What we do.
Max, 80
Being shown by Sarah how to use Zoom so he can keep in touch with his grandchildren + daughter.
Our outcomes will initially focus on the UK with two priority target groups + their influencers, for vulnerable people + those with protected characteristics (aged 5-16 + 16-25).
Our strategy & focus for eradicating digital poverty sit within Five Core Pillars:
Device & Connectivity (Affordability, Data, Infrastructure, Circular Economy)
Access (Accessibility, Availability, User Centred Design)
Capability (Skills, Education and Understanding)
Motivation (Awareness, Relevance, Repetition, Right time and Place, Consistent and tested messaging)
Support (Enablers & Influencers, Technical, Educational & Multichannel Inc. local, face to face, digital, telephony and of course platforms such as YouTube)
Democratising digital: For everyone.
What works + what doesn’t.
DPA Data & Insights Dashboard, Research, Evaluation & Impact
Where to go?
DPA Community combined and new directories of who is doing what where
Digital for all
Tech4Teachers
Circular Economy
Collaboration for policy + practice
Platform for community engagement & collaborations based on interest
Our approach:
Tackling the system.
Our approach is informed by primary + secondary research revealing the wider systemic forces that affect a person’s degree of digital poverty. These are factors beyond the commonly cited determinants such as motivation, skill + knowledge level.
In order to understand the root enablers + inhibitors, we have developed a working model that builds on Dahlgren + Whitehead’s “Determinants of Health” (1991). The Determinants of Health is used by health professional worldwide to understand + act on the systemic causes of poor health outcomes, rather than just their symptoms.
Using + developing this model will inform DPA’s wider strategy + initiatives, enabling the partners to address the systemic causes of digital poverty + create long-term sustainable impact. For example, in assessing a family’s level of digital poverty, it is essential to understand + recognise the wider system, factors such as where a family lives, the stability of their accommodation, the conditions of their local environment, their financial stability, education level, + the health of their family + social relationships as well as wider policy areas such as credit regulations, connectivity standards, VAT policy etc.
Using this framework, we are enabling the B2B community based on a holistic approach across the ecosystem. For example, we aim to join the dots with the 1500 NHS social prescriber’s network to prescribe access + utility of digital services to improve mental health. Inviting UK Finance to represent the banking sector, to review policy + practice for credit, Treasury to review VAT on hardware for young people, funders to embed digital eligibility criteria by default + the housing federation to align channel family motivational messaging with tested messaging.
