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Project summary
 Suffolk
Online is based in and around
Framlingham in Suffolk. The project
covers a mainly rural area, which
is sparsely populated, with a total
of 27 villages dominated by the market
town of Framlingham. It is an area
traditionally dominated by agriculture,
and it is a Rural Priority Area (as
defined by the Rural Development Commission)
exhibiting social and economic disadvantage
across a range of indicators.
Consultants
funded through the DfES were involved
in the development of the bid that
was submitted in October 2000 and
Suffolk
ACRE, a rural community development
organisation became the accountable
body. Project partners included Suffolk
County Council, East of England Development
Agency, Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Mid Suffolk District Council, Parish
Councils and some Community Organisations.
A steering group was convened by
Suffolk ACRE after an initial consultation
exercise with key organisations operating
within the area. The steering group
met every other month and was chaired
by Suffolk ACRE.
The project employs a project manager
and two part-time community networkers
with revenue funding primarily from
East
of England Development Agency
with smaller amounts from the District
Councils and the County Council. However
the level of revenue funding was not
as high as anticipated, and this has
resulted in lower staffing levels
than those outlined in the original
project proposal.
Suffolk Online has equipped almost
1550 households with Internet access,
provided 17 machines for use in community
access points and provided 20 machines
for local small businesses. The project
has faced a considerable challenge
when their supplier of PCs went into
receivership. A new supplier has been
sourced but the uncertainty and delay
caused by the quality of supply undermined
the credibility of the project to
some extent within the community.
Free internet connection is available
via the project's own branded virtual
ISP, as well as a number of training
and support packages, two of which
have been specifically commissioned
to meet the needs of residents. A
number of Community Champions have
been recruited to support the work
of the project team, and help generate
suitable locally relevant content
for the site.
The future sustainability of the
project from April 2003 is dependant
upon its capacity as a community development
trust to secure additional revenue
funding to employ project staff and
to market its expertise on 'marketing
and promotion', training packages
and working with local businesses.
A consultant
funded by DfES is working with
the project team to develop bids for
further funding.
An extension of the project has been
the successful installation of a Wi-Fi
network in the village of Badingham
using 802.11b technology. Brochures
about the project can be downloaded
here (JPG, zipped 118kb).
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