CASE STUDY: Bridging the digital divide with devices and data

Digital Wigan sits within Wigan Council’s Digital Services team, working to overcome the three main challenges of digital exclusion; lack of digital skills, access to a device and access to connectivity. To tackle these challenges, Digital Wigan delivers three digital inclusion services; TechMates, Tablet Lending Library and the GM Databank - part of National Databank.

Digital exclusion can is a common result of the cost-of-living crisis, with access to devices and connectivity increasingly expensive, leaving vulnerable residents left behind and without access to essential services as more and more move online. In Wigan, the Tablet Lending Library loans devices on a short to medium-term basis and often finds many residents returning to use the service. Data from the leding library highlights a large portion of resindets accessing the service multiple times were developing skills but could not acquire their own device to continue their development.

With an aim to break this cycle of dependency of the Tablet Lending Library, the Digital Wigan team worked to source devices to gift, helping to not only give select residents their digital independence, but also remove presure off of the lending library, freeing up devices for more excluded residents.

Successful in acquiring 25 Laptops and SIM cards from Good Things Foundation's Device and Data banks, with each Laptop coming with a MIFI router providng connectivity for up to 6 months, the Digital Wigan Team created packs for the devices to go in, including TechMates digital skills support literature giving the residents extra help using their new device. Then working with colleagues in the Adult Learning, and Support for Wigan Arrivals teams, they ensured that recipients not only met the criteria, but had a framework to grow digitally and create their own path to further learning and development.

Wigan's Tablet Lending Library is part of the Local Authority's commitment to bridg the digital divide, providing residents with the access they need to top quality kit paired with support to use the technology, increase their skills and grow within a supportive and community engagement. Louise, who collected her device pack at Wigan Town Hall, said “I am very grateful to have been given a laptop, it will allow me to update my CV, which I have been wanting to do for a while. It will also be used for further studying that I do and to do research my children need for their school work. I also have thousands of photos on my phone which are taking up space so now I'll be able to upload the photos to free up space on my phone. I really do appreciate this opportunity to receive a laptop, the best laptop I've seen!.”

The offer of support from Good Things Foundation was critical to the impact the Tablet Lending Library has made, making devices and data connectivity available to local digital inclusion hubs, to source and support eligiable residents facing levels of digital exclusion. Moving forward, the Digital Wigan Team are creating a framework for device gifting that will enable the development of Wigan's own device gifting scheme.

Find out more about the Digital Wigan team and their work to fix the digital divide, including the Device Lending Library (external website).