News tagged 'changing perceptions'

Ellen Helsper, London School of Economics

Is the UK a digital leader?  Or are we leaving behind the most vulnerable members of our society?  As many services become digital by default, we risk  excluding those who need services the most. 

It’s time for a rethink. Policies and initiatives that take digital by default as a starting point ignore the complexity of the field they manoeuvre in. Worse, they carry a real danger that a large part of the population will become digitally excluded by default. That should not be acceptable in a country that wants to be Europe’s information society frontrunner.

As the government plans to make public services ‘digital by default’ these individuals will be unable to access them, not because of a lack of infrastructure but because of a lack of effective take-up of the available connections.

As the Race Online initiative comes to an end, circa 24% of the UK population remains digitally excluded of which about half is also deeply socially excluded.  Continued focus on rolling out superfast broadband is ensuring that many more of us are able to benefit from high quality infrastructure.  These technological improvements are being supported by promotion of employment-related digital skills.  However, initiatives are being driven outside the social, cultural, educational and political sphere which provide the critical context in delivering real engagement with, and benefit from, the internet.

Those who need access to services most, from where the biggest cost savings of making services digital are supposed to come, are the least likely to take these up online, even when access to the internet is available.

This can be partly explained by examining reasons for not being online, evidenced by a significant shift over the last 7 years: in 2005 only 50% of non-users indicated a lack of interest as a reason for not being online, while in 2011 disinterest was a reason for 88% of non-users. Simultaneously, the other reasons (lack of access, costs being too high and lack of skills) did not decrease significantly in importance (69%, 44% and 78% respectively in 2011 versus 68%, 52% and 74% in 2005). Source: Non-users of internet (Oxford Internet Survey Data 2005 – 2011)

There is now a much higher proportion of non-users who are excluded for compound reasons.  The policy implications for this are that initiatives and interventions that focus on providing access are less effective in 2011 than they were in 2005. While in 2005 organisations that provided training might have been able to ‘lure’ people into their centres by offering free computer use and free digital skills classes, this offer is now less likely to sufficiently motivate those who are excluded to engage with the internet and online services.

The digital by default policy implicitly assumes that once services and content are online, people will (have to) use them and that, at the point of ubiquitous and uniform access, the level of take up will be equivalent for everyone. If this assumption is wrong, the policy is likely to be costly both in economic and social terms. Those currently excluded lack not only high quality access but are also less motivated and skilled individuals and are therefore unlikely to take full advantage of the range of opportunities available online. Extra support for a group of individuals who need services the most will be needed if aspects of inclusion other than infrastructure and skills are not built into digital inclusion policies.

This is not the first time this argument has been made, but the changing landscape, in which the digitally excluded have become more entrenched in their exclusion and are facing multiple, cumulative barriers to exclusion unlike those faced by previous generations of digitally excluded individuals, means that the argument needs to be made even more forcefully than before.  It is incumbent upon government and local authorities to ensure that the digitization of services does not leave our most vulnerable members of society behind.  Provision must be made to provide motivation and support to engage those with multiple barriers in the digital world and to ensure that those who do not engage are not marginalized further in our society.

An article in The Guardian, How to lift the digital age barrier, investigates how to overcome the barriers to older people getting online. The article says the key to getting this diverse group of people online is to help them see the value by tapping into their individual interests.

Digital Outreach’s pilot project in 2010, ‘Get Connected, Get Online’, tested this approach by working with local interest groups in the North West to help them see the personal benefits of using the internet. The project brought about some encouraging results, with 62% of participants reporting a positive behaviour change towards the internet. You can read more about the outcomes of this project here.

Success stories

Advice point volunteers help elderly gentleman re-tune his TV

An elderly gentleman who was very hard of hearing came to the advice point run by lead organisation COVER in Thetford. He knew quite a lot about switchover from the TV adverts and door drop leaflets he had received. However, he was struggling to re-tune his TV. He had tried to call the DUK advice line, but because of his hearing difficulty he could not hear the instructions that the adviser was giving him.

