DOT PROJECT a year in review
As a co-operative, people are at the heart of everything we do. In 2020, the National Lottery Digital Fund and Beyond taught us a lot about the sector and its needs. In 2021 it was imperative that we instrumentalised this and put into action all of our learnings from these programmes through our regeneration phase.
2021 was a busy period and one of regeneration for us at DOT PROJECT. As an organisation we paused and recalibrated our mission, vision and goals. We supported 455 organisations, took on stewardship for Tech4GoodSW, expanded our portfolio and created a roadmap for the year ahead. We were also shortlisted for a Tech South West Award and Digital Leaders Impact Awards 2022 in the Business Transformation.
Mid-way through the year we took 6 weeks to focus on a regeneration phase. An opportunity to reflect, regroup and refresh, this was risky. We closed up shop and focused entirely on re-building DOT PROJECT to become the organisation we were naturally evolving into. We knew we needed to be bold and accept that the process might not always be easy from a personal or commercial perspective, but in 2021 we embraced regeneration and all of its associated uncertainties.
What regeneration looked like for us at DOT PROJECT
The process of regeneration or realignment is different for each organisation, and to some extent, it must be organic. Learning to sit in uncomfortable spaces with uncertainty and build without substantive clarity on the end-product is a challenging process. All organisations are made up of people, and what they bring to regeneration also shapes the process and ultimately your end result. What we did have was a framework that we used to get to the place we are today. When we began our regeneration phase, we knew that by the end of the process we needed an understanding of:
How we wanted to work together going forward
Who our audience now is, and how we can best support them
Our approach to securing business that aligns with our mission
Our own processes and organisational infrastructure
We’re committed to working in the open and will be sharing the framework we used when undergoing our regeneration in the New Year for anyone interested in undertaking the process themselves. What we gained from pausing was invaluable - as we were able to not only reflect on the emerging needs of the sector but the evolving skills and experience of our membership. Understanding our foundations helped us create our plan going forward.
What’s next for DOT PROJECT in 2022?
From regeneration what became clear to us is our commitment to building core organisational infrastructure for the people we work with. For us, “organisational infrastructure” is the people and technology that forms the foundation of your organisation. So, in 2022 we’re even more committed to ensuring that the technology used in an organisation is fit for its purpose, that it's the right tool for the people who use and interact with it, and that they have the skills and confidence to leverage that technology to maximise their impact.
We relentlessly focus on human needs relating to technology, both within organisations and across their primary and secondary stakeholders. We know that successful organisational transformation requires a major shift in mindsets and behaviours. 70% of companies either have a digital transformation strategy in place or are working on one and yet, only 30% succeed. We’re even more committed to ensuring that our clients are building their organisational infrastructure to be sustainable and resilient for their futures.
Our role in the Social Economy
There are many terms to describe the area in which we work. Therefore based on the work we do and organisations we support we identify the ‘social economy’ as the system in which we operate.
“The social economy gathers enterprises of the co-operative movements, mutual benefit and insurance societies, foundations and all other types of non-profit organizations which all share some principles making them correspond to the "third sector" of modern economies. Indeed, social economy organisations differ from the private for-profit sector as their primary goal is to serve members’ needs or a broader public interest instead of maximizing and distributing profits to shareholders or members”
In 2022, we’ll also be leaning into our role within the social economy, and advocating for core organisational infrastructure within the space. We’re starting this through our work with AVA and Chayn to explore opportunities for shared infrastructure to improve information access for survivors of sexual and domestic abuse - and are currently inviting consultations for this work.
As the year ends for us at DOT PROJECT we’re also deeply thankful for the community of people we have worked with in 2021, and are excited to see what the future holds for us and the wider social economy.
