Who are Project 6? As you’re no doubt aware, a large proportion of ESP’s customer base are charities and other third sector organisations. One of our longest customer relationships (and one of our favourites) is with Project 6 (previously Sheffield Alcohol Advisory Service and then Sheffield Alcohol Support Service and later becoming Project 6). Project 6 provide support to individuals, families and communities in South & West Yorkshire, that are affected by some kind of substance use.
Why is ESP writing about Project 6?
Well, firstly, because we think it’s a really worthy cause and we want to let our audiences know that they exist! But secondly, because we’ve got a great relationship with the team over at Project 6, we recently sponsored their annual conference which was held at The Workstation in Sheffield. The event was a roaring success and our team enjoyed attending and talking to some of the inspirational people that attended the event.
After the event, we interviewed Vicki Beere, the Chief Executive Officer of Project 6 and an inspirational leader in her own right. You’ll find the full-length video over at our YouTube channel, but also here inline too.
What did Vicki have to say?
Vicki told us all about the history of Project 6 and her involvement with the charity. When Vicki joined, the organisation was just 20 staff strong and based in Keighley in West Yorkshire and delivering only a small slice of the services it does now. She goes on to tell us about their mergers with Doncaster and Sheffield based charities and that collectively the charities have provided around 115 years of delivering services to communities in Yorkshire! She speaks about the inspirational characters along their journey.
How did technology help with the Project 6 journey?
Vicki tells us about the impact that Covid had on the organisation and how they could only deliver services by using digital technology, totally switching their service delivery model overnight and only being able to do this because of the quality of their IT systems and tools.
Added to the Covid impact, Vicki speaks of the importance of digital communication when organisations are based over multiple geographical locations.
The interview goes on to talk about some of the kindness that businesses and individuals showed to Project 6, donating tablets and other IT equipment to the charity.
Vicki talks about how much impact IT Problems can have in an organisation and how they invest in technology to protect against it. They also ‘insure’ against problems by using ESP’s IT Support Service which she describes as “really responsive”. She discusses the reaction that other charities in their supply chain have when they look at the investment that Project 6 upkeep in their technology roadmap, when they are surprised that a relatively small charity (albeit around 100 staff) have “better IT than us” for example!
How might things in the future develop when it comes to IT?
Vicky talks about pulling their data together into a central database that provides their team with a broader platform to capture information about their service. It’s likely that Project 6 will lean on ESP’s very own CORE Software to deliver this mammoth task for the organisation that will lead to them having a platform for growth as we move forwards.
Summary
ESP works with many charities across Yorkshire and in fact further afield. Project 6 are one of the more forward-thinking charities when it comes to their attitude towards Technology. Their primary goal is to make sure that IT works for their staff and not against them, whilst staying secure and this is very refreshing for us, as an IT company, to see. It means that we can help Project 6 to continue to develop cohesive IT Strategies that align with the business goals that they have. We love working with charities, so if you’re a leader within a charitable organisation that would like to consider building your own IT Roadmap for your organisation, don’t hesitate to get in touch to talk to one of our lovely team!
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