Case Studies

Burmantofts Community Friends

How the staff conceive of their role with digital inclusion

Burmantofts Community Friends aim to provide a broad range of support for people aged 55+ in their local area, to improve wellbeing and address loneliness and isolation. They prioritise activities that are low-cost so that they are affordable and accessible to all.  The staff support the community with “digital outreach” which takes many forms, including helping people engage with digital services provided by the Council, the NHS and private service-providers. The staff conceive of their role as providing a “one-stop shop” for digital inclusion support, and pride themselves on being the “connectors” between older people and the increasingly pervasive digital world, which prevents them from being digitally excluded. The staff have a wealth of experience in community engagement and support, and aim to work collectively to improve the lives of their community members.

How the organisation supports digital inclusion

The “Breakfast and browse” sessions are social events where older people can get a healthy meal and also have access to devices, wifi and support. They are able to build confidence with digital technologies in a supported and non-threatening environment, with the expectation of long-term ongoing support to develop digital competencies.  The team stresses the importance of one-to-one digital support which is positioned in contrast to digital skills “classes” which can be experienced by older people as inaccessible and frightening. It can take time to build a relationship with a community member before launching into digital support. Seeing older people progress their digital competence that makes their lives easier is a key motivator

The art group, run in collaboration with Skippko (a local arts organisation), involves members in digital photography, and the storing, printing and sharing of digital images. The local history group engages with the Leeds digital image bank Leodis to research family history. Members are encouraged to share photos from the activities they engage with on social media, which increases motivation to access these platforms.

Barriers experienced by this organisation

Obtaining sufficient funding for up-to-date devices for members to use both at the centre and in their own homes.

Supporting older people who are fearful of buying a device or simply don’t have the knowledge and experience to choose a digital device that is appropriate for their needs. Those who don’t have family members to approach for help and advice suffer most with this.

Persuading community members that the digital is advantageous for them. Many can’t see the value in digital devices and services so the team focus on the benefits that can be gained from using a particular service e.g. the ability to order repeat prescriptions through the NHS app.

Success factors for this organisation’s activities

Obtaining funding for digital devices and the staff to support older people in using them. The Burmantofts team are adept at tapping into a broad range of funding, much of it oriented towards digital inclusion. This includes working with media providers such as Sky, who also include Burmantofts Community Friends in their community volunteering scheme. They actively seek additional partners who can improve the support offered. 

“So we'd always look for external people or external companies that can come and help us.” (Staff, Burmantofts Community Friends)

Networking and marketing: using social media, word of mouth and physical marketing e.g. posters, a newsletter, leaflets, signage and running stands at community events to reach new members and publicise the support available. Referrals from social prescribers, NHS and the council are also useful to bring community members to the centre. Social media marketing is particularly valuable as it encourages interaction and this also motivates older people to engage with the digital social media platforms.

Getting out and about: Running trips out of the city of Leeds which are very popular and support older people who would not otherwise travel. These trips encourage engagement in the digital world through photography and image sharing.

Taking a playful approach: using social media to engage in fun and playful digital activities e.g. a TikTok dance to enthuse people about the digital world, and encouraging peer support and social interaction.

Creating social connections and friendships: A key ethos for the team is to build relationships between community members, which address social isolation. These relationships extend to the digital world with social media and WhatsApp connections, and also facilitate digital peer support.

The Highrise Project

How the staff conceive of their role with digital inclusion

The Highrise project aims to support marginalised people who live in areas that score highly on the index of multiple deprivation. They use creative methods to construct a welcoming and supportive environment to help people help themselves. They increasingly use digital media alongside traditional media for creative activities, and use creativity as the motivator to encourage improved digital inclusion. The staff have backgrounds in adult education and view their role as “how do we enable people to understand the digital world a little bit better, so that they can feel less confused, less anxious, or more confident about the way that they're approaching things” (Staff, The Highrise Project). Sessions are tailored to individuals and their current ability-level, and also their own interests and what they would like to do. 

How the organisation supports digital inclusion

Engage community members in a range of digital art activities including photography, animation, digital pattern-making, Augmented Reality and digital editing. These help community members gain confidence in using digital devices such as digital cameras and iPads, and in using a range of art-based apps. Fun, creative activities engage community members.

Introduce members to free or low-cost alternatives such as promoting Google Drive as the storage of images is free.

A digital inclusion support worker provides one-to-one support for members who want to learn a specific digital skill, for example how to use stop-motion animation, or create an Instagram reel.

Confidence breeds confidence: becoming adept with one digital tool means that members are more confident to learn how to use more tools.

Encourage peer support and peer learning in their groups so that the more digitally enabled can help those with lower abilities. This breeds confidence and is very inclusive.

Barriers experienced by this organisation

An environmental and decolonising orientation that requires them to question how appropriate it is to encourage access to the latest devices, and work with people who may have come from countries that exploited for their minerals for mobile phone components.

Needing to be wary about device donations from companies, which may be old, out of date or unsuitable for their needs. Sometimes there is an aspect of surveillance associated with free devices which can be particularly alienating for refugees and asylum seekers.

The funding model for Highrise as a community interest company means that the money never quite covers all of the activity they do e.g. planning and preparation, project management. It’s hard to generate a living wage.

They are not qualified therapists, but often have to support people who are distressed which involves an emotional load on the staff. It can be difficult to maintain a boundary between providing an arts and culture activity and taking on responsibilities that go beyond their capacity.

The pace of change with digital apps and devices, and needing to be continuously aware of developments and making sure that the apps and devices they use and recommend are still usable.

Success factors for this organisation’s activities

Not taking a deficit approach, and focusing on what people can do rather than what they can’t. This encourages community members to focus on their journey with art and the digital, and draw on their current passions and interests, rather than promoting a top-down, organisation-led approach.

A broad church: they welcome community members to sessions from a broad range of situations, and don‘t “gate-keep” services based on someone’s specific situation.

Thinking of digital inclusion as part of the continuing professional development for staff, and continuously seeking new ways to embed new digital creative practices in their work.

Use low and no-cost digital apps so that community members can continue to use them and develop their abilities on their own devices, and continuously update their own knowledge of the latest free services.

Supporting art-based entrepreneurship: encouraging members to monetise their art through print-on-demand digital platforms to enable them to generate income from their art.