the role-of-digital-in-local-participation-pp

participation……

in the digital age

@dmontfort

Community council

• Forging closer links with the community through genuine engagement and communication

• Greater transparency in local democracy and decision making

• Five out dated and formal area committees scrapped

• 10 new, more focussed community forums established

• Traditional agendas are scrapped in favour of open debate

• Bureaucracy is stripped back to dramatically reduce costs

Facebook community forums

Top tips

• Don’t dodge topics.

• Local authorities – senior

political buy-in is essential

• Joined up approach

• Set realistic goals

• Keep it simple and just be honest

Out in the community

WeLoveCarers charity

Brierley Hill

What’s else?

• Big Question budget consultation which received 4,500 responses – the biggest in the council’s history (2012/13)

• Building on the conversation a regular

e-bulletin goes out to more than 60,000

people

What’s next?

• Facebook forum for

businesses

• Curry forum

We don’t know where we are going … but we are on our way

78% of Londoners aged over 75 are not online and a total of 661,000 people over the age of 55 in London have never used the internet

But the world is changing fast …

“My children are in a different country and if you don’t know internet you can’t communicate. They don’t have time to write letters or anything, telephone is too expensive, Skype is the best thing” (older person) Mi Community

Setting the Scene

o Lack of interest

o Marketing of computers, design of products and jargon

o Fears of making a mistake and perception of being unable to learn

o Financial cost

o Fears of safety and privacy

o Lack of training and support

o Physical or cognitive impairment

o Personal attitudes and beliefs

– I

Obstacles to getting online

Curiosity and an appetite to learn Specific interests and hobbies Family support Independence and inclusion Work Experience and Studying Personal attitudes and beliefs Training and Support

Drivers for Getting Online

Offline and uninterested

• Negative associations • Feeling that it is unnecessary

• Low awareness of online capabilities • Cynical about tech

Offline but interested

• Fears of low knowledge/mistakes • Perceived financial constraints • Fear of safety & privacy • Uncertainty of relevance to lives

Commonly encountered views on digital inclusion

Restricted use but online

• Single-use functionality • Desire for training

• Desire for on-going support • Curiosity

• Sometimes feeling ‘pushed’ online

Expansive use and online

• Positive associations, • Attended good quality training

• High exposure to computers, • Particular online goal

Commonly encountered views on digital inclusion

Transition1 Offline and Uninterested to Offline but Interested Curiosity Motivational Hook

Transition2 Offline but Interested to ‘Restricted Use but Online Finance Training introductory, learner led

Transition3Restricted Use but Online to Expansive Use and Online

More advanced training, older IT trainers, practical uses of online, shopping, skype and engagement.

Transitions

Prioritising regional and local government funding for adult learning at local level

Research designed to deeply understand motivational and behavioural elements of decisions to use online technologies

Private companies should incorporate older people as co-designers and testers of products/on line platforms to ensure user-friendly operation

Sales outlets consider having an ‘new or timid user’ period in quieter midweek working hours where older Londoners can

be shown the pros and cons of different computer systems

Recommendations

Older IT digital champions- greater understanding of potential barriers and drivers and potentially assisting in co-design and delivery of support programmes

Information regarding the ‘Digital by Default’ agenda should be communicated through non-computerised channel

Support for completion of online forms needs to be facilitated at a face-to-face local level

Local provision of courses specifically for older people

Recommendations

“I was quite happy in my own world paying cheques, posting cards, (but)in the future, very near future, you can’t survive without paying on theinternet, can’t contact anyone - it’s out of the question… I have got to do it or Iwill be so isolated, I wouldn’t be able to pay a cheque” (older person) Mi Community.

The role of digital in local participationChris Martin25 November 2014

YouthNet is the UK’s leading digital charity. Every year, we help 1 million 16-25 year olds across the UK.

Our services are: Accessible: Our services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Holistic: Young people’s problems are interconnected. We provide support on every issue including work, housing, mental health and relationships.

Trusted: We’re experts in talking to young people. 81% of young people tell us that they trust our support.

For young people, by young people: Our services are co-designed and delivered with the help of 300 young volunteers.

Collaborative: We work with corporate, media and sector partners to provide a joined up support journey.

Cross platform: We work across young people’s digital ecosystems covering websites, mobile apps and social media.

Young people’s digital ecosystem

Young peopleStaff

Sector &

corporate

partners

Build services with young people

The right voice

Oii My Size!Peabody Community Investment Team

Raising awareness of the treatment of young women in Westminster.

The right medium

Level UpLatimer Creative Media

Discussing sex and relationships in Lambeth.

The right influencers The SiteHannah Witton90,664 followers

Stormzy19,878 followers

Translating online support into offline action

Debbie Moss

Public Affairs and Policy Manager

debbie.moss@vinspired.com

Follow us @vinspired

• vInspired is the largest youth volunteering charity in the country

• We are a digital first platform, providing opportunities for young people to take action on the causes they care about

Who we are

We connect with 32,000 young people online

We reach 846,000 through our website, social media or

email list

Local volunteering

• Last financial year our young people recorded 560,000 hours of volunteering.

• They felt more connected with their communities, more confident about entering education or employment and proud of achieving change in their communities.

From online to offline

Our work is all about moving from online engagement to offline action:

Intensively!

• Apply for Team v through vInspired.com

• Attend our residential training

• Build networks of local volunteers through social media

• Create a local team• Make a difference in

your community

Independently

• Apply for Cashpoint through vInspired.com

• Get an award of up to £500 to make a difference in their community on any issue they feel strongly about

• Access support from our team

• 74% projects continue beyond the grant

As part of a network

• Sign up to Do Something via vinspired.com

• Join the online community

• Choose the issues you care about

• Keep up-to-date online• Take action in your local

community

Swing the Vote

• Our biggest current Do Something campaign

• Young people sign up online

• Register to vote, learn more, and recruit friends online

• Attend events nationally and locally offline

• Vote – offline!

Why this campaign?

• Young people care!

• A survey out this week shows 40% of 10-20 year olds take part in social action

• But they don’t feel connected to Westminster politics

• Only 44% of 18-24 year-olds voted in 2010, compared with 68% of 65+s

Offline action

Young people attend events with their local MPs

Offline action

Our goal: Young people vote, along with their friend

Thank you

Questions?