Space to Connect digital toolkit

S2C projects using digital during the pandemic – to connect and support people

Through a £1.6m partnership between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Co-op Foundation, the Space to Connect programme has funded 56 community organisations to improve and protect local spaces that give people opportunities to come together to build social connection. At the onset of the programme in 2019, this exclusively meant a physical space like a community centre or local green space. But when the pandemic started, what was a relative footnote – digital – became a major consideration for projects almost overnight.

‘Digital’ is a bit of a catch all term to cover using computing and internet-based technology to work and socialise remotely. During the course of the Space to Connect programme we have seen various ways these have become important tools in projects’ pandemic response. Social groups were moved online, online quizzes were started, community Facebook groups set up, and advice and guidance were provided via Zoom. Projects also had to shift to using digital for their own internal communications, using platforms like MS Teams for meetings and relying more and more on email over face-to-face communication.

The shift to digital was not without challenges. Digital exclusion was a big issue. Not everyone had access to the right technology or a reliable internet connection, and those that did often did not have the necessary skills or confidence to engage digitally. More importantly, there are some activities that just can’t be substituted with a Zoom call.

A growing trend?

For most – organisations and communities alike – this was as entirely new way of working. For others that had dabbled with digital before, it massively accelerated what they had previously been doing.

Looking forward, it’s fair to say using digital technology is going to be an increasingly common – and possibly expected – part of life for everyone, including VCSE organisations and the communities they work with. Just look at the strategies being produced by the NHS and the Cabinet Office amongst others and the renaming of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in 2015. The pandemic has supercharged a trend that was already happening across all sectors.

Two big questions for VCSE organisations stand out:

• As we progress from immediate pandemic response to recovery, what digital tools do we want to keep using to connect and support communities?
• How can we best prepare ourselves to use these digital tools?

Our toolkit

Our digital toolkit aims to help VCSE organisations use digital to connect and support communities. The toolkit covers:

1. The challenges associated with using digital
2. Some practical advice and tips about working digitally
3. The policy context around digital (This might be useful to use in funding applications or to make the case for more resources for the use of digital within VCS organisations)

The toolkit is available to download from the Space to Connect project webpage.

It was produced with support from New Philanthropy Capital who have also produced some top tips for VCSE groups using digital to tackle loneliness.