He saw an advert in the local paper for the switchover advice point so decided to go down there for some help. The volunteers demonstrated to the gentleman how to re-tune, taking him through the process step by step so he could see what he needed to do. The gentleman knew the model of his TV, so the volunteers looked up the exact instructions for re-tuning his TV and wrote them down for him to take home. The gentleman was really pleased that the volunteers had been there to help him.

Communities Programme volunteer engages trusted people to spread the word ‘

Joan’ is a volunteer for Suffolk ACRE who helped to engage community supporters through the Communities Programme. Joan was taking a trip to the north of the county and took a ‘scenic route’ visiting rural villages along the way. Joan visited many villages, stopping at two drop-in centres, three church groups, a vicar’s, and a disability day centre. She spoke to people she knew about the Switchover Help Scheme and asked them if they knew of anyone in their community who might need support to access the help they were eligible for – for example, because they were isolated or found it difficult to fill in forms.

Two weeks later, Joan re-visited all the villages and found that the people she had spoken to had in turn spoken to people they knew who were eligible for the scheme. The leader of the three church groups said that he’d spoken to a number of people who were eligible, and that one of the congregation had already phoned him to say that the Help Scheme were “coming to sort her TV out”!

Joan was really pleased she had been able to help.

The final transmitter in the Anglia TV region, Tacolneston, switched to digital this month.

During the run-up to the switchover, we worked with VCS organisations in the region who have strong local networks to deliver a range of outreach activities and events to help local residents prepare for the switchover. Together they put in a fantastic effort, delivering some great results for Digital UK and the Switchover Help Scheme and ensuring target groups knew what they needed to do to continue watching TV after the switchover.

Lead organisation COVER ran four advice points on the Tacolneston switchover days, where friendly staff and volunteers supported over 330 people. During the run-up to the switchover, COVER and their partner organisations overachieved on all of their targets, delivering 101% of their end user events and 118% of their one to ones.

Photo: A gentleman receives support from an advice point volunteer

Through the Communities Programme, trained volunteers from Norfolk Rural Community Council (Norfolk RCC) and Suffolk ACRE engaged over 1,200 ‘community supporters’ – people who are known and trusted in their local communities by those the outreach programme aims to reach. These community supporters supported over 100 people to access the Help Scheme.

CSV, which delivered the targeted awareness programme in over 50 Tacolneston postcode areas identified as having a lower response rate to the Help Scheme mailings, engaged volunteers who used their local knowledge and contacts to ensure Help Scheme literature and posters were displayed in 120 community venues (such as medical centres, libraries and churches), and 114 commercial venues (such as post offices, cafes and hairdressers) and encouraged local venue and business owners to spread the word about the scheme.

WRVS made sure that Help Scheme eligible people who requested a home visit received face-to-face support from a friendly volunteer to help them complete their packs, be there with them as a chaperone when the engineer calls, and help them use their new equipment.

Photo: Age UK Norfolk cascade the messages about switchover to their clients.

A big thank you to COVER, Norfolk RCC, Suffolk ACRE, CSV, WRVS and all of the volunteers who gave their time to help. The outreach work you have delivered has ensured that over 6,000 people in the Tacolneston area have received the support they needed to switch to digital – a fantastic result.

In July 2011, Digital Outreach’s new brand Convey delivered community outreach sessions as part of a pilot campaign in Peterborough to help reduce blockages in wastewater pipes and drains. The campaign – commissioned by Anglian Water and managed by social marketing company Corporate Culture - aimed to change people’s behaviour around the waste they put down sinks and toilets.

