News tagged 'promote change'

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.

Independent research carried out by i2 media research, a spin-off of Goldsmiths University of London has found that the community outreach programme, delivered by Digital Outreach in partnership with voluntary and community organisations across the UK, has made a big impact on levels of awareness, confidence and knowledge about the digital TV switchover amongst key target groups.

The research assessed the effectiveness of the outreach programme for engaging communities, communicating specific messages, and achieving real behaviour change.

It identified that the community outreach programme has:

• made a significant contribution in reaching and engaging audiences across the six core target groups (to see the list of target groups, click here)
• made a significant impact on levels of awareness, confidence and knowledge of the switchover programme among the key target groups
• reassured people in our target audience groups and enabled them to feel confident about managing the switchover in their own homes
• improved attitudes towards switchover itself, with a marked increase in positive attitudes, and
• worked effectively alongside the overall switchover campaign, increasing how receptive many individuals were to mainstream marketing materials.

Researchers attended five end user events in the Central and Anglia TV regions between January and February 2011, where 140 individuals completed a questionnaire immediately before and immediately after attending the event.  Six to 12 weeks after the switchover took place, researchers contacted some of these individuals again to assess the longer term effects of the programme.

Changing attitudes

The research found that the community outreach programme made a significant difference to attitudes about the switchover.  Before attending a community outreach programme activity or event, most respondents (81%) reported that they felt negative or apathetic towards the switchover.  This reduced significantly immediately after the event, and those reporting a positive attitude increased from 45% to 67% after an event.

Increasing understanding

After attending an end user event, the percentage of respondents who felt their understanding of the benefits of switchover was “good” or “excellent” increased significantly from 33% to 79%.  

And, 44% more people (78% of the total) rated their understanding of how switchover would affect them as “good” or “excellent” after attending the event.

The results showed that before the outreach event, 18% of respondents thought they were eligible for the Switchover Help Scheme. This grew to 36% immediately after the event.

Increasing confidence 

 The research found that the community outreach programme was reassuring and informative - 72% of respondents found the event informative and 62% felt reassured about the digital switchover.

Respondents were asked to rate how confident they were in managing different aspects of the switchover process. 

The proportion of people feeling confident about choosing the best way to receive digital TV increased by from 55% to 92% after attending an end user event.

The proportion of people feeling confident about getting their home ready for switchover on their own increased from 46% to 82%.

There was a consistent feeling amongst respondents that the end user event had given them peace of mind.  They felt reassured about managing the process and that it would be affordable.  In addition, they reported knowing whether their TV sets were ready for switchover – and those who were not ready for switchover were confident that they knew what needed to be done.

Another positive benefit was that many individuals said they were confident in being able to distinguish potential “scams” where unscrupulous individuals were recommending replacing adequate equipment.

Empowering people to help others

The proportion of people who had a “good” or “excellent” knowledge of how to help other people increased by a massive 59% - from 16% to 75%.  This demonstrates the strength of the community outreach programme model in reaching and motivating individuals to disseminate information and help others within their communities.

When contacting the respondents six to 12 weeks after switchover, the researchers found that the community outreach programme had reached into the wider community through the cascade effect.  Most people who had been involved in the programme passed on information to friends, peers, family or more widely into their communities.

The benefits of reaching people at existing events

The nature of the community outreach programme taking place within existing community events was an important factor in increasing people’s confidence and changing their attitudes. People felt comfortable in their environment and confident to ask questions.

Respondents commented particularly on how friendly and informal the sessions were; and that this fostered general discussion without anyone feeling judged.  Some even said they felt “special” that they had received this type of support.

This context was also seen as important in increasing people’s acceptance of mainstream marketing literature produced by Digital UK and the Switchover Help Scheme, especially amongst those who had previously ignored or rejected the material.   

Jude Palmer, Head of Operations at Digital Outreach, said: “We’re delighted with the results of this research. Since we began delivering the community outreach programme in 2008, we’ve received some really positive feedback through stories and anecdotes about the impact it is having on the ground, and this independent research further demonstrates that the programme is really making a positive impact on our target audience.

“This research really reinforces the importance of the role that staff and volunteers in the community have in building people’s confidence about switchover. As trusted and respected voices, they really make a difference to how positive people feel about this big change which affects everybody. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff and volunteers who have worked so hard on the community outreach programme to make sure those they support have a positive experience of switchover.”     

The report will soon be available to download from our website.

The London TV region is switching to digital TV in April 2012. The region, served by the Crystal Palace transmitter, is the largest to switch yet - covering 620 square miles and containing nearly 5 million households.

