Client story Breaking barriers – social value collaboration to tackle digital inequality

Background

Established in 1947, Oxfordshire Youth aim to ensure young people across the county have the skills, support and connections they need to thrive. Insight helped the charity launch a Digital Natives Programme that provided 12-19 year olds, from socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with the digital skills and opportunities they need to excel in a technology-driven world.

Challenge

Oxfordshire Youth and its partner organisations provide services for 32,000 young people. One in five children in Oxfordshire live in poverty, with many unable to access devices or reliable internet.

The charity calculated that more than 9,000 devices were needed for disadvantaged children, while 676 postcodes in the county could not access Universal Service Obligation-level internet speeds. Digital poverty, worsened by the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, had deepened inequalities, impacting education, employment and healthcare, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

Solutions and outcomes

The charity required help to access corporate philanthropic funding that would enable it to tackle digital poverty through an integrated programme of works.

Initially focussing on the OX4 postal area, Insight leveraged its long-standing relationship with Intel to secure significant funding and training resources through the Intell® Skills for Innovation Initiative, which is designed to create innovative learning experiences that actively engage students in all learning environments. This gave the charity access to 80-hours of e-learning, activity packs for young people, and toolkits for educators. Additionally, Insight sourced laptops, tablets and other digital tools for the Digital Natives Programme from the funding provided.

The funding has enabled Oxfordshire Youth to implement a multifaceted strategy, including equipping its youth workers with the skills to provide digital training. Support from Insight also contributed to launching a pilot programme aimed at training local young people, with plans to refine and expand it to reach a total of 20 participants. Additionally, digital skills were integrated into the charity’s well-established Young Leaders programme, which is delivered over 2 months. The development of a ‘Train The Trainer’ model means that Oxfordshire Youth’s Youth Workers now have digital skills to develop further projects and deliver new digital projects to even more of the county’s youngsters.

Why Insight?

Oxfordshire Youth selected Insight because of its deep relationship with Intel, extensive knowledge of funding streams and innate understanding of programmes available to non-profits.

Insight’s expertise as the leading Solutions Integrator, combined with its ability to facilitate partnerships, made it the ideal choice for this complex initiative. By effectively coordinating between Intel, Oxfordshire Youth, and other stakeholders, Insight ensured seamless collaboration, securing the necessary resources and support to address digital poverty.