The community commerce and knowledge network

Contribution to sustainable development and people’s quality of life:

ComKnet pioneers the use of Information Communications Technology for the social and economic development of sustainable communities through knowledge sharing, lifelong learning and intra-community trading.

Organisation: Mass Mitec Creative Collaborative Communications Consultancy

Sector: Private

Location: Harborough District, Leicestershire

Start Date: December 1998

Duration: 2 years

Summary: The project was designed to explore how ICT might be used for sustainable social and economic development within a rural and market town community. It piloted the use of applications such as virtual conferencing, on-line communities, e-commerce and web portals.

Background: The Community Commerce and Knowledge Network project was devised to address some of the issues of rural and market town communities in the age of globalisation and to better harness local skills and talents to prevent the loss of human and economic resources from rural economies.

Project results: ComKnet helped to establish the Harborough District as a leader in Community Informatics with an international profile. It acted as a catalyst for many other projects which have brought additional inward investment into the community and helped to establish new collaborative partnerships.

The ComKnet project has led on to the Harborough Community Learning Network, The Radio with Pictures Show and a Challenger award in the Broadband Britain finals.

Keywords: Community, Informatics, ICT, Sustainability, Harborough

Contact Details:

David Wortley

Mass Mitec

The White House

38 Main Street

Lubenham

Market Harborough

Leics

LE16 9TF.

Tel: 01858 410366

Fax: 01858 434653
E-mail: dwortley@btconnect.com