To help people in the city and surrounding areas make the switch, Digital Outreach is delivering four outreach programmes in partnership with local voluntary and community sector organisations.

We have appointed five local organisations to co-ordinate the community outreach programme in the region. The London CVS Network will co-ordinate the community outreach programme in Greater London, while Surrey Community Action, COVER, Voluntary Action Within Kent and Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East will co-ordinate the programme in the more rural Home Counties.

These organisations will be working with local charities and groups to prepare people for the TV switchover, starting in September this year. They will offer free training, access to a small grants scheme and free materials to local groups, enabling them to give advice to their end users on how to switch to digital TV and apply for the Switchover Help Scheme if they are eligible.

The community outreach programme is vital in getting the message out to local communities about switchover and the Help Scheme, but some of the most isolated people fall outside of these networks and are the ‘hardest to reach’. To reach these people, we are delivering the Communities Programme. This programme uses word of mouth to generate interest among those people that the most isolated people already know and trust most – such as local shopkeepers, hairdressers, carers, and community counsellors.

In London, the Communities Programme will be managed by Fin MacGregor and delivered by Circles Network and Greater London Volunteering (Greater London) and Community Impact Buckinghamshire (for the Home Counties).

Digital Outreach organised an induction day for the organisations which are leading on delivering the outreach programmes. Valerie Walwyn, Digital Outreach’s regional manager for London, led the session which was attended by staff from the lead organisations, Digital UK and the Switchover Help Scheme.

Jude Palmer, Head of Operations at Digital Outreach, said: "We work with Digital UK and the Help Scheme to ensure the induction session provides an opportunity for everyone to meet their counterparts so they can develop good working relationships and develop a solid understanding of the work ahead. This TV region is large and diverse, which is reflected in our Lead Organisations, who really enjoyed the day and are looking forward to their work in the run-up to switchover in April 2012."

Get involved!

If you're a voluntary and community sector group and you'd like to help spread the message about switchover and the Switchover Help Scheme, please get in touch with the lead organisation delivering the Community Outreach Programme in your area.

Greater London

East London CVS Network – covering Havering, Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Hackney, City, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Enfield and Barnet
Contact Andrea Chott on 020 8519 9500 or andrea.chott@elcvsnetwork.org.uk

South London CVS Partnership – covering Merton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Croydon, Lambeth, Sutton, Southwark, Greenwhich, Bexley, Lewisham and Bromley
Contact Chris Burton on 07588 813189 or chris@slcvspartnership.org.uk

Ealing CVS – covering Hounslow, Hillinghdon, Ealing, Harrow, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth, Camden, Islington and Brent
Contact Antony Bewick-Smith on 020 280 2232 or antony@ealingcvs.org.uk

Home Counties

Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East – covering East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire
Contact Rosa Petrucci on 01753 497880 or rosa@ageconcernsabe.org.uk 

COVER – covering Essex and Hertfordshire
Contact Rachel Farr on 01223 861760 or rachel.farr@i-trust.org.uk

Surrey Community Action – covering Surrey
Contact Libby Minto on 01483 447 127 or Lminto@surreyca.org.uk

Voluntary Action Within Kent – covering Kent
Contact Jon Weller on 01892 530330 or Jon.weller@vawk.org.uk



Households in Yorkshire, West Midlands Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme have now completed the switch from analogue to digital TV, bringing the UK total up to 17 million homes (63% of all homes in the UK ).

In a press release issued by the Government, Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: “Switching to digital TV is the biggest project in UK broadcasting history and has been a real success. The project is on-time and has run brilliantly smoothly.”

Read the full article on the Telegraph website.

Following the success of the pilot programme in Peterborough in July 2011, Digital Outreach's new venture Convey has been commissioned to roll out six more outreach programmes by social marketing experts Corporate Culture on behalf of Anglian Water.

The behaviour change campaign will be rolled out to specific areas of Bedford, Southend and Thurrock this Autumn, with three further towns to follow in the New Year. It’s designed to get people to think as responsibly about water as they do about recycling.

It aims to encourage people to make small, step by step changes to how they dispose of fats, oils and grease (FOG) and ‘unflushables’ (such as sanitary waste and wipes) to help reduce blockages in the sewerage network, which costs millions of pounds each year to clear and causes pollution.

Convey will identify trusted, well-known local community organisations and provide them with training, literature, giveaways and small grants to enable them to cascade the message to other local groups like community groups, children’s centres, faith groups, mother and toddler groups and pre-schools.

A launch event is being planned for the middle of October to celebrate the beginning of the outreach programmes, which will last around a month each.

If you’re a voluntary and community sector organisation and you’d like to be first to hear about future projects like this one, update your organisation's details on our database.