Speakers at the ‘Be More Digital’ Conference 2021
How one charity partnership is bridging the digital divide
This past year has seen the world go digital. Charities had to move services online and think creatively to provide their vital support. People have come together and connected online like never before. But what about those who are digitally excluded? With digital communication now a necessity, they are facing a harsher, more isolated reality.
When COVID-19 hit, The Clare Foundation and Your SimPal joined forces to combat digital isolation. We worked together agilely to provide digital devices and sim cards to the elderly residents of Buckinghamshire. The program offered some of the most isolated members of the community new-found opportunities to stay connected. Find out more about our partnership with Your SimPal.
Charity Digital invited Helen Mee, Head of Charity Operations at The Clare Foundation to present at the three day #BeMoreDigital national conference in the Digital Service Delivery and Operations stream. Helen teamed up with Chris Lewis to deliver the session entitled “How one charity partnership is bridging the digital divide” on the last day of the conference, Thursday 4 March. The online conference attracted 717 attendees across two streams.
Helen said “It was great to have the opportunity to share The Clare Foundation’s experiences of working together in partnership with Your SimPal over the past nine months. During the presentation we discussed how we scoped, developed and delivered our project . We shared top tips and best practice for collaboration; like the importance of creating a partnership agreement, determining our critical success factors at the outset and the teams from each organisation meeting regularly. We also reflected on our own learning, recognising the need to adapt and flex our model as the Covid restrictions and guidelines changed over time. We were happy to share how we overcame challenges. We also looked at the future of digital exclusion and how charities can help combat this by working together and forming strong partnerships.”
Charity Digital plan to make the individual session recordings available via their YouTube channel by the end of March 2021.
