Where my thinking began on a digital society beyond digital skills. Keynote from the 2017 launch of the Digital Participation and Well-being network at Loughborough University

1. Willingness to Engage
the key to creating a more equal digital society
Dr Alice Mathers, Head of Research and Innovation, Good Things Foundation
26th September 2017, Loughborough University, Digital Participation and Well-being network event

2. 3 things
1. It’s a journey not a divide
2. Digital skills are not enough
3. We are all responsible

3. It’s a journey not a divide

6. Digital skills are not enough

7. Understanding the journey
● 78% of non users left education at age 16 or under
● 10% of 7.8 million non-users don’t display indicators (age,
income, education, long term health condition/disability) for
digital exclusion
Good Things Foundation 'Real Digital Divide' Report 2017

8. Persona 1: Ownership

9. Persona 2: Episodic

10. Persona 3: Reluctant

11. We are all responsible

13. Willingness to engage
Takes individuals, communities and society from a position
where they feel disempowered, isolated and uninspired
to a point where a future is possible,
a different more included and empowered position is possible,
and within reach.

14. Level 1
At an individual level or for self (self advocacy)

16. Willingness to engage: for self

17. Level 2
At a community level or with others (participation)

18. Willingness to engage with others: participation

19. Willingness to engage with others: participation

20. Willingness to engage with others: participation

21. Level 3
At a societal level or on behalf of others
(volunteering or development of socially
conscious responses)

22. Willingness to engage on behalf of others: volunteering or development of socially conscious responses

23. Willingness to engage on behalf of others: volunteering or development of socially conscious responses

24. Willingness to engage on behalf of others: volunteering or development of socially conscious responses

25. Willingness to engage on behalf of others: volunteering or development of socially conscious responses

26. Willingness to engage on behalf of others: volunteering or development of socially conscious responses

27. Need and Response
designing for relationships
and facilitating action

28. LEVEL 1 FEELING from people RESPONSE from communities
Being ignored
Being abused
Never a priority
Apathetic
Misunderstood
Alone
Feeling unsafe
On the outside/excluded
Judged
Discouraged
To listen to
To show kindness
To give time
To inspire
To believe in
To comfort
To create a safe space
To always welcome
To accept
To encourage and positively challenge

29. LEVEL 2 APPROACH from
communities
NEED from communities
To listen to
To show kindness
To give time
To inspire
To believe in
To comfort
To create a safe space
To always welcome
To accept
To encourage and
positively challenge
To have staff/volunteers who are trained to support
To have staff with awareness and shared experience
To provide open, flexible spaces without appointment
To have experiences and excellent resources to share
To be people not target driven
To freely provide food and shelter (no strings attached)
To be located in local and accessible places
To have an open door policy to be able to support anyone in need
To have the freedom to respond to difference positively
To be supported to work in partnership (not in competition) to design
new approaches and open up new skills and ideas

30. LEVEL 3 NEED from communities Response from society
To have staff who are trained to support
To have staff with awareness and shared experience
To provide open, flexible spaces without appointment
To have experiences and excellent resources to
share
To be people not target driven
To freely provide food and shelter (no strings
attached)
To be located in local and accessible places
To have an open door policy to be able to support
anyone in need
To have the freedom to respond to difference
positively
To be supported to work in partnership (not in
competition) to design new approaches and open up
new skills and ideas
Training in ‘human skills’ is valued
Peer support and volunteering is valued
Opening up of community assets
Promotion of free knowledge exchange
Recognition of social value
Sharing of community spaces and food
growing initiatives - NOT food banks
Place based projects and centres
Equality and inclusion as a human right
and funding priority
Valuing difference and fighting for
inclusion
Third/charitable sector placed on an
equal economic footing as corporate
industries i.e. a new sector mindset to
being successful

31. What is
Good Things Foundation’s
response?

32. Our Design Practice
1. How design thinking builds on and complements the existing deep
research and data experience within the team
2. What the problems that only we can solve are and how we maximise
the opportunities to tackle those problems
3. How we develop a practice of design that allows us to do 1 and 2, and
means we are continually learning and improving what we do

33. Our Design Principles
1. Be credible and ethical
2. Focus on relationships
3. Understand underlying behaviour
4. Design with people, not for them
5. Focus on improving not proving
6. Do it now!
7. Value the process
8. Embrace radical transparency

34. Take aways

35. Digital exclusion is an inequality issue, it doesn’t exist
without social exclusion

36. Digital inclusion can only happen if there is
Willingness to Engage

37. Taking a Research and Design led approach is critical

38. Thank you
Any questions?
alice@goodthingsfoundation.org
Good Things Foundation Theory of Change