Business

Funding boost for five groups to develop new digital projects

Sharon Didrichsen of Specialisterne NI with (from left) Joe McVey and Paul Braithwaite of the Building Change Trust, and Connor Doherty of Innovate NI. Specialisterne was one of the groups supported by the Social Innovation Seed Fund
Sharon Didrichsen of Specialisterne NI with (from left) Joe McVey and Paul Braithwaite of the Building Change Trust, and Connor Doherty of Innovate NI. Specialisterne was one of the groups supported by the Social Innovation Seed Fund Sharon Didrichsen of Specialisterne NI with (from left) Joe McVey and Paul Braithwaite of the Building Change Trust, and Connor Doherty of Innovate NI. Specialisterne was one of the groups supported by the Social Innovation Seed Fund

FIVE Northern Ireland organisations have received a funding boost of nearly £70,000 from the Social Innovation Seed Fund to help them develop new digital projects.

The groups pitched for funding at Digital DNA after successfully producing a prototype digital application through the Social Innovation NI Techies in Residence Programme, funded by the Building Change Trust and managed by Innovate NI.

The Techies in Residence programme teamed up talented people from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector with digital specialists in order to tackle unique problems by using innovative solutions and create real social impact. Each organisation in the programme completed a digital tool that will now need testing and further development.

Paul Braithwaite who heads up the Building Change Trust’s work in Social Innovation, said: "The Social Innovation NI Seed Fund is designed to help organisations that have been through our Techies in Residence programmes take their idea to the next level, helping them further imbed innovative practice and impact in communities. We're really excited to see where these projects go next.”

The five groups receiving funding are:

:: Specialisterne NI - £15,000 to develop its e-learning platform for social communication differences

:: Arthritis Care - £12,677 for its app supporting young people with arthritis

:: GSAP - £15,000 for its Heritage Trail app

:: Focus on Family - £11,420 for their online platform for the Cornfield Project

:: Women's Aid - £14,230 – for its interactive portal about healthy relationships and domestic violence/abuse

Techies in Residence (www.socialinnovationni.org) aimed to kick-start digital social innovation in Northern Ireland and showcase what can be achieved by combining the two sectors, developing long standing partnerships between the tech community and VCSE organisations.

A third Techies in Residence project will get under way in the autumn giving further opportunity for groups to develop digital solutions.