Research & evidence

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11/02/2025

What is the Minimum Digital Living Standard?

What do people need to feel digitally included? Watch the new animation launched for Safer Internet Day 2025.
- Connectivity & data
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Devices & access
- Digital learning & skills
23/01/2025

Basic Digital Skills: Expert Overview - August 2024

In August 2024, Good Things Foundation brought together around 100 experts and practitioners from a range of sectors for a series of roundtable discussions to help to form ideas to drive action on digital inclusion. This paper summarises the expert overview provided to participants ahead of the roundtable so that they had an understanding of key insights and practice from the UK and elsewhere. Specifically this paper focuses on how essential digital skills can be delivered to grow the economy, and ensure opportunities for all citizens.
23/01/2025

Digital Services: Expert Overview - August 2024

In August 2024, Good Things Foundation brought together around 100 experts and practitioners from a range of sectors for a series of roundtable discussions to help to form ideas to drive action on digital inclusion. This paper summarises the expert overview provided to participants ahead of the roundtable so that they had an understanding of key insights and practice from the UK and elsewhere. Specifically this paper focuses on national and local government services, NHS and other public sector services, commercial financial services, as well as central government services.
23/01/2025

Confidence and Engagement: Expert Overview - August 2024

In August 2024, Good Things Foundation brought together around 100 experts and practitioners from a range of sectors for a series of roundtable discussions to help to form ideas to drive action on digital inclusion. This paper summarises the expert overview provided to participants ahead of the roundtable so that they had an understanding of key insights and practice from the UK and elsewhere. Specifically this paper focuses on confidence and engagement.
23/01/2025

Access: Expert Overview - August 2024

In August 2024, Good Things Foundation brought together around 100 experts and practitioners from a range of sectors for a series of roundtable discussions to help to form ideas to drive action on digital inclusion. This paper summarises the expert overview provided to participants ahead of the roundtable so that they had an understanding of key insights and practice from the UK and elsewhere. Specifically this paper focuses on citizens’ access barriers to using the internet to benefit their lives.
09/12/2024

Exploring the relationship between deep poverty and digital exclusion

Trussell Trust and Good Things Foundation commissioned WPI Economics to review the evidence base on the links between digital exclusion and deep poverty in the UK.
25/11/2024

Supporting people with data connectivity (Broadband and mobile data)

This guide is for charities, community groups and organisations which reach and support people who are struggling to afford the internet because of poverty and the cost of living.
- Connectivity & data
- National Databank
- Connectivity & data
21/11/2024

Power Up 2.0 Impactful digital inclusion: People, provision, and place

Our report celebrates the success of a model that supports digital inclusion alongside employability and financial inclusion, ensuring sustained delivery beyond the life of the project.
- Connectivity & data
- Employment
- Financial inclusion
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Devices & access
- Digital learning & skills
- Community & connection
23/10/2024

Developing AI Literacy With People Who Have Low Or No Digital Skills

Artificial intelligence offers a unique chance to level the playing field for those digitally excluded, but also risks deepening the digital divide. Our report explores how we can support 8.5 million UK adults lacking basic digital skills to safely engage with AI. Download the report or continue reading here.
- Artificial intelligence
18/09/2024

Digital inclusion: What the main UK datasets tell us

This comprehensive read offers an overview of the main UK datasets on digital inclusion. It is a collaboration by Good Things Foundation, Lloyds Banking Group, Nominet, and University of Liverpool.
- Connectivity & data
- Devices & access
- Motivation & confidence
- Digital learning & skills
- Community & connection
30/07/2024

Mitigating risks of digital exclusion in health systems

This guide aims to help policy makers, commissioners and service providers to support discussions about digital inclusion in primary and secondary care.
- Health & wellbeing
26/07/2024

Local authorities’ experiences of working with partners in primary care to promote digital inclusion for health

