Pillars for digital inclusion

The ‘discovery’ phase of the Digital Inclusion Programme included the development of a framework for digital inclusion in health and social care. In July 2023, the programme published the paper, From Pillars to Practice: Developing a Framework for Embedding Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care. The paper outlined an approach to digital inclusion involving five pillars: Motivation, Device, Connectivity, Skills and Confidence, and Inclusive Design.

The pillars provide an evolving framework for implementing digital inclusion in health, social care and housing contexts.

In the ‘Pillars Papers’ series, we explore each pillar individually to offer insights on definitions, approaches and implications for digital inclusion to stimulate dialogue on needs and requirements for the person, the workforce and organisations involved in person-centred care.

The Pillars papers are available in the Resources section of the website.

Communities of Learning

A Community of Learning is a safe space for projects to share good practices, challenges and opportunities.

The grant-funded projects in Digital Pioneers and Connecting to Care (Designing digital inclusion) participated in monthly Community of Learning sessions. This allowed projects to share insights and identify how models for digital inclusion could be embedded into services to support sustainability. The diversity of organisations and people involved in the projects helped others consider how digital inclusion could work in their context, whether mental health, housing services, or another care setting.

As the Community of Learning progressed, it contributed to a deeper understanding of how the pillars for digital inclusion could be applied in a mental health and housing context. A key outcome of the programme was to identify tried-and-tested models that support effective digital inclusion in mental health and housing.

Learn more about the themes and insights from the Community of Learning through our illustrated tapestries