Community Project Information Pack

Community Project Information Pack

Resource Cover Sheet

Title

Description of Resource

• guidance for students about project queries
• list of resources available to students in the Combined Studies Centre to support their project work
• fundraising ideas
• oral history references
• and a template of the community project contract, completed by both the student group and community organisation.

Intended use

User guide

Community Projects Queries

Each project has a project contact at their community organisation. This person is your first point of contact for queries concerned outcomes of the project, resources, aims/objectives. It is very important that you remain in contact with your contact at the community organisation throughout the duration of your project. They may ask you to update them on a regular basis (often via email).

At your first student group meeting you will be asked to swap contact details with the members of your group (email addresses, mobile phones, facebook etc).

Each group will need to divide the project tasks equally between the members. It is recommended to allocate a project leader (and/or secretary), who will organise meetings and take notes on key decisions.

Each project group has a private discussion area in WebCT, to use for organising your project, contacting members and discussing ideas. Discussion messages posted here do not form part of assessment. In previous years, students have found this a good tool to use for contacting other group members (especially because it is free – unlike text messaging) or exchanging project notes and/or information (try out the attachment tool, to add files, images, or word documents to your message).

A great majority of times, student groups work fine. However, sometimes problems do arise. You can find out more about dealing with problems in groups on the Faculty of Humanities study skills website:

If you have any queries about resources and/or the assessment requirements, you need to speak [add contact details here]

If you need help (i.e. having problems contacting your group or organisation, unsure about meeting outcomes, problems that cannot be resolved), you need to speak to [contact name] AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Combined Studies Student Workspace,

located in Combined Studies Tutor’s Office

• Printed Study Skills Material including subject specific materials, IT user-guides, fundraising guides, report-writing information, digital filming (available to be borrowed from Combined Studies Tutor)

• Computer, with access to all campus software and as well as Adobe Photoshop (photo editing) and Adobe Premier Pro 2 (video editing software). The computer will be used for digital video editing and a computer booking system will be in place, please speak to Combined Studies Tutor. Note: The computer is available during Combined Studies Office Hours

• Digital Video Camcorder, including microphone, tripod and reflectors (booking system in place, speak to Combined Studies Tutor)

• Digital Camera (booking system in place, speak to Combined Studies Tutor)

• Photo quality scanner (available when computer is not in use)

• A3, A4 Colour and Black & White printer (within reason, speak to Combined Studies Tutor)

• Laminator (within reason, speak to Combined Studies Tutor)

• Binding materials, for the production of final booklets (within reason, speak to Combined Studies Tutor) But don’t leave this to the last minute – as there is a limited amount of binding materials available – first comes, first served!

For more information about the resources available, please contact the Combined Studies Tutor or the Combined Studies Office.

Additional Resources at the University

• LearnHigher Resource Room located in Humanities Devas Street.

This room can be booked by yourself for group project meetings. It contains networked computers, interactive whiteboard and meeting space. Bookings can be made from January through the LearnHigher Project, based in the Centre for Continuing Education. Further information about booking this room will be provided in WebCT in January. Please note, this meeting room becomes very popular near project assessment time. Get in early with any bookings in the weeks leading up to final assessment of the projects.

• University computer clusters (including in the library, W2.19 Humanities Lime Grove, Basement South Wing Humanities Lime Grove – near the café)

• Networked Student Computer in the Combined Studies Office, including black and white printing. Photoshop and Dreamweaver MX software are available for student use on this computer only. Note: The computer is available during Office Hours (Mon-Fri. 9am -1pm, 2pm-5pm)

• Printing services are also available in the computer clusters and library. Colour printers and printers which accept OHPs can be used in the library (ask at the information desk).

• The Media Centre in the Architecture and Planning Building (Building 35 on campus map) offers specialised printing services, including colour A3 printing. There is a charge for this service. Please contact the Combined Studies Office first if you require any specialised printing service (we have our own A3 colour printer!) The Media Centre also contains video editing suits which the Combined Studies Tutor may book for any filming projects.

• Any printing and stationery costs need to be negotiated with your community organisation. If your organisation is unable to meet these costs, then please come and talk to the CS Tutor (and we will see if we have the resources to help out or maybe we can offer suggestions for sponsorship).

• There is a Combined Studies Community Project notice board outside A205 & A206. You can post notices here, updates of your project or maybe use it to advertise your event.

• Speak to Anne or Nicola in the Combined Studies Office, if you want to advertise your event/project to other Combined Studies students or to students or staff at the university. But do make sure you leave enough time to advertise your event.

Resources from the Community Organisation

At your first meeting, you need to discuss with your community project supervisor the resources you may require (depending on your negotiated project). Some suggestions:

• Reasonable travel expenses (bus fares, not taxis!)
• Reasonable stationary and printing expenses
• Production costs (e.g. posters, flyers)
• Specialised library facilities for research projects
• Venue deposits for events (The Combined Studies Centre will not provide venue deposits for events. If your community organisation cannot cover this, you will need to find a venue willing to host your event free of charge – there are a number of venues available during the week for student events, mainly in the student areas of Manchester)

(Please note: This is not a comprehensive list and you may think of other things to add here. Remember all the organisations we work with are charities & they will have limited funds/resources)

USE THIS SECTION TO RECORD ANY INITIAL THOUGHTS ABOUT RESOURCES YOU MAY NEED FOR YOUR COMMUNITY PROJECT.

