How does digital inclusion impact service delivery?

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Technology has allowed charities to reach more people than ever, fundraise in new and unexpected ways, educate people and raise awareness, interact more effectively with our communities, and revolutionise service delivery. But, despite such advances, many users are excluded from the above benefits, with charities unable to reach them or support them.

 

The Charity Digital Report, Digital inclusion in the UK charity sector, highlights the extend of the problem. We found that nine in ten charities use tech to deliver services, but more than half (56%) had difficulty reaching service users due to tech issues. Two-thirds of charities struggled to implement tech due to a lack of skills among service users and even more (64%) struggled with digital skills internally. Digital service delivery has often proved a lifeline, especially in recent years with the pandemic. But still, even in an increasingly digital world, many users are excluded.

 

In this article, we dig deep into the report and focus on services, exploring the current state of digital service delivery and the changes charities can make to reach those excluded.  

 

 

The landscape of digital service delivery

 

For many charities and service users, digital provided a lifeline during the pandemic. It allowed charities to continue their great work, reaching service users in a difficult situation. The pandemic had a knock-on effect, working to spread digital across the charity sector and the wider economy.

 

Our report found that, in 2024, nine in ten charities use digital tools such as laptops, smartphones, apps and platforms, to reach service users. Compare that to 2020, for example, when just over six in ten (61%) delivered services online, according to the Charity Skills Report.

 

Progress, accelerated by a period of difficulty, has been faster than any of us expected. But the speed may have left some charities struggling. Our report found, for example, that charities gave themselves only a seven out of ten for digital service delivery and more than half still struggle to reach service users due to issues with tech, with smaller charities more likely to struggle.

 

So charities are generally enthusiastic, or at least open, to tech, but occasionally struggle to implement effectively. That’s largely because of existing barriers that many charities still face.

 

 

The barriers to digital service delivery

 

Cost is the main barrier to delivering or improving service delivery, cited by almost seven in ten respondents. That’s not particularly surprising. There are plenty of ways for charities to overcome the costs associated with tech.

 

Charities can, for example, learn from free resources online to boost digital skills, find discounted and donated tech, explore options for second-hand tech, make further use of volunteers or wider community support, and collaborate with other charities.

 

On top of that, charities can make use of other charities aiming to boost digital inclusion. Check out the National Digital Inclusion Network, led by the charity Good Things Foundation, which provides a network of local “hubs” to deliver services that improve access and education. Joining the network allows charities to provide free mobile data and devices. They even have a platform, Learn My Way, that allows people to learn, develop, and ultimately apply their digital skills.

 

Indeed, 57% of respondents claimed lack of skills was a barrier. Platforms like Learn My Way, and the great work of charities like The Digital Poverty Alliance and Good Things Foundation, aim to address that barrier directly. Part of the problem, as seen in the report, is that many charities are unaware that such organisations exist, that they can lean on the organisations free of charge.

 

And other organisations provide more short-term support, in the form of classes, webinars, toolkits, and so on. The Manchester Digital Collective provide a great ‘Online Digital Skills Courses’ that are free-of-charge, available regardless of ability, affording service users a solid foundation of digital skills. Age UK provide ‘Online essentials’ to help service users make the most of the internet. And Lloyds Bank provides an ‘Academy’ that allows service users to unlock the benefits of the Internet, designed so they can work at a pace that suits them

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The next core barrier is physical – and often harder to overcome. Lack of access to the right hardware was cited by (37%) of respondents to the report, which means that charities themselves do not have the right tech to help give others the right tech. Charities themselves are facing digital exclusion, which has a ripple effect. And that effect is clear to see in the survey: only 44% of charities claim to have provided digital devices or tools to service users.

 

Charities, according our report, are themselves lacking the right digital tools and many are unable to provide the right digital tools to service users. As above, solutions are available, but other barriers – time and resources, usually – prevent charities from taking advantage of such solutions.

 

Many charities are currently working to provide cheap or free tech to charities, including Charity Digital. But you can also check out Computers 4 Charity, who have been refurbishing computers for charities since 1996. Or check out similar organisations, like Responsible IT, Pass IT On, or CREATE. In fact, you can check out IT for Charities, which has collated a huge database of the organisations that supply recycled and refurbished hardware.