Blockages in water pipes cause 15,000 blockages a year in the area and cost over £7m a year to clear and prevent. The campaign was very successful, with blockages reduced by more than 60% over just a few weeks. It had a significant impact on people’s attitudes and actions, with the number of people agreeing that reducing blockages is a shared responsibility rising from 52% to 92%, and the percentage saying they were making an extra effort to get rid of waste rising from 51% to 72%. (Source: Street survey, sample of 200 customers)

Anglian Water is now rolling out the project to other ‘hot spots’ where blockages are an issue for local communities. A spectacular animated light show in Peterborough marked the launch of the campaign and explained to residents why the campaign is happening.

Case study – working with the Islamic community in Peterborough
The pilot campaign included a ward in Peterborough where approximately 60% of the population is Muslim. The messaging of the campaign linked in very well with the Islamic faith, which places a high value on water, its purity and cleanliness. Convey approached Peterborough Islam to see if they could help spread the message. The organisation was only too happy to help, and local Imams spoke to over 3,000 people at Friday prayers about the importance of keeping water clean and how residents could take action to reduce contamination in the water in their own communities. Peterborough Islam’s women’s workers were also able to reach Muslim women’s groups to talk to them about putting waste like cooking fat, baby wipes and other items into the bin rather than down the sink or toilet into the water supply.



Convey will be working with Southend Association of Voluntary Services to deliver outreach in the Southend area, and will soon be engaging more voluntary and community sector organisations to help deliver the programme in Northampton, Bedford, Lincoln and Norwich. Supported by training, literature, small grants and giveaways like ‘fat traps’ to make disposing of waste easier, these organisations will cascade the message to other local groups like community groups, children’s centres, faith groups, mother and toddler groups and pre-schools.

The outreach delivered by Convey will link in with activities provided by Anglian Water such as roadshows, engagement with local businesses street teams (to talk to local businesses) and traditional marketing activities like radio/press adverts and posters.

Encouraging results from the pilot project

The results of the pilot project showed the campaign had a big impact on attitudes and behaviours around the disposal of waste.

The chart below shows the rise in concern amongst domestic customers about blockages in wastewater pipes and drains following the pilot. (Source: Street survey, 200 customers)

The chart below shows very large increases in understanding, importance, responsibility and belief that it is easy to act among domestic customers.

If you would like to be amongst the first to hear about new projects such as these, update your details on our database.

Keep It Clear is part of Anglian Water's groundbreaking Love Every Drop sustainability campaign to bring people together to put water at the heart of a new way of sustainable living.

September saw the final switchovers take place in the Yorkshire and Central B TV regions, including two of the biggest transmitter groups - Sutton Coldfield and Emley Moor. Friendly, approachable staff and volunteers were on hand at 34 advice points, ready to give tailored information and support to people who needed it.

During the whole switchover period, 46 advice points were held in the Central B and Yorkshire TV regions, with  volunteers assisting over 7,000 people in total.

During the run-up to switchover, our seven lead organisations working across Central B and Yorkshire carried out 67,455 one to ones between them, briefed 578 local organisations, and got information about switchover to core groups at 2,719 end user events. Your fantastic stories have brought this work to life, demonstrating the hugely positive impact of your work. A huge thank you to everyone in Yorkshire and Central, whose passion, commitment and enthusiasm has made switchover a success for thousands of people who might otherwise have struggled.

One of the people who was given support at a local advice point was Pauline, a former dancer aged 86. While Pauline was at the Imperial Rooms in Matlock for a ballroom dancing class, she noticed a poster for the advice point. She was pleased to see that she could talk to somebody face to face, as she was feeling confused about the switchover.

Pauline said she had bought two TV sets from a local retailer, who said at the time they would come and re-tune them when switchover took place. However, when she visited the retailer for help, they told her it would cost £21 per TV to re-tune.

The advice point staff showed Pauline how to re-tune on the demonstration digibox, and made sure she had the Digital UK advice line number and a number for a local handyperson service if she needed any assistance when she got home.

Pauline was grateful that the staff at the advice point had helped save her money and felt confident to cope with the re-tuning process herself.