The 2002 eWell-Being Awards

2002 was the eWell-Being Awards inaugural year and we would like to thank all those who took the time to enter projects, and indeed the judges for their hard work and enthusiasm. We would also like to thank BT and the Local Government Association for their support of the Awards.

A wide range of organisations showed, through their varied and interesting projects, how use of ICT can create environmental and social benefits for local communities and beyond. Below are short case studies on all the 2002 winning and commended entries.

The Awards

Category: Reducing the Digital Divide

This category focuses on those initiatives which improve access to and understanding of ICT by disadvantaged groups. The judges for this category were impressed by the high quality of the entrants and chose Lichfield District Council as the overall winner while commending both LEAD Scotland and PACT Community Projects in Brighton for their initiatives.

Category: Transport

The Transport category focused on projects that use ICT to reduce the use and/or impact of transport on the environment. The judges chose Liftshare as the overall winner for its focused and realistic use of ICT to encourage liftsharing, and therefore reduce the number of car journeys. Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council's teleworking scheme was commended as a practical and effective scheme for attempting to reduce the car travel impact of its employees.

Category: Resource Efficiency

Projects in this category used ICT to improve resource efficiency in areas such as energy, water and waste. The judges chose Peterborough Environment City Trust as the overall winner in this category for its innovative 'Greener Futures' project. This uses ICT to raise awareness of sustainability issues amongst school children and their families and also generates data on resource use in households.

Brighton and Hove City Council's 'Ninelives' project was commended for its use of reality TV techniques to raise awareness of, and measure improvements in, resource use.

Category: Community Empowerment

This category was aimed at those organisations that have used ICT to reduce social exclusion and/or to allow members of communities to participate more effectively in government or business decision-making. Of the projects entered for this category, the judges chose Woodbridge School and Visyon for commendation as two excellent, early-stage, community-focused initiatives.

Category: Best e-Government Initiative

This category recognises local authorities which that are using ICT to achieve environmental and social benefits for their community. The judges named the London Borough of Newham as the winner in this category for its approach to integrating council services using a wide range of technologies.

Category: Most Promising Voluntary Sector Project

This is an award designed to identify voluntary sector projects contributing environmental and social benefits that are in their early stages. The award is focused on those projects which have the potential for replication elsewhere. The judges chose the Netmums initiative as overall winner for its comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of its target audience, its self-sustaining structure and its potential for replication elsewhere. The judges also commended Gylemuir Community Action for its locally-based initiative to tackle social deprivation.

Sustainable ICT Applications

This category focuses on software, web sites or other applications which can be used by organisations or individuals to provide environmental or social benefits. The judges were impressed by the range of applications in this category. They chose Braintree District Council as the overall winner for its innovative use of ICT to integrate local authority services. They also commended RuralNet for the way in which it uses ICT to join up voluntary organisations and create communities of interest while providing valuable ICT services.