An initiative in London is demonstrating the possibilities for an approach to digital inclusion that combines efforts at a local and national level, with local authorities potentially taking on an important role.
Elements of it were highlighted last month with an announcement on achievements of the Get Online London programme, under which thousands of people in the city have received donated devices or skills training to give them access to online services.
Theo Blackwell, chief digital officer for the Greater London Authority (GLA), highlights that local authorities, private and third sector organisations have donated devices that are refurbished by recycling organisation Reconome for distribution through a network of hubs.
Blackwell (who is speaking about this at Smart Places & Communities on 23 June) believes this could gather momentum with one of the larger donors being the Metropolitan Police, which went through a stringent due diligence process in the wiping and refurbishment of devices, and should provide other large organisations with the confidence to follow suit.
The GLA has been working with the London Office for Technology and Innovation (LOTI), the delivery partner for the programme which is coordinating the collection of devices, bringing together hubs for their distribution and helping residents of the city find support.
Scaling up ambition
The programme also involves digital inclusion charity Good Things Foundation which, according to its director of evidence and engagement Emma Stone, sees the potential to scale it up in a way that it becomes a broader digital inclusion service for the capital.
She highlights the role of the organisation’s National Device Bank in working with community organisations to equip people on low incomes with donated devices. Reconome checks on which one are good for re-use – sending the others to be sent for recycling of materials – and ensures the former are data wiped, equipped with new operating systems and in shape for at least 12-18 months of working life.
They can be paired with connectivity from Good Things’ National Databank, which it operates in partnership with network operators Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three, to provide SIM cards and data to people who could not otherwise afford them. It is distributed through the network of community organisations and charities.
“It includes public libraries and community centres,” Stone says. “We put them through an onboarding process, and for the databank we have due diligence checks to vet people before distributing the data.
“For the device bank when we have enough devices we put out a call to members of the network for applications for the next round. We have a form that gives us the information we need, including how many devices they need.
“That’s where having more supply is really important to us, as the demand from local communities is a lot bigger than our supply. We need to drive up the number of donations to meet that demand.
“And when we distribute devices people have a window of time in which to report back to us on distributions. There will be a few times when it looks as if they have not managed to use them, so we will follow up looking at the issues and occasionally do spot checks.
“But this is largely a trust based approach. We don’t want to put up barriers to organisations that feel they need to provide support. We want to make it as easy as possible while also doing an appropriate level of due diligence.”
Sustainability benefit
Stone adds that there is a strong element of environmental sustainability in this – Good Things has published a report on ‘Circular electronics for the social good’ – and that the aim is to make it operationally sustainable for the long term.
Subsequently, it is looking for more donations from larger public sector organisations and corporate bodies; now into its third round of applications for devices and in each one there have not been enough to go around.
“We want regular donations of devices,” she says. “We’re saying make donating of old devices part of the refresh of your IT estate.”
There is a strong local element to the programme, and other places where there are efforts to give it a local complexion. One example is the Greater Manchester Databank. But Stone emphasises that Good Things approaches it from a national perspective.
“We’re not set up to take devices from a particular ward, refurbish them, then send them back for distribution there. The vision we have is that devices donated to us are recycled, refurbished, and the ones that can be reused then go out to wherever across the UK they are needed, not targeted at a particular area.
“We’re conscious there are places in the country where they are not going to be able to set up those types of systems themselves, maybe because there won’t be enough device donors. Therefore, the scale of London means that it works just about enough so devices we receive from London can go to London, but they still have to be pan-London.
“It's complementary but a different model. All of this is about having a network in place that means we can reach and distribute through those local organisations that want to respond to local needs around digital inclusion.”
Community foundation
Stone says that a key element of all this is that the distribution of devices and data is based in communities, reaching people who face digital barriers that could be removed by providing skills support, devices or data connectivity.
She describes it as a form of national social infrastructure but says it is incomplete and that Good Things wants to expand it further, and that this involves filling gaps in areas that are apparently already covered. London provides an example, with activities in all of its boroughs but parts of those in which it needs more organisations to join. Also, local authorities could play a significant role.
“We want to grow the number of organisations in that network to increase the number of touchpoints for people to access support,” Stone says.
“For a borough or smaller community, how do you have some level of local coordination? That’s where local authorities have a role to play, in building that coordinated level of support.
“It could be private sector organisations or a post office. In every borough you will have different touchpoints and opportunities for coordination. That’s why we’re supporting it across London, but there’s still a role for London boroughs to play.”
Part of transformation
Blackwell conveys a similar perspective, saying that inclusion is becoming an intrinsic part of digital transformation for the public sector, and that organisations can play a more active role in supporting relevant efforts.
He cites possibilities of social care workers, housing officers or practice managers for GPs being able to refer people to device banks when they see the need.
“The idea is you work with services to provide the opportunity for digital inclusion in all these little points of interaction in their lives,” he says.
“That’s where I want to get to. We’re not trying to replace what’s happening on the ground but augment. All the things I’ve mentioned haven’t happened yet, but they could happen. All it takes is some imagination from the local authority to say ‘This is the point where we could help them’.”
He adds that there has been a meeting of minds between key organisations in the capital that dealing with digital exclusion requires more than investment in a few programmes.
“Instead, we were saying we were thinking about if you want digital access for all you have to think about how you develop it as a service,” he says. “How can your users’ feedback develop the service as it goes on, rather than it becoming redundant?
“We’re talking to a range of people including Good Things Foundation, whose entire business programme is pivoted in this direction.”
Theo Blackwell will be speaking about the importance of digital inclusion at UKAuthority's Smart Places & Communities virtual conference on 23 June - register here to join us live
