IS Communications is a company that specialises in helping regeneration partnerships exploit the potential of ICT for economic regeneration and social inclusion. We also work with Government and European partners on digital divide and e-democracy projects. We carry out research on information society issues and work with local authorities to help them deliver e-government.
We are all committed to helping to build a socially inclusive information society.
Our approach is a people centred one. We identify how technology can support the needs and aspirations of local people, businesses and organisations and then involve them in every stage of implementation.
To give you a flavour of the type of work we do, here's a snapshot of projects we have carried out in the past six months :
managing
a wireless broadband network linking 70 homes in
Bradford for an SRB partnership and investigating
the potential of local loop unbundling to use ADSL
to extend the network
Running
the commercialisation work stream for an ODPM
e-innovations funded broadband TV project
Advising
several strategic partnership bodies and a major
housing developer on the right telecommunications
infrastructure for new-build housing estates and how
to exploit such an infrastructure for social and
economic benefit
managing
two pilot implementations of the DfES funded, Ufi
managed myguide project to provide web tools to help
make the internet more accessible
We value our independence
We do not have any of our own technology products to sell so we can provide genuinely independent advice on what would work best for each client.
We do however have excellent working relationships with a number of top technology companies and can bring in their expertise to benefit our clients when it is appropriate to do so.
We have expertise in working with people from ethnic minorities
We have a strong commitment to equal opportunities and particular experience of working with Asian groups, including Muslim women. One of our directors worked for 11 years in India and Pakistan and is fluent in Urdu.
Staffing
IS Communications has two directors, Michael Mulquin and Samantha Hellawell, and a team of
three associates.
Michael Mulquin : Michael has been at the forefront of a number of initiatives over the past ten years to bring technology to deprived areas. With Samantha Hellawell he set up IS Communications in January 1999 to help regeneration teams understand and harness ICT to deliver economic and social benefits.
He is the chair of Newham.net, a company limited by guarantee that has provided the technical support for wiring up 600 flats on a Newham estate and developed a broadband network based on interactive digital
TV. His abiding preoccupation is developing affordable broadband for communities. He is a member of the Broadband Stakeholder Group set up by industry to advise Government.
Samantha Hellawell : Samantha is the author of the recent Fabian Society report Beyond Access, ICT and Social Inclusion which looks at how excluded people can be engaged in using technology.
Prior to setting up IS Communications with Michael in 1999 she was Community Programmes Manager at IBM where she specialised in social inclusion and information society issues.
She has also worked in the voluntary sector at a senior level in public affairs.
managing
a wireless broadband network linking 70 homes in
Bradford for an SRB partnership and investigating
the potential of local loop unbundling to use ADSL
to extend the network
