Harrogate district is home to a host of tech companies of all sizes in every sector. Right now as we all deal with the implications of a global pandemic, the digital world has never felt more integral to the ability of business, communities and individuals to communicate, adapt and survive.
The accelerated ‘digital transformation’ is happening right in front of us.
Internationally scientific research and development is vital in the race to find treatment and vaccinations; nationally health-tech innovators are pioneering powerful data tracking apps; and locally businesses are finding new ways to bring people together in a virtual way that has real impact.
Alongside Government and County Council schemes that are in place there have been a number of projects setup locally offering digital solutions to support charity, community and businesses.
Some examples of recent projects that have launched within our district include –
Furlonteer:
This national resource was set up in the last couple of weeks. One of the co-founders, Sam Tasker-Grindley is a Harrogate resident. Sam told us “Our aim is to match the diverse skills and expertise that millions of furloughed people have with thousands of charities that need resources more than ever, Furlonteer.com allows people to spend their time making a positive difference while maintaining a sense of purpose, routine and focus during their extended period away from work. ‘Furlonteers’ are matched with volunteer roles for charities based on criteria such as their skills, experience and amount of time they have available, which can range from a few hours a month to several hours a day, the majority based from their homes. In the two weeks we’ve been going we’ve had more than 2,000 furlonteers registered and have made connections for more than 500 charities nationwide, including in Harrogate and wider Yorkshire.
Furlonteer interview with co-founder Sam Tasker-Grindley
Watch Sams interview on Sky News >
Help Next Door:
An online pairing service has helped a community group to reach even more people who need support through the coronavirus crisis. Help Next Door, launched by Harrogate-based JudgeService Research two weeks ago, is used by group organisers to pair requests for help with offers of support. Although the group has been operating for more than a month and had received numerous requests for assistance, since using the service it has seen a significant rise in the number of people getting in touch.
JudgeService MD Neil Addley said “For some people, asking for help publicly on somewhere like Facebook is embarrassing. People might not want to admit they can’t manage on their own, but they really do need support. With Help Next Door, when people send a request, it’s only seen by the person running the group and passed on to one volunteer who can help them out.” Jade Moffatt, from Covid Co-operation Harrogate, said: “We have had such a huge response from the community, and we have already been able to help many vulnerable, elderly and shielding families within the community get the support and help they need. We are looking forward to being able to help so many more people, and would have been unable to do this so easily without Help Next Door.”
Help Next Door was created by the team at JudgeService and is being supported by them on a voluntary basis. Every member of staff has offered to help in some way, from manning phones to tweaking the service to meet community groups’ changing needs. Jade added “The willingness and support from JudgeService to tweak and improve the platform for ease of use is most appreciated. Not only have they been able to offer their services free of charge, their kindness and generosity has helped many people in the Harrogate area. We are looking forward to continuing working with them all.”
Support Local:
Harrogate based Millennia Cloud has created Support Local to connect the local community to local business whilst we are in Covid19 lockdown.
Local Harrogate businesses that are believed to be open have provisional business listings. Businesses need to claim their listings via the web site and follow the instructions. Support Local can be used today and as businesses claim or add listings it will improve. Turn to your local greengrocer, deli or farm shop during this time. Staying in is the new Going Out. Millennia hope it helps.
These are just a few – if you know about any others please share details using the hashtag #thinkharrogate