IT infrastructure optimisation for SMEs

The proposed project will use University of Surrey expertise in business process re-engineering and IT technology for supporting the Networked Enterprise in order to: (a) transform the business base of the Trust so that it can fully and effectively enable the staff to realize the goals of the Trust; and, (b) engage effectively with its membership base and the wider community. The SWT will then provide a model for how all the County Wildlife Trusts in England and Wales can actively engage local communities with their environment.

The technology integration through this project will significantly reduce ITC consultancy and support, and trading administration costs; increase recruitment and retention of memberships; and will enable the Trust to dramatically extend the scope and range of their educational and outreach programmes.

The partnership is strategic in allowing SWT to create a model that best serves their membership needs, service excellence and communication and community involvement. We believe that the results obtained from this project will be transferable to a wide range of SMEs in general, as well as third sector organizations. They will provide a test of validity of much of the research work of the Digital Ecosystem research group in the Department of Computing and consequently this proposal is an important part of the research roadmap of that group.