Can you help improve Coventry’s health?

Volunteers are needed to take part in an event that will come up with ideas to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Coventry.

We are looking for sustainable ideas from the community on how local people can help to improve Coventry’s health and wellbeing.

Who?
Coventry residents & local organisations

Where?
Council House, Earl Street, Coventry CV1 5RR

When?
Friday 17 January 2014 10:00 – 17:30
Saturday 18 January 2014 10:00 – 17:30

Cost? FREE. Lunch included.

There will be opportunities to pitch ideas in the event – and one winning idea about Public Health and one winning idea about Welfare Reform will be chosen.

Submit your idea online www.simpl.co/challenges/39/

Sign up for the event www.citycampcov2.eventbrite.co.uk

Help us spread the word by downloading this poster and place on your staff notice boards, recreation notice boards etc …. Thank you

CityCamp Coventry 2.0 – can you help improve Coventry’s health?

Volunteers are needed to take part in an event that will come up with ideas to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Coventry.

CityCamp 2014 is a competition-style event where local people can pitch ideas to make a positive difference to the health of the city.

It is taking place on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 January, in the Council House and will look to come up with sustainable ideas from the community on how local people can help to improve Coventry’s health and wellbeing.

The ideas could build upon existing community-led initiatives; or they could use your own assets, knowledge and skills.

The event is community-led, but the best ideas will attract help and support from the Council and local partners – including Coventry University and DWP – to turn their ideas into reality.

Ideas can be submitted on the website this month and a number will then be selected for people and organisations to “pitch” at the start of the two day event in front of other participants. During CityCamp these will be firmed up with the help of voluntary organisations and participants representing all walks of life will contribute.

There will be further opportunities to pitch ideas as they develop and towards the end of the event, the most developed ideas will be invited to give a five minute presentation to a panel of judges, with one winning idea about Public Health and one winning idea about Welfare Reform being chosen.

Sign up now at citycampcov2.eventbrite.co.uk

2012 CityCamp Coventry Projects Update

CAB Advice Buddy (Charley Gibbons)

David Wick from the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship, Coventry University introduced Charley to the Coventry University’s Serious Games Institute (SGI) to develop a prototype for the CAB advice website / application. This includes five days of development work which has been funded through the “Touch Digital” ERDF project.

The intention of the system is to reduce demand on CAB face-to-face services by creating a web-based system for directing people to the right type of support (not unlike, say, the NHS Direct website); and also effectively create a bespoke Customer Relationship Management software (recording clients’ details etc, saving a lot of face-to-face time).

Coventry Ring Road Website (Rob Nickerson)

David has had some communication with Rob but sees the demand for the application as more specialised and localised — people driving via the ring road maybe using SatNavs with postcodes and therefore more research is needed to progress this app.

Community Payback Visibility (Jason Davies)

David invited Jason to demonstrate the Community Payback application to a group of 25 students at the University, and allowed the students to use the application around the City Centre.

Jason talked to and provided a demonstration of the Community Payback app to students on the course run by the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship. The application was beta-tested by the students, who took it around Coventry for 45 minutes to stress-test the software, with Jason and others watching as the pictures came in — helping develop the processes that need to sit behind the Community Payback app (e.g. how resources are allocated to the projects, how feedback might be sent to back to people providing information for the app, etc.

The app currently only works on Android phones, so the students were split into six groups (with each group having one student with the app), and students went around Coventry taking photos of hotspots.

Coventry Greeters (Si Chun Lam)

Two meetings held between David and Si Chun – an initial meeting in December 2012 to look at funding, and a further meeting in May.

Si Chun has also met Roger Bailey (one of the blue badge guides) in relation to Coventry Greeters – and has discussed a way forward to minimise the overlap between the two schemes.

This also gave the project flexibility to use the booking system in the international Greeters programme. Si Chun is currently awaiting feedback from the international Greeters programme and launch of a press release / media release from the Council’s Communications Team. Website launched at www.covgreeters.org.uk.

Community Payback App Update

We are looking for people who live in Coventry or Warwickshire to help us test an app we’ve developed for nominating Community Payback projects.

Community Payback (otherwise known as community service) is the unpaid work carried out by offenders on community orders and it should benefit the local community – things like clearing fly-tipping or removing graffiti.

The app lets you take photo and tag the location on a map before sending it through for assessment by Coventry & Warwickshire Community Payback team.

At the moment, the app only works on android phones (eg HTC or Samsung) and you’d need a gmail account so we could send it directly to your phone.

Then all we ask is you keep an eye out for things you think might make a good Community Payback project and send them through. You’d get notifications back to the phone when the project has been assessed, rejected or accepted and completed etc.

You’d be helping us test the technology and what the experience is like for the person using the app. If the project was suitable, we would obviously try and do it.

If you live in Coventry or Warwickshire, have an android phone and would like to help, please send an e-mail to:

jasondavies1609@gmail.com

Thanks.

