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REPURPOSING TECH 4 SOCIAL GOOD

Digital Inclusion

Should aim to dismantle existing structural social inequalities and enhance well-being for all

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Sustainable tech 4 Good – Digital Inclusion

Digital Inclusion


is defined as ā€œequitable, meaningful, and safe access to use, lead, and design of digital technologies, services, and associated opportunities for everyone, everywhereā€*

Full participation in our modern world is increasingly dependent on online access. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its enforced lockdowns, accelerated this process.


Digital exclusion (also termed digital inequality or digital poverty) refers to a lack of online access that negatively impacts on a personā€™s life-chances. Online access is dependent on three things – digital devices, data/broadband connectivity, and the requisite skills to use the former.

At Sustainable Tech 4 Good, our focus is getting digital devices into the hands of those who need them most, while signposting them to help available for digital skills and connectivity through our partner organisations.

Digital inclusion is essential for education, communication, and access to services and shopping. When money is tight, often online access is out of the question, excluding the disadvantaged from the benefits it brings, preventing full participation while perpetuating lower life chances, thus compounding their disadvantage.

Young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are especially vulnerable to digital poverty due to the lack of access to devices and the internet. According to the Learning & Work Instituteā€™s report, one in five households with children in the UK has no access to an appropriate digital device, while more than one in 20 households do not have any access to the internet.

Spreading digital inclusion to the disadvantaged makes for a more productive society as a whole, where we all benefit from increased economic activity and a better skilled, more engaged workforce for our businesses.

* UN Definition of Digital Inclusion

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11.9m people (22% of the population) do not have the digital skills needed for everyday life in the UK

Online connectivity enables the right and the ability to access basic human services such as health care, economic and personal development opportunities, skills development, and education for all. It also acts as a catalyst for individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, facilitating the realisation of a range of other human rights.

Digital inclusion must also encompass the ability of users to use technologies efficiently for their own and othersā€™ benefit. Digital technological and literacy skills are therefore an important element of digital inclusion to secure a shared prosperous digital future for everyone.

We have donated 7,983 devices to-date and counting to charities and services delivery organisations to help bridge the digital divide.

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A rapidly accelerating digital skills gap contributes to a loss of over Ā£63 billion/yr in GDP

This might have a disastrous effect on the UK economy if it is not addressed. In order to close the technical skills gap over the next ten years, the CBI also found that adult education programmes would require at least Ā£130 billion in funding.

According to a 2019 Confederation of British Industry (CBI) research, 67% of British businesses are having trouble filling digital positions. Additionally, only 31% of UK companies are certain that, during the next three to five years, they will have access to the digital skills they require. 92% of organisations say that digital skills are essential for success because they foster innovation, growth, and productivity, according to a new survey by the Learning & Work Institute.

According to the survey, 37% of employers acknowledge that their current workforce is seriously lacking in advanced digital abilities, while 23% acknowledge that their current workforce lacks basic digital skills. The impact on organisations is clear: according to 76% of employers, a lack of digital skills will have an impact on the company’s profitability.

Sustainable tech 4 Good

Our impact to-date

“The tablets will be a real asset to our new online referral process, enabling the packers to access the required information to process the Christmas bags.”

Jade Storey

North Wales Superkids


“Data and device allowed me to participate in the Richmond Fellowship program, a mental health charity that supports individuals in their recovery and helps them work towards employment.”

Taron Murfitt

Cambridge Online


ā€œThe family could not afford a new phone and theirs had broken. This was their only device they could use to access benefits, contact family, etc. So it was an incredible support to receive it, as well as they are so hard to come by.ā€

Evie Rollinson

Refugee Council

Read more feedback here

NATIONAL REACH – LOCAL IMPACT

Getting devices to those that need them across the UK

We have partnered with 160 different charities, NFP organisations and local authorities to-date to distribute devices across the UK

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