Category: Research

Help us research the impact of the pandemic on digital support for people aged 50-70

James Beecher on

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a huge variety of challenges. The restrictions and guidance introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus/Covid-19 have dramatically shifted work, and access to goods, services, entertainment and social connection, to online alternatives. Citizens Online is an independent charity that works to ensure that people aren’t excluded from the online world… Continue Reading Help us research the impact of the pandemic on digital support for people aged 50-70

Citizens Online launches research into Digital Exclusion in population screening programmes

Citizens Online on

We’re really excited to launch our research report into digital exclusion in population screening programmes in England. We were asked by Public Health England to undertake an in depth assessment of changes to the way the service is likely to communicate in future. PHE have plans to move away from printed information leaflets and increasingly directing the public towards information online: web pages, downloadable PDFs, animations and videos. Continue Reading Citizens Online launches research into Digital Exclusion in population screening programmes

Estimating our digital inclusion impact: Al-Khwarizmi style

Citizens Online on

Each year, in April, we ask all the DCs working with our projects to complete a simple form during one particular week, noting down the number of people they have helped and what kinds of activity or skill they helped with. This process captures extra detail that is not usually collected by the DCs. Continue Reading Estimating our digital inclusion impact: Al-Khwarizmi style

The Ben Stokes approach to digital inclusion

Citizens Online on

Of course numbers are useful. We use them to measure the scale of an issue like digital exclusion, and to evidence the impact we make. But relying solely on the numbers can be very misleading.
When looking for value and success in a digital inclusion project, we believe it’s much more than a numbers game. Continue Reading The Ben Stokes approach to digital inclusion

Digital By Default, Lonely By Design

Citizens Online on

Here’s an opinion — the Digital by Default agenda is contributing to a loneliness crisis in the UK, and digital inclusion is not the remedy for loneliness that I would love it to be.

The often-stated reasons to become Digital By Default are that services can be delivered more efficiently online and cost less to run, acknowledging also that more and more customers now demand an online service — it’s what people want.

But cheaper transactions come at a social cost. They may be more efficient for a service to deliver, but are they good for our very human need for connection? Continue Reading Digital By Default, Lonely By Design