We recently held our annual conference digitally for the first time and it was really heartening to hear that 100% of respondents felt that a benefit of attending the event was feeling connected to the international development community. Whilst working remotely in our sector is not new for many, feeling part of a network in Scotland and knowing who you can ask for advice and support is more important than ever in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here at the Alliance we have a digital forum called the Alliance Community designed to connect members with each other to discuss, share, and crowdsource solutions to challenges we all face. Over 135 different member organisations and nearly 300 individuals are signed up to the forum.
Here is a summary of October’s activity, which included:
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Sign-ups from members Mercy Corps Europe, the John John Trust, the Vine Trust, Oxfam Scotland and various individual members. View the introductions thread to learn more about our new community users and their favourite development fuzzwords!
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A reminder that organisations and individuals involved in the delivery of UK Aid can feed into the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s review of tackling fraud in UK Aid by the 2 November
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An overview of upcoming safeguarding workshops and webinars in November
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A request to connect with members working in South Sudan
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A request to connect with organisations who have funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands
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A request for opinions of the database tool Lamplight, have you used it before?
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A charity seeking recommendations for an independent examiner
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Discussion of events you can exhibit at digitally
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Signposting resources and workshops about age and inclusion in the workplace
Open partnership and collaboration requests include:
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A request to partner a Ugandan-based NGO working on a COVID-19 response project
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A request to partner an Ethiopian civil society organisation working on education
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An offer to demonstrate Amplio Talking Books
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An offer to provide information on contacts for procuring PPE
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An offer to provide members with intelligence services around political risk and economic intelligence
We recently heard back from a member about the benefits of following up on a collaboration request which we posted on the Alliance Community last year. Have you got a success story to share or feedback you would like to gives us for the online discussion forum? If you do, please get in touch with Laura via email.
Find out more about what members can use the Alliance Community for on the website and join the Alliance Community today by signing up and creating your profile. Need help signing up? Find out how to sign up and complete a series of simple tasks with our explainer and short video.