The Birth of CHIVE

Help support your Coventry Community Responders ball

Coventry Community Responders (www.coventrycommunityresponders.com/) are a local charity. Their volunteers attend 999 calls on behalf of the ambulance service in Coventry and the surrounding areas, providing care and re-assurance in advance of an ambulance arriving. They receive no statutory funding and have to fund-raise to buy all of their equipment. They have grown from a couple of volunteers four years ago to now having over 15 responders.

Coventry Greeters

Coventry Greeters is a proposed, informal network of people who love Coventry so much they volunteer to show off their city to its visitors.

Launched at CityCamp Coventry in October 2012, the idea for Coventry Greeters is to bring together enthusiastic local volunteers – the greeters – with visitors to the city. Greeters will spend around an hour of their time to show visitors around the city. It will help visitors see Coventry through the eyes of a local guide, and also give locals the opportunity to speak to people from around the world.

Following CityCamp, we have been working with a range of people to shape up the idea.  We are very grateful for the support of the Coventry Ambassadors from London 2012; the Council’s Destination Marketing and Communications Teams; local businesses through the Coventry BID (Business Improvement District); Coventry Champions; and the local media.

Subject to approval, the current plan is to launch a trial greeter scheme later this year.  This will, initially, be an ‘instagreet’ service where a greeter would be available to offer a free, guided visit around the city centre at a set time and place every week during busy periods.

We think this would be a great addition to the city centre’s offer, helping visitors discover something new about the city – and also complement the existing full-fledged tour guide services provided by professional Blue Badge guides.

In the meantime, if you have any ideas or if you are able to offer us any support, please get in touch!

Si
sichunlam@gmail.com

And we have another year

photographer: Yuni Adisti Lancaster

The first CityCamp Coventry meeting held 19/20 October 2012 was a great success with around 80 people turning up and actively contributing. Five projects were selected by the judging panel on the Sunday to receive support from Coventry City Council and Coventry University, but all ideas were recognised by Martin Reeves, CEO Coventry City Council. The CityCamp Coventry are actively supporting some of these other ideas as well.

As with all projects you have to reflect back on it and evaluate it. Did it work? Did it reach its objectives. Well, it is still early days, but the CityCamp Coventry team feels that the event was a great success and that we are actively moving forward with the projects thanks to the help of the council and university.

So, the big news. Martin Reeves has agreed to host the event again for 2013 which is great news. The CityCamp Coventry team can now not only work with the 2012 projects but also start planning, and more importantly see if we can get financial sponsorship to help projects be realised.

If you are a major organisation working in or around Coventry, or have an interest in Coventry, and would like to support some fantastic grass root suggestions from the community then please contact one of the organising team:

Sasha Taylor @sasha_taylor
Vanessa Pearce @nesky999
Graeme Mulvaney @web_bod
Craig Marston @craigmartson2

Or if you have enthusiasm and drive, and want to give something to the community of Coventry, why not join the organising team.

Don’t forget that the first monthly get together will be held on the 21 February at Blue Bistro…we look forward to seeing you there.

A new Year and a New Start

After a break over the Christmas period the City Camp Coventry team is back on track. Graeme, Vanessa, Peter and I held a meeting a Blue Bistro last Thursday to discuss City Camp Coventry and 2013. We have agreed the following actions:

1. We will be setting up the monthly meetings again – the first is planned for 21st February at Blue Bistro and we look forward to catching up with people and their projects
2. I will be writing to the University to see where they are at in relation to helping the projects as they agreed in December
3. We have split the projects up into the following:

• CAB Advice Buddy – Charley Gibbons
• Virtual Orchard – Rachel Adshead
• Hydroponics for Schools – Craig Marston

• Coventry Greeters – Si Chun Lam
• Virtual Orchard – Rachel Adshead

• Coventry Ring Road Website – Rob Nickerson
• Community Payback Visibility – Jason Davies
• Hydroponics for Schools – Craig Marston

Getting the ball rolling

On the 29^th November CityCamp Coventry held its first post-event meeting.   CityCamp organisers Sasha Taylor, Graeme Mullvany and Alison Hook were joined by sponsors and supporters of the winning projects from Coventry University (Gideon Maas), Coventry City Council (Jenni Venn and Juliette Richards) and FutureGov (Rachel Karasik).

Graeme and Sasha updated the meeting about the envisaged aims of CityCamp Coventry monthly meetings (the first held in November), and the status of each of the winning projects:

Coventry Greeters – Si Chun Lam

CAB Advice Buddy – Charley Gibbons

Coventry Ring Road Website – Rob Nickerson

Virtual Orchard  – Rachel Adshead

Community Payback Visibility – Jason Davies

It was agreed that the next stage would be for the University to ask the project leads to provide the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship with specific information to inform a meeting to determine the needs of the project and broad action plan. This action plan would then help the sponsors and other parties to understand the support that they need to provide in a more structured format.

The University has been in touch with the project leads this week and we are looking forward to seeing the action plans soon.

On a separate note another project from CityCamp Coventry, the Hydroponics idea from Craig Marston, has also progressed with a sponsor of small hydroponics kits coming forward and a pilot school hopefully confirmed this week.