Call for applicants from hubs for the DIGITAL AEC pilot programme

The WDC is currently piloting ways in which the economic development mission of existing enterprise centres can be deepened, while also increasing the critical mass of existing hubs, so that their economic impact can help more directly achieve the goals of Our Rural Future for vibrant rural localities in a sustainable way.

DigitalHQ’s 'Digital First Communities' is a proven framework of tools and techniques to collaboratively attract investment, remote workers, home buyers, shoppers and visitors to a locality. This framework is targeted at the mobilisation of local stakeholders around the economic and community development goals advanced by their local ConnectedHub, increasing the online digital visibility of their locality and raising awareness of mobilising new Social Enterprises to help fill in gaps in service provision in the locality. 

The WDC is now commencing a pilot Digital AEC programme via a competitive call to work closely with a group of five hubs focussing on the upskilling of the hub managers to enable them to advance the economic and community growth of their locality through the use of the ‘Digital First Communities’ framework.

• What is it - The Digital AEC pilot programme will see an intensive training and mentoring programme delivered which is based on DigitalHQ’s lead trainer’s experience of delivering ‘Digital First Communities’. This digitalisation pilot will form the selected hubs into a programme cohort group. The selected hub managers will be brought together a number of times throughout the programme to create peer learnings and a collegial relationship amongst the inaugural pilot group.

• Who should apply - The target audience are members of the ConnectedHubs network located in the AEC counties which are Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Kerry. The hub should nominate a participant that is typically the hub manager but hubs are open to nominating a person that has a deep,regular involvement on the ground in the mission of the hub.

• What is the purpose of the pilot - A key objective is to upskill the selected managers and to increase the economic impact of their hub within their locality through digital growth.  

• What will successful participants do - The goal of the pilot programme is to:

• To create culture change in the adoption of digital by their catchment area/locality. 

• Enabling hub managers to upskill key groups in their locality in the benefits of digital technologies. 

• Help digitise local small traditional businesses in the hub’s catchment area.

• Raise awareness of how social enterprise can address local needs in the hub’s catchment area.

• What is involved in the Programme

Delivered over a period of six months the programme will involve a monthly face to face workshop, online workshops and extensive mentoring by DigitalHQ’s lead trainer. There will be a certain amount of travel but this will be limited to one day per month of the programme within the AEC region (a contribution towards travel costs will be made). 

The programme will kick off with a focus on the inaugural Digital First Day in October and month by month cover a different area of activation around the agenda of digital growth and mobilisation of localities around digital. 

• Is there funding provided 

The five hubs that are selected will receive funding that will reimburse the participants time on the programme and for delivery of customised campaigns that are linked to the delivery of the practical elements of the pilot programme in their hub’s catchment area.