This report was conducted in partnership with NHS England’s Primary Care and Community Transformation and Improvement team and the Local Government Association (LGA) Digital Inclusion Network, on behalf of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Alliance.
- Health & wellbeing
22/07/2024

Digital inclusion and online safety for adults

Online safety is central to what being ‘digitally included’ means. It is especially important for people who are new or limited users of the internet and those in vulnerable situations. Read the report.
- Online safety
22/07/2024

The public sector pioneers reusing it equipment to fix the digital divide

Interviews with nearly 30 public sector leaders revealed growing interest in reusing devices to help fix the digital divide. Read our report.
- Tech for social good
- Devices & access
19/07/2024

The Digital Skills Pathway for Shared Prosperity

With funding from the UK Government's Community Renewal Fund, we piloted our Digital Skills Pathway approach - addressing inequalities through partnership working and enabling local communities to thrive in the online world.
- Motivation & confidence
- Digital learning & skills
- Community & connection
10/07/2024

Health inequalities & digital exclusion: supporting the Health Foundation's Covid-19 impact inquiry

This paper provides an overview of digital exclusion’s relationship to health, social and economic aspects of people’s lives, conducted one year after the first Covid-19 lockdown.
- Health & wellbeing
05/07/2024

Scaling solutions to data poverty in the UK

Data Poverty Lab Fellow Kat Dixon explores what data poverty is, how it manifests in people's daily lives, current solutions available & how we can collectively scale these solutions.
- Connectivity & data
- Community & connection
02/07/2024

Motivational barriers preventing people from using the internet

This research, conducted in partnership with Prof. Simeon Yates (University of Liverpool) and BT, reveals the specific reasons people say they are unmotivated or unwilling to engage with the internet or digital technologies.
- Motivation & confidence
02/07/2024

Solving digital exclusion in a cost of living crisis: our House of Lords submission

Read our submission to the House of Lords’ inquiry into digital exclusion and the cost of living, proposing policy recommendations to remove the barriers to digital inclusion for people and society’s economic growth.
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Financial inclusion
02/07/2024

Circular electronics for social good

This report highlights enablers, barriers, and opportunities to reuse IT equipment for social good, creating an opportunity for businesses to tackle two challenges in tandem: the digital divide and the linear economy.
- Devices & access
- Tech for social good
02/07/2024

The economic impact of digital inclusion in the UK

Investment in improving basic digital skills will lead to significant benefits for the UK economy. Our report, supported by Capita and commissioned by economists Cebr, sets out the costs and benefits to investing in digital inclusion.
- Impact of digital inclusion
02/07/2024

Digital inclusion in England's libraries

We collaborated with Libraries Connected to research libraries’ role in digital inclusion. Here are the key findings and recommendations for action.
- Libraries
02/07/2024

Improving digital skills for employability

From 2018-2019 we undertook intensive research to understand the digital skills landscape, and support people facing significant disadvantages to overcome barriers and learn digital skills to boost employability.
- Employment
- Digital learning & skills
02/07/2024

Digital Inclusion in Health and Care

We collaborated with NHSX, NHS Digital, NHS England and local partners in health, social care, and community sectors to improve digital participation in health and care.
- Health & wellbeing
02/07/2024

An evaluation of the Widening Digital Participation in Health programme

This evaluation report examines the huge crossover between those who are digitally excluded and those who are at risk of poor health.
- Health & wellbeing
02/07/2024

An evaluation of the Future Digital Inclusion programme

The Future Digital Inclusion (FDI) programme was funded by the Department for Education from 2014-2019 to support more than 1 million people to learn basic digital skills.
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Digital learning & skills
02/07/2024

Internet Access: Essential Utility or Human Right?

