Digital inclusion needs assessment template
What is the tool and what does it aim to do?
The digital inclusion assessment template is a tool to support organisations/services to understand the digital inclusion needs of the people they support. The assessment template is a ‘high level’ example of the types of needs and information organisations/services may wish to capture during the early stages of support. This tool is designed to help organisations/services think through what would be required to create their own assessment template for understanding digital inclusion needs as part of designing their model of digital inclusion.
What you’ll need to be able to complete the tool / preparation required
The tool is best used once you have completed stages 1-4 of the co-design process, specifically stage 3b on understanding digital inclusion needs. The tool can be used as part of stage 5 when you are beginning to explore the detail of how your model of digital inclusion is developing. The example template can be printed out or used in an online collaboration whiteboard/PowerPoint presentation to support discussion on creating your own digital inclusion needs assessment.
How to use the tool
The example template will help you think through and begin to prototype the questions/sections to be included as you develop your own digital inclusion needs assessment. Review the types of digital inclusion needs and opportunities for digital inclusion in the journey map that you created during stage 3 of the co-design process. Review each of these alongside the example assessment template and discuss with colleagues and partners the types of questions/sections that will be important to include to ensure you capture the key information that will support people through their digital inclusion journey. Think about what information will be important to capture as part of the needs assessment that will help guide and tailor the type of digital inclusion support the person will need as part of their journey through the service. Once you have produced a draft digital inclusion needs assessment for your service it is recommended that you test and refine this before finalising for use.
Tips for using the tool
The tool can be used as part of stage 5 as a reference to sense check that the digital inclusion support being developed will be the types of needs that the digital inclusion needs assessment will capture.
When developing the needs assessment – think about how it can integrate with existing ways that your organisation/service captures people’s needs e.g., could it become an embedded section within care planning or referral documentation?