Freddie Quek, Chair of the BCS Digital Divide Specialist Group, explores some impressive and important community initiatives by BCS members that focus on ending digital poverty.
The 12th of September 2024 marked the second End Digital Poverty Day, a nationwide initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the pressing issue of digital poverty in the UK. Established by the Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA), its mission is to eliminate digital poverty by 2030. The BCS and DPA joined forces by signing a Memorandum of Understanding last year.
The issue of digital poverty has been around for a while. Nearly 20% of children do not have adequate internet access for learning or doing schoolwork. Around 1.7 million households do not have internet access, and 1.4 million households rely on mobile data to get online. At the other end of the spectrum, 30% of adults over 65 years old do not use the internet, lack skills and have limited access to devices. This means they struggle to access support and may struggle to meet their needs independently.
The BCS Digital Divide Specialist Group was established in 2022. Its mission is to ‘leave no one digitally behind’. Working closely with the Digital Poverty Alliance and the #Joiningthedots community (15 tech leader communities in the UK), this coalition is socialising messages about what technology can do to help address digital inclusion.
The idea of ‘BCS Member in the Community’ came out of last year’s BCS-DPA strategy day. IT professionals have a superpower; they can use digital technologies for work, life and entertainment. Yet there are many people in society, from the young to the elderly, who are unable — for various reasons — to make best use of digital technology. As you read on, we’ll look at some powerful stories where BCS members have set about meeting these challenges.
Digital Helping Hands — tech support pilot
The Digital Helping Hands initiative is championed by #Joiningthedots, BCS and WaveLength (a charity that supports those dealing with loneliness), along with two major technology partners: Unisys and ServiceNow. The initiative's goal is to learn how to support people outside work and scale this support across the UK and globally.
The concept of an IT Helpdesk has no equivalent outside the workplace, and the initiative aims to address that by assisting those who have varying levels of digital competence and confidence by supporting their experiential learning, using digital tools and services for personal life management and entertainment. Some of the key differences from work users include individuals with varying levels of digital literacy and confidence, and the need for additional support from intermediaries. Some of the complexities associated with supporting these users include dealing with a variety of technologies, and the types and ages of devices. Beneficiaries can seek assistance from the helpdesk directly or be supported by intermediaries.
The initiative’s first pilot partner is Anawim, a charity supporting vulnerable women. The aim is to help with devices, data connectivity, tech support and confidence. The Digital Helping Hands support categories include: Operating System (issues with digital device operating systems); Connectivity (data access and Wi-Fi issues); Apps (problems with digital applications); Online Security (cybersecurity practices); Education (understanding digital tools); and Skills (developing digital competencies).
The project team, which meets weekly, combines expertise from corporate tech support from Unisys, with insights from experts like Professor Leela Damodaran, who studies the needs of older people, and Tim Leech, CEO of WaveLength.
Digital inclusive design educational tool
Today’s use of digital personas assumes that if it is good enough for 80%, it is representative of the entire population. They also assume that users are able bodied and have digital skills.
BCS members David Smith CITP MBCS and Freddie Quek FBCS, along with Kate Harrison, Rich Thurston, Elena Dumitrana and Nicola Duckett embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to create a National Catalogue of Digital Personas that everyone could contribute to and utilise.
The team’s initial research, which included insights from LOTI, Lloyds Bank and Cambridge University, led them to identify 13 additional dimensions to be considered for digital personas. This complexity proved to be a challenge. By consulting with experts, including older adults, disabled individuals and neurodiverse people, the team realised that these digital personas needed to be dynamic, evolving with users' changing needs — whether temporary, permanent or situational. This revelation inspired the creation of a comprehensive matrix and a decision tree to refine their approach.
The result is an innovative digital inclusive design educational tool aimed at designers and developers, guiding them in creating digital solutions that consider both the physical and cognitive constraints of all users. At the core of this tool is a two-part approach; the first part focuses on universal design principles that apply to 80% of users, while the second part addresses adaptive design, specifically catering to the remaining 20% who might be digitally excluded due to various constraints.
The goal is to become the go-to educational tool for digital solution designers and developers worldwide so that it has the greatest impact for all users of digital products and solutions.
Higher education digital inclusion manifesto and toolkit
At Digital Universities Week 2023, organised by Times Higher Education (THE), a number of universities including the University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, University of Bristol and University of Staffordshire, together with the Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) and BCS, started a call to action to create a higher education sector-wide digital inclusion strategy to address digital poverty.
Digital poverty affects both students and staff and prevents the development of transferable information and communications technology (ICT) skills and digital literacy. The HE Commission’s Report on Digitally Enhanced Blended Learning, launched in 2024, found that students are still struggling to access appropriate online course materials or lack access to suitable devices needed for learning.
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Higher education institutions (HEIs) should participate in the wider ecosystem to learn and solve common problems together. A small working group led by professors Raheel Nawaz and Simeon Yates and coordinated by Freddie Quek FBCS and Charlotte Coles, created a Digital Inclusion Manifesto and Toolkit. The manifesto identified three core principles that should underpin institutional strategies for digital inclusion: accessibility; equality, diversity and inclusion; and empowerment. Professor Nawaz created and rolled out the Digital Inclusion Manifesto and Toolkit at the University of Staffordshire, which he announced at THE Campus Live UK&IE 2023 in Liverpool. Other universities such as De Montfort University are following suit.
The overall goal is to establish a global higher education digital inclusion network comprising higher education institutions, organisations and stakeholders linked with digital education to support digital inclusion activities in higher education across the world.
Digital inclusion programmes in the North East and North Cumbria
Andy Wake FBCS founded Town and Community as a not-for-profit organisation in Durham in May 2021. The aim was to help local businesses and organisations in the North East to donate their obsolete digital devices and computer equipment to local beneficiaries through sustainable, scalable and repeatable education, health and community programmes.
Town and Community embarked on two programmes. The first addressed the lack of computers to deliver STEM and computer education in primary and secondary schools in the region. The second programme worked with the NHS and the Health Innovation Network in the North East and North Cumbria to repurpose NHS digital devices for health and care pathways.
Town and Community’s goal is to build stronger towns and communities through establishing accessible digital inclusion programmes in education, health, arts and sports.
