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Supporting Digital Engagement

This knowledge exchange project was a collaborative intervention in the area of digital inclusion and was supported but the ESRC and Sheffield City Council. The project supported Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Homes in addressing a pressing policy need to increase digital engagement among social housing tenants.

Providers of social and community services currently face major constraints. Digital technology solutions, such as online payments, have been proposed as routes to major cost savings. Users of social and community services include the bulk of citizens who are currently digitally excluded. 
Moving services online may further disadvantage these groups.
 Lack of uptake of digital services by these communities may limit the social, economic and community benefits of digital services.

This project applied knowledge gained from previous research and community projects.  The collaboration focused on case studies in target social housing areas with the following stages:

  • a survey and review of the current levels of digital exclusion;
  • analysis of the data to determine which available strategies might have greatest impact; implementation of one or more interventions;
  • action research based review of the interventions;
  • report to partners on the effectiveness of interventions and community impacts.

See the final report in the downloads area for key findings and here.

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