A year of progress in fixing the digital divide

Reflecting on our mission to fix the digital divide

In our mission to fix the digital divide, it is easy to get caught up in the doing. We are small but mighty, and we work hard to support more people with the help of incredible partnerships in the National Digital Inclusion Network and wider. Admittedly, it's easy to lose sight of what we have achieved, looking for the next opportunity, service improvement, or issue to resolve. 

Celebrating our achievements for digital inclusion

Building in time to reflect and look at the data gives us so much to celebrate. In just over two years from the start of our current strategy, we have achieved so much!

• Supported: Just under 600,000 people have been engaged through our digital inclusion products and services
• Connected: 125,000 data packages from the National Databank have been given to people who cannot afford their own, and almost 10,000 devices have been given to those who need them through the National Device Bank
• Upskilled: Just under 100,000 people have improved their digital skills on Learn My Way

And we have continued to grow the National Digital Inclusion Network to over 5,000 Digital Inclusion Hubs across the UK, smashing our target 18 months early. You can read more about these achievements in our annual impact report.

Building collaborative partnerships to fix the digital divide

I’m so proud to be able to celebrate the amazing achievements of the National Digital Inclusion Network, and the whole of the Good Things team with our partners and funders!

Our collaborative partnerships are aligned with our shared vision, to fix the digital divide. We’re privileged to be part of this big club, and together we make a huge difference. Recently, we launched the headline data from our impact report at a House of Lords Reception, and the buzz was tangible: bringing businesses together with Digital Inclusion Hubs that are making a difference in their communities, and connecting more people with the digital world.

My personal highlights from our strategy period

1. The launch of Digital Nation, our annual infographic which brings together the key data that helps us tell the story of the challenge we are trying to address, and the fantastic events that helped celebrate its launch.
2. Our amazing seminar series on Designing for Digital Inclusion in Healthcare, and taking the learnings from this out on the road to some amazing events.
3. The mighty Good Things Team. The clapping - those of you who spend time with Good Things colleagues know that we love to celebrate each other and the little wins (as well as the big ones) and we clap A LOT.  But the small acts of walks with my team to do some brainstorming and getting out and about to visit hubs who make a real difference to the people who really need it.

Looking forward to 2025

All in all, it has been a great year!  We really are making progress in helping people to be more digitally equal, able and safe and seeing the difference it makes to people's wellbeing, health and financial stability.