1. JISC Business & Community
Engagement:
Collaborative Tools
The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Pam Voisey
GTi Project Manager
July 2009

2. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
The Listening Zone
for the Glamorgan Enterprise Region
Project Partners:
• Regional Business Club : Rhondda-Cynon-Taf
• Enterprise initiative for graduate startup
• G-Blog Project team (IT, Enterprise, Research)
• JISC project team & partner sites
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3. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
‘G-Blog’ is a pilot project
• Regular, informal contact route for SMEs to their local
University, which will
– Stimulate B2B and A4B interactions
– Facilitate reciprocity, mutual help, community
– Offer resources, information, tools
– Use events and web environment
– Engage with client groups through feedback
– Create a listening channel and more
– Build capacity, offer training
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4. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Aimed at: GTi Business
Incubator micro -businesses
•University project
•European + funded
•10 years
•Hot-desking
•>250 micro businesses
•All sectors
•Not all are graduates
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5. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Aimed at: RCT Business Club SMEs
• Enthusiastic management team
• Café style informal events
• High profile speakers
• Large regional coverage
• Range from large, medium and micro
companies
• Spread across sectors
• Digital natives to skeptics
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6. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Working with IT !
• Close relationship with the department for incubator IT
• Lynne had done some work on PR for IT people
• Discussed idea with Senior Managers, got support
• Identified key person to design and create the Blog – included
in the Project set up meeting in Aston
• Working process totally collaborative, for example:
– Pam : consumer focus/let’s ask them what they want
– Barry: We’ll use QMP
– Pam: what’s that?
– Result is successful feedback, WordPress as platform, design agreed,
businesses recruited for first wave – and Pam upskilled!
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7. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
On-going goodwill
• Keep everyone informed as progress is made
– LCSS-IS (IT) – the original senior managers
– Commercial Services links
– Rhondda Cynon Taf Business Club - launch event
– Micro businesses for first stage – the GTi constituents
– Academics – Business School initially
– Marketing – corporate look/having the right logos
– Web Team – making sure the name is OK
– Finance - using the credit card online/making the links
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8. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Ongoing support:
• Work with, don’t demand
• Benefit from the process and be reflexive
• Make it interesting
• Involve in the nice bits, not just the slaving over a
hot keyboard!
• Acknowledge – PR for IT people
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9. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Issues
• RCT partner – complete change of personnel
• Time constraints for all
Practice
• Good communication by email when meetings are squeezed
• Support of line management in both IT and Project team
• Working with RCT Business Club on launch event
• Customer focus makes it meaningful = getting IT right
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10. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Thanks to:
UoG: Professor Brian Hobbs, Alun Hughes, Lynne Gornall, Tony
Evans, Martyn Lynch, Alun Cox, Barry Richard, Rhian Evans
Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC: Lorna Reed, Ross Chamberlain, Phil
Barnes
GTi businesses: Timto Ltd; School of Life; Live Assistant
Business Solutions; GMA Consultants; Cymraeg Web Hosting;
TiGra Networks; Bandog Media; Team Metalogic; Blue Stag
Studio; EarthMonkey Media; Guardian Angel Technology
JISC Team: Jacqui Kelly; Will Allen; Andy Stewart; Chris Young;
the other BCE Projects
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11. The ‘G-Blog’ Project
Contact details:
Pam Voisey
G-Blog Project Leader
University of Glamorgan
01443 482670
glamblog@glam.ac.uk
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