Timebanking web portal helps increase community cohesion?

 

www.mytimeyourtime.org.uk

 

Timebanking is a scheme which often operates in localised areas and allows members of the scheme to give or receive skills which are translated into debits and credits of time – hence the name Timebanking. The skills available reflect the skills of the collective members and can be anything, from Adult literacy to Yoga and can include tuition for music and languages to offering to drive someone to a destination. No money is ever involved and people do not necessarily have to swap services with each other directly.

The benefits of the scheme include:

• greater cohesion and empathy between members, 
• a sense of self worth and well being by helping others, 
• member cost savings through obtaining assistance with tasks, 
• a sense of enjoyment through helping others, 
• a richer social life through a wider network of contacts.

In late 2009 Hexagon Housing Association in Sydenham, south east London, approached Emerald to build a web based portal to promote and manage the activity of their Timebanking project.

Hexagon has been operating My Time Your Time for a number of years across three local areas and while they have operated successfully with their existing offline database, the Community Investment team leaders Jon Fisher and Andre Peters felt that a web portal would add to the overall reach of the scheme and would simplify the management of day to day activity.

The website provides three distinct advantages over the offline systems

1. A wider reach and thereby increased member count – with the reach of the internet and the ability to use other social media to promote the scheme Hexagon is looking forward to attracting more members to the scheme which in turn will add a wider range of skills and will lead to more exchanges occurring

2. Wider publication of the “requests and offers” – the traditional method of promoting requests for assistance involved the Hexagon team mailing out material and chasing people on the telephone to arrange exchanges. This paced a huge demand on staff hours and required almost daily input. The website displays all available “requests and offers” to members and non members alike – but only active members can respond to a request.

3. Simplified administration process – The Hexagon team’s administration is dramatically reduced and is driven by system prompts. The Hexagaon team now focus on authorising new member accounts and confirming matches for the completion of tasks.

The time freed up by the Hexagon team means they are free to promote the scheme to a wider audience and thereby gain more members. Add to this the fact that Area Champions exist to promote and manage the scheme at a local area level and the Hexagon team is looking forward to seeing lots of new members over the coming months.

Each new member creates and subsequently manages their own account online, including the creation of new requests and offers, amendment of their own personal contact details and their own availability.

The portal contains a series of management reports on the key indicators for the system.

To promote the web portal Emerald produces a range of printed material including leaflets, posters, and promotional items. The team at Hexagon is able to provide assistance with the practicalities of setting up a Timebanking scheme where none exists.

To learn how a Timebanking web portal could benefit your organisation contact Antony Dyson at Emerald on antony@emerald-design.co.uk.