NENC Digital Inclusion Strategy

Introduction to the project

In April 2023, we were commissioned to support Wally Charlton and the team at North East and North Cumbria ICS to develop their Digital Inclusion Strategy and Strategic Plan.

NENC had already developed a draft strategy based on national statistics published by Lloyds and Good Things Foundation as well as their 2022 research study into Digital Exclusion in North Tyneside.

However, they wanted to develop the strategy from the ground up – informed by the real priorities and experiences of people living across the North East and North Cumbria.

Below is a summary of our work to discover what digital exclusion really looks like and what the ICS should be focussing their efforts on in their new Digital Inclusion Strategy.

Our approach

This project has been delivered across 4 key work streams:

Engagement

Meeting people with lived and living experience, teams and organisations from across all sectors who are affected by and are able to influence the accessibility of digitally enables health and care services.

Desk research

Identifying and reviewing the existing policy, research and evidence relating to digital inclusion and inclusive health and care services.

Data mapping

Collating and visualising the numerous data sets that are publicly available to help better understand the factors that increase the risk of people being digitally excluded as well as the capacity that exists in communities to support people to feel included.

Recommendations

Making sense of all the insight gathered from our engagement, research and data mapping work to provide recommendations for how a new digital inclusion strategy should be developed and delivered.

Outputs from our work

Engagement

Desk research

Data mapping

Recommendations