By supporting ‘learning by doing’ through grant-funded projects, the Programme gained insights contributed to the development of best practice models of digital inclusion in mental health and housing, with a focus on sustainability.

Digital Pioneers

• Digital Pioneers (from July 2022 for 12 months): The Digital Pioneers fund was launched in April 2023 and made awards to 13 projects (6 mental health and 7 housing). Read more about the projects here: Digital Inclusion for Mental Health and Housing Programme – Google My Maps.
• Digital Pioneers Progress fund (from July 2024, for 6 months): The Digital Pioneers Progress fund ran for 6 months, starting in July 2024 and provided an opportunity to consolidate the model(s) emerging from projects. It specifically focused on sustainability and the integration of models within local services/supports for health and care.

Connecting to Care

• Connecting to Care (from April 2024 for 12 months): The Connecting to Care Fund supported organisations working in the areas of mental health or housing to work in partnership with organisations delivering digital inclusion support to embed digital inclusion as a core part of service delivery, supporting people to access and connect with services/supports that meet their health and care needs. Read more about the projects here: Digital Inclusion for Mental Health and Housing Programme – Google My Maps)

All grant-funded projects took part in quarterly monitoring, impact data gathering with a sample of people benefiting from digital inclusion support, and a monthly Community of Learning.

Outcome reports on the impact of the projects are available:

• Digital Pioneers Impact Report
• Digital Pioneers Progress Fund Impact Report