We define PlaceCal as:
A co-constituted combination of software and training. These two elements work together to support a neighbourhood-level community calendar. It’s aimed directly at neighbourhood groups and the institutions who want to work better with them.
The PlaceCal platform and program is made up of a number of different elements, which we’ll go into now.
The technical side of PlaceCal
The PlaceCal software is the technical stack and infrastructure of our core program. PlaceCal imports and connects information from neighbourhood institutions and organisations who have signed up to be part of our program. As long as partners input their data regularly, PlaceCal will import, aggregate and publish on to the PlaceCal.org website automatically.
PlaceCal technological infrastructure
PlaceCal brings together existing calendar tools and IT infrastructure – which are tools that organisations are already using to organise themselves. This process drastically reduces the current manual workload of keeping event information updated and reliable, as well as synced across multiple partners.
What does PlaceCal look like?
At its most basic, PlaceCal is a shared community calendar. It’s a community of people working together to share information about their events. This community looks like this:
These PlaceCal roles are clearly defined and each type of person uses our calendar in a different way:
- Citizen – someone living in a community who directly benefits from the PlaceCal events listing
- Social prescriber – someone whose job can be made easier by having access to the events listing
- Partner Manager – someone who otherwise struggles to share their events with the wider community
- Partner Admin – someone who is updating an internal events calendar with listings anyway
- Secretary – someone working in the community whose job is to “asset map” current events across organisations
- Commissioner – someone responsible for improving the health and social outcomes in their area
- Developers – someone interested in using the PlaceCal software or API for their own purpose
Find out more in the PlaceCal glossary.
PlaceCal delivers more than 220 events per week – and that’s just in Moss Side! It currently has more than 17 partners publishing events, with more in the process of being trained.
PlaceCal training program
To ensure people are getting the most out of the software and have the right skills, we have also developed a custom PlaceCal training program based on extensive field research.
The PlaceCal training program is an in-depth education package delivered as a standard part of our service. Our targets are the community groups, regional providers, and community organisations involved in PlaceCal.
These groups are already invested in gathering information about local services and events in their area, but currently struggling to manage this process efficiently. They lack a coherent way of creating, storing and sharing their information collaboratively.
Our training tackles this problem by giving key workers the tools they need to collaborate, which capitalises on existing resources.
These local workers and residents take on key roles, some of them acting as a ‘secretary’. Secretaries are the active curators who ensure that the community is in charge of its local information. They ensure that the information produced is trustworthy, which can then be recommended back to local health and community organisations.
What does PlaceCal do
=====================
We define PlaceCal as:
A co-constituted combination of software and training. These two
elements work together to support a neighbourhood-level community
calendar. It’s aimed directly at neighbourhood groups and the
institutions who want to work better with them.
.. figure:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/geeksforsocialchange/PlaceCal-Handbook/master/assets/what-is-placecal-community.png
:alt: PlaceCal program diagram
PlaceCal program diagram
The PlaceCal platform and program is made up of a number of different
elements, which we’ll go into now.
The technical side of PlaceCal
------------------------------
The PlaceCal software is the technical stack and infrastructure of our
core program. PlaceCal imports and connects information from
neighbourhood institutions and organisations who have signed up to be
part of our program. As long as partners input their data regularly,
PlaceCal will import, aggregate and publish on to the
`PlaceCal.org <https://placecal.org>`__ website automatically.
.. figure:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/geeksforsocialchange/PlaceCal-Handbook/master/assets/placecal-technological-infrastructure.png
:alt: PlaceCal technological infrastructure
PlaceCal technological infrastructure
PlaceCal brings together existing calendar tools and IT infrastructure
– which are tools that organisations are already using to organise
themselves. This process drastically reduces the current manual workload
of keeping event information updated and reliable, as well as synced
across multiple partners.
What does PlaceCal look like?
-----------------------------
At its most basic, PlaceCal is a shared community calendar. It’s a
community of people working together to share information about their
events. This community looks like this:
.. figure:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/geeksforsocialchange/PlaceCal-Handbook/master/assets/seven-core-placecal-roles.png
:alt: PlaceCal seven core roles
PlaceCal seven core roles
These PlaceCal roles are clearly defined and each type of person uses
our calendar in a different way:
- **Citizen** – someone living in a community who directly benefits
from the PlaceCal events listing
- **Social prescriber** – someone who’s job can be made easier by
having access to the events listing
- **Partner Manager** – someone who otherwise struggles to share their
events with the wider community
- **Partner Admin** – someone who is updating an internal events
calendar with listings anyway
- **Secretary** – someone working in the community whose job is to
“asset map” current events across organisations
- **Commissioner** – someone responsible for improving the health and
social outcomes in their area
- **Developers** – someone interested in using the PlaceCal software or
API for their own purpose
Find out more in the :doc:`PlaceCal glossary </glossary>`.
PlaceCal delivers more than 220 events per week – and that’s just in
Moss Side! It currently has more than 17 partners publishing events,
with more in the process of being trained.
PlaceCal training program
-------------------------
.. figure:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/geeksforsocialchange/PlaceCal-Handbook/master/assets/what-is-placecal-software.png
:alt: PlaceCal software map
PlaceCal software map
To ensure people are getting the most out of the software and have the
right skills, we have also developed a custom PlaceCal training program
based on extensive field research.
The PlaceCal training program is an in-depth education package delivered
as a standard part of our service. Our targets are the community groups,
regional providers, and community organisations involved in PlaceCal.
These groups are already invested in gathering information about local
services and events in their area, but currently struggling to manage
this process efficiently. They lack a coherent way of creating, storing
and sharing their information collaboratively.
Our training tackles this problem by giving key workers the tools they
need to collaborate, which capitalises on existing resources.
These local workers and residents take on key roles, some of them acting
as a ‘secretary’. Secretaries are the active curators who ensure that
the community is in charge of its local information. They ensure that
the information produced is trustworthy, which can then be recommended
back to local health and community organisations.
Find out more about :doc:`who uses PlaceCal <who-is-using-placecal>`.