundwork set me up as an "accidental techie" which lead to a job at iT4Communities a few years later. Those skills also helped me get my current job in Wales. I now use the knowledgebase to keep me up to date with emerging technologies and IT trends in the Third Sector. It's one of the best resources around for the sector. For example, I've used it to compare free web building tools for clients and to get expert advice in areas I'm not quite sure about.

I also use the knowledgebase when working with groups - using it as a resource to help them be more sustainable.

At Communities 2.0 we run a development programme to help train "circuit riders" to go on and do similar technology development work with groups. They use the resources on the knowledgebase and other lasa resources such as the UK Riders list to help their learning so they can demonstrate their competencies at Level 3 of our programme.

The knowledgebase is vital to how we operate - it's our first port of call for information, advice and guidance - and saves us having to write content ourselves. The time and effort put into the knowledgebase content helps us and organisations like us save time and avoid duplication. Someone else doing the research means we can focus on helping frontline organisations which is the core of our work. 

It's great how the knowledgebase is kept up to date with broad changes in technology, amended and updated on an ongoing basis. The site is easy to search, especially if you're not quite sure what you're looking for.

If it wasn't there it would be a lot more work for us and we wouldn't be able to come up with the best solutions because we're limited by our own knowledge. In short, knowledgebase helps us deliver a better service to our clients.

Communities 2.0 is a project which helps community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises in Wales benefit from technology. 

Jae Campbell Community Resource Manager The Ground Floor Project & DOT-COMmunications

I've been working with the Ground Floor Project for around 25 years. The Ground Floor Project started 30 years ago as a project running schemes that provide employment training and experience to local disadvantaged people while providing the community with a variety of community services – these schemes would probably be known today as social enterprises. In 2001 we set up an IT support project, DOT-COMmunications providing dedicated IT services for the voluntary sector in various forms, initially website development.

I started using the knowledgebase about 6 years ago when we set up a technical support scheme in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. We were looking for jargon - free information to explain technology to our non technical audience. The articles on the knowledgebase are ideal because they are aimed at various levels from those just starting out to more advanced and are written in plain language.

Knowledgebase really supports us in our work providing technical support to third sector in our area, preventing problems, and providing useful information to back up our annual "health checks" and on-site visits. If we identify a technology problem at an organisation, we try to resolve the technical issues in house.

However we want to educate our users regarding good practice around information technology, and help them become more self sustaining. As such we're always on the look out for common sense articles that are relevant to the organisations we work with, and the technology challenges they face.

We can signpost them to the knowledgebase, or print off the articles for them, or use them as part of their training for initial information or as additional back up information they can use within their organisations. We're trying to find the easiest way to help people understand technology and how it can help them deliver the services their organisations provide.

The plain language articles on the knowledgebase are the best support. Information can be  cascaded down within the organisation, and having it written down supports and reinforces this process and ensures that any  information passed on to trustees and other staff via the contact person remains jargon free and accurate.

If the knowledgebase wasn't available, we'd have to go and reinvent it ourselves. However, there is lots of good practice information in there that we probably wouldn't get around to writing. The knowledgebase enables us to learn and share information, and as a reliable, trusted source it's vital. We may not always totally agree with everything in the articles, but we know we're not sending clients off the deep end into something that will be detrimental to them. We don't need to worry about checking it before referring people to it.

For a small, unfunded organisation like ours, this really helps us not have to reinvent the wheel, and helps us work more effectively. It's a great source for good practice and introductory information about technology pitched at a user friendly level for our clients. The fact that most of the content is published under a Creative Commons  license so we can easily republish elsewhere is also really helpful to us as it means we can get good information  out via our own channels as well.

DOT-COMmunications is a member of the Ground Floor family of not-for-profit social and community enterprises. The Ground Floor Project  aims to promote positive community action that increases opportunities and benefits for all disadvantaged people living in the Upper Calder Valley (West Yorkshire, UK).
Recipient of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service & HRH the Duke of York’s Community Initiative Award (2007 & 2010)