By Harriet Hungerford
Shockingly, more than a million people in the UK have been forced to give up their Internet connections due to cost of living pressures. The WLA wanted to develop some practical eLearning content which would help make a real difference. They selected us to work with because of our expertise tackling digital exclusion.
We worked in partnership with the WLA’s 7 member boroughs to create something that would help their frontline staff and volunteers guide residents through the options. It’s a complicated, technical topic which we needed to make accessible to a huge range of people. This is how we did it.
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Let the evidence lead
We started with a simple plan: to raise awareness about social tariffs (low-cost internet deals) and the process around applying for them. But we discovered that while social tariffs could be helpful, they actually aren’t always right for everyone, and are certainly not the whole solution to the problem of affordable connectivity. It was a lightbulb moment for all of us—we needed to rethink our approach.
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Be open to change
So, we pivoted. Instead of focusing solely on social tariffs, we expanded the scope of our training to cover a range of practical solutions for affordable internet connectivity. It was about being agile, adapting, and responding to the real needs we were discovering. And it made all the difference. We were no longer just offering information; we were empowering people with choices.