Data Poverty Lab Fellow, Shade Nathaniel-Ayodele, argues that we need to reframe internet access as an essential utility and a human right. Read the report.
- Connectivity & data
25/04/2024

Our Digital Nation

What is the state of the UK's digital divide? Each year, Good Things Foundation gathers new facts and stats to reveal the reality of digital exclusion.
- Connectivity & data
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Digital learning & skills
- Community & connection
17/03/2024

The Minimum Digital Living Standard for Households with Children

A collaborate research project with University of Liverpool, funded by Nuffield Health, revealed the Minimum Digital Living Standard that people need to participate in our modern world. Read the report.
- Connectivity & data
- Devices & access
- Digital learning & skills
12/04/2023

Data Poverty Lab report: addressing data poverty for care-experienced young people

Written by Data Poverty Lab Fellows, Dr Becky Parry and Charlotte Elliott, this report explores how data poverty impacts care-experienced young people - and how it puts them at risk of missing out on creative opportunities.
- Connectivity & data
04/03/2022

An evaluation of the DCMS Digital Lifeline Fund programme

This evaluation report shares insights from the Digital Lifeline Fund programme, which supported 5,500 digitally excluded people with learning disabilities to access devices, data and digital support.
- Devices & access
- Digital learning & skills
04/01/2022

An evaluation of the Making It Click programme, funded by Google.org

Making It Click was a programme targeting those who have made the move online but only use the internet in limited due to low digital skills. As a result, over 25,000 people were supported to learn new digital skills and 27% entered employment.
- Digital learning & skills
08/09/2021

Digital inclusion roadmap for combined authorities

Our roadmap argues that it’s possible for regional leaders to shift the dial on digital inequality - and provides practical ideas for those charged with developing digital inclusion strategies.
- Impact of digital inclusion
12/12/2020

Everyone Connected

A report of the key findings from the Everyone Connected project, which gets devices, data and skills to digitally excluded households.
- Connectivity & data
- Devices & access
- Digital learning & skills
22/09/2020

Blueprint to fix the digital divide: government action for recovery

As we emerged from the pandemic, we urged the Government to prioritise digital inclusion so that everyone could access affordable internet & local digital skills support.
- Connectivity & data
- Digital learning & skills
- Community & connection
18/09/2020

Our pilot and implementation review of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service’s Digital Support Service

We were commissioned by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to co-design and pilot face-to-face digital support, redesigning the way courts and tribunals services are provided amid a £1bn reform.
- Motivation & confidence
07/07/2020

Enhancing the health & wellbeing of people with dementia through digital

This report explores how basic digital skills and community-based support can improve the health and wellbeing of people with dementia and their carers or families.
- Health & wellbeing
- Digital learning & skills
11/06/2020

Digital Health Hubs evaluation for the NHS Widening Digital Participation Programme

An evaluation report of our Digital Health Hubs, run as part of the NHS Widening Digital Participation Programme
- Health & wellbeing
10/06/2020

DevicesDotNow impact reports

During the DevicesDotNow campaign, we released three impact reports in May, June and July 2020, charting the progress of the campaign.
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Devices & access
17/03/2020

Supporting digital inclusion for adults with low English language skills

We set out to learn from existing research and from the expertise of community-based tutors to test insights and co-produce ideas on supporting adults with low English language skills to use digital.
- Digital learning & skills
11/06/2019

Improving financial capability for low-income households through digital skills

This report summarises research exploring challenges for support to improve digital skills for low-income households in financial difficulties, and initial recommendations on how to overcome these.
- Digital learning & skills
19/07/2018

What can we learn from our local digital inclusion centres?

This report shows our findings after asking 57 centres about the issues facing them, to help us better shape our strategy to respond to the needs of our centres.
- Community & connection
20/03/2018

Approaches to supporting people in later life online

Explore our report with the Centre for Ageing Better on supporting older adults online, uncovering the reasons behind their digital behaviour and new support strategies.
- Impact of digital inclusion
- Motivation & confidence
- Digital learning & skills
20/01/2017

Reboot UK final evaluation report: enhancing health & wellbeing digitally

Read the final report for Reboot UK, a landmark project supporting the most vulnerable in society to improve their health and wellbeing through digital.
- Health & wellbeing

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