Workshop
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE & OLDER PEOPLE -
Addressing this challenge for local government
WORKSHOP held on 25th November 2016 Venue: Ramada Hotel, Loughborough
Information and communication technology (ICT), in particular the internet, has become even more prevalent throughout society in recent decades. The internet is now central to our economic, cultural and political lives. It is used as a mechanism for the delivery of public services, personal communication and is a vast source of information and entertainment. However, older people are significantly less likely to have access to the internet than the rest of the under pension age population. This difference gives rise to the notion of the “digital divide†between those who enjoy the benefits of ICT and those who are excluded.
This high profile workshop which was an invitation-only event focussed on future collaboration between older people and local government to attain and sustain ongoing digital participation of older people.
As previously stated, using ICTs enables people to access an ever-increasing range of information, goods, services, entertainment/leisure, educational and social networking opportunities. For older people, such benefits mean that ICTs can not only become powerful assistive technologies, but they can also help to maintain their independence, social connectedness and sense of worth in the face of declining health or limited capabilities. Such advantages offer the potential for significant cost savings for local government. Yet as people age, they face changes in health, capability and/or social circumstances, which may mean they cannot, or feel unable to, use these digital tools. The consequences can be reductions in the quality of life and independence for individuals which in turn threaten the projected cost savings in local government which are based on the widespread adoption of digital services by users.
A number of older people’s groups participated in the Loughborough Sus-IT research project examining digital participation and engagement of older people. This generated findings with significant implications for public sector service provision to older people and associated public policy in areas such as adult social care, customer services and sheltered housing. Working with the Sus-IT researchers, members of the East Midlands Later Life Forum have recognised the importance of successful and confident digital participation of its members. They have identified best practice examples based on collaboration between local government and older people and the Workshop gave an opportunity for one of the best of these Long Eaton 50+ Forum to give a presentation of their scheme.
The challenge, post workshop, is a commitment to stimulate the replicating of these established and sustainable examples more widely.
REPORTS FROM BREAK-OUT GROUPS
(i) Start-up process for collaborations
Members of the group: Audrey Chan, Sarah Charles, Steve Phipps, Cristina Quinones, Kevin Ryan, Jill Vincent
1. Potential activists need to be enthusiastic / fired up if they are to advocate effectively. Grounds for action are: issues of justice and inclusion, including access to information and ease of application to statutory services; apparent local interest and demand; the social value of groups that bring people together around a common interest, and combat loneliness, boredom and isolation; instrumental, based on evidence that people who have control over their lives experience better health and maintain themselves in their own homes (this is a public health issue that brings savings for the NHS)
2. Action seems to work at two levels. In the first, local activists get together for grass-roots organisation, while the second is pitched at strategic policy makers or service providers.
3. Local activists can start small, building on their own networks, friends and neighbours and also some ready-made local groups and organisations such as carers’ groups. They can recruit volunteers who have the expertise and shared interest; they can find free accommodation and maintain informal, social groups that respond to needs as they arise. It is likely that some of the older people attending will themselves become volunteers.
4. Free accommodation and possibly other in-kind help can be found in local libraries and through collaboration with colleges or universities. Libraries are keen to work in partnership and develop such group activities. As part of their Digital Offer, they have free internet, online information and staff who are trained to help. Universities are interested in selling their employability skills and to find opportunities for students to work with people of all ages. Helping people to get up to speed with their IT skills is a way of doing this and gives the students the chance to interact with people not of their generation.
5. Pitching at strategic policy-makers or service providers requires a different set of skills. These include: experience of work with such services; knowing how to find and use relevant evidence; indicating that empowering older people (and others who are similarly denied access and marginalised) brings benefits for the policy / service.
6. There is also a political / social justice angle that can be exploited. It exposes the reality as demographic change is here to stay. The government says it is keen to train people who have missed out to date; the promised government digital inclusion fund may become available in due course.