Fundraising Ideas

The following text been adapted from the Fundraising Directory, [accessed 23/08/06]

“A few points are worth bearing in mind when planning an event or activity:

• Think through what you hope to get out of the event or activity, including: publicity, new supporters; and profit.
• Prepare a budget which reflects the true cost of putting on the event, and which has realistic income projections.
• Plan, plan and plan again. You must think about every detail. For example, how will people hear about the event or activity? How will they get there (and home again)? What else is happening at the same time? (A world cup final tends to keep your anticipated audience away!) Will the weather affect you? What about other important considerations, including toilets, petty cash, programmes, ticket sellers, etc. etc.
• Involve other people. Delegate tasks to them, and ensure that everyone is doing the things they have agreed to within the necessary timescale. [Think about ways you can involve other Combined Studies students].
• Look for ways to increase your income / benefits from the event or activity. (e.g. holding a raffle during the event)
• Decide at what stage you will know if the event is likely to succeed or flop. Will you have time to cancel? If you do have to cancel, is there anything you can do to reduce the costs / risk?

Above all, be realistic about what you want to achieve, what it will cost, and what benefits it will bring you. “

Useful Websites for Fundraising Ideas

Your community organisation might be able to provide you with examples and ideas for fundraising events. In addition, you might want to investigate your own ideas and interests. Here are a couple of useful websites I found using

Examples of two fundraising events from 2004-05 Combined Studies students

The Phoenix Gala Dinner, held at the Last Drop Inn. This included a celebrity auction and ‘pig’ races on the night. This student group organised the complete event, contacted media, sold tickets and were involved on the night. They raised over £1000 for The Phoenix. The event appeared in Lancashire Life Magazine.

British Red Cross Raffle, held at the Combined Studies Showcase (during Red Cross Week). This event was organised at the last minute, because the group’s original idea of a quiz night did not eventuate (due to venue problems). This student group organised raffle, publicised the event, sought donations of prizes, sold tickets and drew raffle on the night. £65 was raised for the British Red Cross.

Oral History

Suggested Reading List

(These books have useful suggestions for interview formats, questions and oral history research)

Yow, Valerie Raleigh Recording oral history: a practical guide for social scientists (London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage, 1994)

Main Library Blue,Floor 3: 907/Y41

Howarth, Ken Oral history (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998)

Main Lib.Short Loan 907/H110 2-night Short Loan

Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson (eds) The Oral history reader (London: Routledge, 1998)

Main Lib.Short Loan CRes. 907/P34 and Main Library Blue, Floor 3: 907/P34

community projects

Project Contract

1.Project Details

COMMUNITY

ORGANISATION Name:

Address:

StudentS:

Project supervisor(S) (Who is responsible for you/this project within the host organisation?)

Name:

Tel:

E-mail:

project supervisor Availability (What are the best times for the students to contact you? How would you preferred to be contacted by the students (e.g. email)? Are there any periods when they won’t be available? How often do you wish the students to update you on progress? )

Alternative contact (If the main contact is away or unavailable)

2.Aims of the Project (student group and project supervisor to discuss and agree)

Project aimS & Objectives (What is the purpose of it? What needs to be achieved?)

Outcomes/Deliverables AND DEADLINES (Please list here anything that needs to be completed and handed to the community organisation at the end of the project – a report, a product, a leaflet. How long should these be, what format, how many copies do you need? When do you need these by. Please note: The Tutor will only release Assessment and Feedback to the students after the outcomes listed here are delivered by the student group to the community organisation.)

3.Methodology & Resources

Timing (How long do you estimate this project will take? All projects need to be completed by the date of the Combined Studies Project Showcase. Is this possible?)

AccomModation (Where will the students be based to undertake the work?)

Resources (What will be needed – stationery, computer equipment, software packages, who will provide these? Do you need any extra information?)

Expenses (What costs are likely to be incurred - postage, printing, travel expenses, Who will pay these? How? Is there a limit to the costs that will be incurred?)

4.Communication, Expectations and Confidentiality

Communication between project supervisor and students (Does the organisation want/need to be kept informed of your progress? How will you do this? Will regular meetings be set up? When? Where? Is there anything that needs to be authorised before you act on it – e.g. questionnaires before distribution, literature before sending to printers?)

pROJECT SUPERVISORS: WHAT are your expectations of the project and student group? (Please list up to 3 expectations – e.g. regular contact, attendance a meetings, responses to emails within a certain time period)

Students: What are your expectations of the project and community organisation? (Please list up to 3 expectations – e.g. regular contact, access to materials, tour of the organisation)

Confidential Information (Is any of the information you will find confidential? Which? Who can you share it with? Do you need to sign a confidentiality agreement? Will distribution of the report be restricted?)

5.Other Issues

Please note here any other issues which may be important.

6.Signatures

This contract should be signed by all students and the representative(s) of the host organisation to show that they agree to the items discussed above.

NameSignatureDate

Please keep a copy of the contract for yourselves, give one to your host organisation and 1 further copy should be returned by to: