UK online centres / Online Centres Foundation Annual Review
April 2012 - March 2013

Now known as Tinder Foundation Online Centres Foundation UK Online Centres

The landscape

Digital by default - and the impending introduction of Universal Credit - meant digital inclusion and digital skills remained on the policy agenda in 2012-2013.

The government’s continued commitment to supporting Online Centres Foundation, and the UK online centres network, shows the importance they place on ensuring the move towards digital by default service delivery doesn’t exclude those most in need of government services but who are lacking digital skills. We will continue to work closely with government to ensure that digital skills remain a key focus as new services are developed, and ensure that support at a grassroots level is always available for those who need it most. We will work particularly closely with the Department for Work and Pensions on a national level to support the roll out of Universal Credit, and we also want to support other government departments to effectively develop and launch digital services for everyone.

Over the previous year, attention has begun to turn towards people who have been online before but don’t have the skills to benefit from the internet. This interest was supported by the BBC’s research into Media Literacy, which found that 23% of adult non-users had used the internet before, and 21% of internet users felt restricted in what they could do due to lack of skills. At the end of the year, ONS statistics revealed that there were still 7.4 million people in the UK who had never been online before , but there also an estimated 8.5 million people who don’t have the skills to use computers and the internet. Through the support of our network, dedicated campaigns and learning content, we’ve been able to make a significant impact in supporting these groups.

In April 2012, we were delighted to throw out support to Go ON UK - emerging out of Race Online 2012 - a cross-sector partnership which aims to make the UK the most digitally capable nation in the world. In October, they published the excellent report - This is for everyone: The case for Universal Digitisation - which set out the significant economic benefits that the UK could experience as a fully digital nation. Alongside this, the eight Go ON UK founder partners have also made pledges to support digital skills by helping their staff and customers to get online. Over the year, we have continued to work closely with Go ON UK and their founder partners to maximise resources and impact.

We will continue to work with partners in order to sustain this impact, not only supporting individuals to improve their digital skills, but helping them to progress to further learning.