7. The point then is how to mediate between the two levels. We thought that would be quite tricky because local groups at the grass-roots need support, but not an overly-bureaucratic design to which they must conform. We also noted that funding can be difficult to access, require particular skills in the process of application, and come with substantial demands for data collection and assessment, out of all proportion to the abilities and activities of groups. Similarly, it may be beyond small, informal local groups to maintain an overview of resources (what is available and how the grass-roots level can gain access to them and make best use of them). Any system that can mediate successfully between the levels needs to avoid these pitfalls, enabling activity, while stepping back and not requiring specific approaches.
ii): Potential Revenue Streams (Facilitator: Steve Phipps)
Members of the group: as for group (i) above
Purpose : to identify:
• Sources of funding and/or in kind support to establish, develop and sustain a community hub
• The challenges of finding and securing funds/’in kind’ support
Funding/Resources
Resource requirements will vary with the scale of the activity to be delivered.
A group could work entirely informally using the skills, knowledge, IT equipment and connectivity and accommodation that they can source themselves. Many grass roots initiatives start like this with a small group of like-minded individuals forming a core group. They use existing networks to source any additional resources they may need and may not have any formal governance structures.
Using networks and relationships can be a vital resource in gathering support, contributions in kind and small donations.
At this level, fundraising may be a way of generating funding for specific needs of the project as are donations in kind of say equipment etc.
Moving up from this very small scale of project will require groups to have formal constitution/governance arrangements (and possibly charitable or CIC status). In this respect existing formal groups (like the 50plus forums) will already have the arrangements in place. Most funders/donors will require a group to be formally constituted and have a group bank account.
Sources:
IT Kit and Connectivity
• donation (second hand kit from large organisations/ businesses),
• subsidised (e.g. TT Exchange subsidised software),
• hired/loaned ( as part of using accommodation that already has IT equipment in situ – libraries, school, colleges etc.)
Cash
• Fund raising
• Membership fees
• Application to local charitable trusts ( local voluntary sector infra structure organisations will have details of these
• Crowd funding/Community Bonds
• Sponsorship from business interested in “the grey poundâ€, local tech companies – Corporate Social Responsibility
• Application to regional or national charitable trusts
• Big Lottery – various funding streams
• National access to IT initiatives
iii): Role of 50+ groups and later life forums (Facilitator: Liz Mandeville)
Members of the group: Liz Mandeville, Marjorie Broughton, Pete Wearn, Jo Marples-Ellis, Keith Butler, Peter Frakes.
Purpose: to explore what 50+ networks and later life forums can do in partnership with local communities to support digital participation of older people, enabling them to access the digital world and remain engaged.
The session began with discussing the experience at the Long Eaton 50+ group and this was enriched by having the Chair of the forum in the group!. The long history and on-going activity of the LE 50+ group was felt to demonstrate how effective and enduring partnerships can develop in the community with support from local councils - to help older people develop the confidence and capability to use ICT at varying levels. The facilities/services offered at LE 50 + have, for over a decade, enabled people to gain the confidence to use ICT; to learn how to access online information; to feel comfortable using technology; to protect themselves from scams and their personal information being accessed by others; and, perhaps most importantly, enjoy learning in a user-friendly environment with others. The chair of the LE 50+ forum reiterated the ethos he and his colleagues had espoused from the start i.e. - don’t wait for funding to get started; capitalise on available local assets; “Just get on with it†(funding will follow if you show benefits/positive results).
This perspective prompted one member of the breakout group who is seeking to start up ICT support provision in a local library, to ask for suggestions on how ‘to get on with it’. Discussion then focussed on identifying the essential requirements to make on-going provision of such support in the community viable and successful. This generated the following list of requirements:
• A passion to keep the vision of providing a useful and successful ICT support facility in the community going;
• A suitable venue which has good Wi-Fi provision preferably in locations which are already used by older people e.g. Libraries; supported housing community rooms, community rooms etc.
• Volunteers who can assist in developing and running a support service to encourage and support on-going digital participation.
• The good practice highlighted in the Long Eaton example demonstrates the importance of having a small core of volunteers with specific I.T. knowledge coupled with others able to help with a host of many of the frequent queries and problems requiring much less-specialised expertise. [The Long Eaton Project advertises in local papers for Tutors and Volunteers].
