On 24 Sept 2015 Vic Stirling, Head of Network at Tinder Foundation, spoke at the Southwark Revenue and Benefits Stakeholder Conference on why local authorities should care about digital inclusion for their residents.

1. Leaving Nobody Behind:
helping residents thrive in a digital world
Southwark Revenue and Benefits Stakeholder Conference
24 September 2015
Victoria Stirling,
Tinder Foundation
@Socialvic

2. Tinder Foundation
We are a staff-owned mutual and social
enterprise
A world where everyone
benefits from digital

4. • Can’t do all of the four basic skills:
– Communicate
– Find Things
– Share
– Keep Safe
• 68% of this 9.5m have never been online
• 32% are infrequent or narrow internet users
• 4.1m adults who live in Social Housing are
offline
9.5m don’t have basic digital skills
(BBC/Ipsos Mori, March. 2014)

6. Goal is to create independent and
confident internet users
Not just about broadband infrastructure
Not about one-off usage

8. Why should local authorities & other
front-line agencies care about digital
inclusion?
• Social Justice
– Equality, improving lives
– Educational attainment for children, employment,
lower household bills, reduced social isolation
• Financial Security
– Make cost savings and focus spend on priorities
– Universal Credit: £6.844m next three years
increased arrears predicted for a medium sized
Housing Association

9. Moving people to online public services
• No-one’s ‘spark’ to get digital skills is to interact
with Government online (except to get a job)
• After gaining digital skills via UK online centres
(July 2013 data):
– 81% visited central/local Government websites
– 56% moved at least one face-to-face or telephone
contact to an online contact with Government
– average contacts moved online 5.8 in past month
• Start with the fun stuff, but embed progression to
your services (and Gov services) into their
journey

10. Technology & Tenants
•Online tenants can’t do all online transactions
•Some online services need a (re) design to
consider the needs of low-skilled users
•Technology: infrastructure essential but
problematic; local specific; long timescales; not
easy to make the right choices
•Better to try small, pilot and iterate (agile)

11. Integration & partnership
•Develop cross-organisation working with other
teams, private, public & 3rd sector
•Internal & external signposting and referrals
•Training for key workers and other front line
staff
•Targeting support on those who are most
excluded
•Ensuring digital inclusion is embedded into what
you do - not bolt-on

12. What Tinder Foundation do
• Through the UK online centres network we’ve
helped 1.2m people to get online since 2010
• Free learning platform www.learnmyway.com
with content to help people get online
including job-seeking & financial literacy
• Key strategic funders and partners – e.g. BIS,
NHS England, Post Office etc
• Managed the Digital Deal Programme for DWP
& DCLG

13. Local
+
Digital
+
Scale
Free
Optimised for mobile learning
Social housing
specialist network

14. Free online courses for digital inclusion, financial
inclusion and employability - www.learnmyway.com
Optimised for mobile learning
Free embed code available for your website

15. Mike’s story

16. Get involved!
• UK online centres
– Become a UK online centre
– Join one of our Specialist Networks
– Link up with UK online centre(s) near you
• Learn My Way
– Use it in your training courses (DI, job clubs, older
people’s sessions, Financial Literacy)
– Embed courses on your website
• Enquire about our Digital Champion training
• Funding opportunities to deliver digital skills
support!

17. Thank You!
vic@tinderfoundation.org
@socialvic on twitter
www.ukonlinecentres.com
www.learnmyway.com
www.communityhowto.com
http://digitalhousinghub.ning.com/