[Bradford] Bradford CVS

[John R Hudson]

Hi all

Not sure if anyone has drafted anything in support of Bardford CVS submission 
to Bradford Council. Here is my attempt in case no-one else has done anything. 
Perhaps we could agree what we submit at the meeting tomorrow.

John

The contribution of Bradford CVS to Bradford GNU/LUG

Organisation
The Bradford GNU/LUG is an unincorporated association of people interested in 
the use and development of free and open source software. It was founded in 
2008 in part because the local organisations involved in free and open source 
software were mostly based in Leeds and it was thought there would be 
sufficient interest in a Bradford based group, something which has been amply 
demonstrated by the growth in size and activities of the group. The group has 
no assets and relies on donations and gifts in kind to cover its operations.

Venues
It explored the options for a venue in the Bradford area which would have wi-
fi Internet access and the necessary technical equipment to demonstrate free 
and open source software and which would be available on a regular basis for a 
monthly evening meeting. The Mabel Booth Room at the Bradford CVS was 
eventually identified as the only central Bradford location which could offer 
all these facilities and the association has met there regularly for over two 
years.

Open source
In a statement issued in January 2010, `Open Source, Open Standards and ReUse: 
Government Action Plan' Angela Smith, Minister of State for the Cabinet 
Office, reiterated the then government's support for `innovation ... by 
encouraging open source thinking,' a policy which the current government also 
supports.

Contributions to the local community
As well as providing a forum for demonstrating the use of free and open source 
software to interested parties, the association regularly contributes material 
on free and open source software to the CVS journal Bradford Briefing.

The association has identified with the CVS a need for seminars aimed in 
particular at smaller voluntary organisations which do not have the capacity 
to support an IT officer and has offered to provide free seminars for these 
and other voluntary sector organisations interested in the use and development 
of free and open source software. Such free seminars are only viable because 
the CVS has the facilities of the Mabel Booth Room within which to offer them.

Members also provide informal support to a number of voluntary and other non-
commercial organisations interested in using and developing free and open 
source software.

Conclusion
The availability of a suitable venue for its past activities and for its 
planned contributions to voluntary sector organisations has been and will be a 
vital part of the association's ability to contribute to the work of the 
Bradford CVS and to the local community more generally at a time when greater 
reliance is being placed on local initiatives to accept responsibility for 
areas previously seen as government responsibilities.

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