• Promote digital participation as an enjoyable social process e.g. by establishing the facility in a venue which is already frequented for social reasons e.g. by groups who get together for other interests – e.g. coach Trips; topical talks and presentations etc.
• To attract interest at start-up, ideas such as linking into other events in the area, distributing leaflets and fliers in the neighbourhood were suggested. Experience at LE and elsewhere has shown that a particularly successful way of gaining interest is to advertise and host sessions to which people bring their own phones, computer etc to learn how to make more use of the devices.
• Offer sessions free of charge and free of assessments
• Sustainability: this will be helped by utilising free existing venues and resources such as offered in local public libraries and by attracting contributions from local people and local companies etc. – perhaps, in the case of commercial organisations, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments.
Other considerations:
Under the Care Act there is a duty to provide information, advice and advocacy. Increasingly this is provided online. Without ICT support in the community it is unclear how those who are not online will gain information and access the support available.
[(iv) Volunteering – no separate report on this topic – the issue was addressed by all groups and reflected in their respective reports]
(v) Capacity Building for new partnerships. (Facilitator: Nigel Thomas; Notes: Karen Frostick)
Members of the group: Nigel Thomas, Karen Frostick, Varsha Parmar, Nick Parker, Ray Hutchins, Kazi Mashud, Roy Smith.
Purpose: to look at what opportunities there might be for services and communities to work closer together to enable greater levels of locally delivered digital inclusion for older people:
• What are the building blocks for success?
• What needs to be in place to help older people shape and deliver greater engagement?
• What types of work are required to enable better digital inclusion?
• Given that local Councils have severe financial constraints, what might they do to support new ways of working?
Output: the relationships with Libraries and its partners were deliberated and the following comments documented:
• A tool kit, framework for partnership working could be developed to ensure that volunteer- led services have a basis to work from and customers can have a general expectation of the service available
• Local libraries could have more shared resources particularly shared with VSC partners i.e. specialist books, IT.
• Local libraries should reflect their own communities so a ‘one size fits all’ tight directions will not work but a framework for development would benefit all. Should include suggestions of who likely partners might be, how to develop links, prompts to ask about networks and forums
• Libraries can provide IT space and support but projects that reflect local need should be co designed with partners and stakeholders
• Libraries and adult education IT sessions/training tend to be focussed on Job seekers and form filling however demand in the older population tends to be more social and associated to life skills i.e. online shopping. Therefore partners should consider the breath of the offer made to older people.
General comments regarding partnerships
All partners should look at ways to break down barriers to IT participation in the day to day processes of their business. I.e. build in activities to social / learning programmes whenever possible… use of digital photography to record projects. Using IT programmes to plan designs to explore examples and get new ideas.
All partners should promote and share information about funding opportunities and look to establish partnerships and cooperatives for larger pots of money i.e. EU funding with larger organisations taking lead roles and grass roots concentrating on delivery and promotion. The lower level/ entry level interest can be best served at grass-roots community levels with more focused activities provided via libraries and formal education providers.
Partners needs to
• Tell the story… share the barriers and promote why we need to break down barriers to participation for older people and younger adults with support needs that face great inequality if we don’t challenge the status quo.
• Know what’s available re resources, who’s got what where and can it be used? and who’s doing what?
• Link resources to people’s needs, to facilitators, to venues to volunteers.
• Flexible responses need to fostered… we should not assume people are accessing information regardless of how amazing our web based information is
• Need to promote the need for greater IT participation and make it part of our general offers.
• Think of ways that really stimulate people…. Not form filling but things that have real impact for people i.e. photos shared on ‘What’s app’… family history… online shopping and so on.
• Websites need to be relevant and respond to need and easily address the purpose why they visited the site.
• Need to smart about how we develop schemes
• We should work together to develop a blue print/ tool kit for how to start an IT service or ways to increase IT participation within our everyday service provision .
• Need to ensure that need is met locally by local agreement.
• Use existing forums and networks to develop partnerships
• Be aware of where low cost/ no costs assets and resources are and where they are under used.
August 2017
Janice Cooper, 25th November 2016