ocf: new research areas
DESCRIPTION
Update on two new areas of research that we're doing - E-Reading Rooms, and Communities & SROI. Plus some slides I likeTRANSCRIPT
Helen MilnerCEO - Online Centres Foundation
Research Update
13 September 2012
Slides I like
4,737,788,855Number of people in the world who have NEVER used the internet February 2012
We’re doing well
• Between 2009 and 2011 an additional 7.7% of the UK population became internet users• UK: 76.4% (Sept 2009) -> 84.1% (Dec
2011)• As a comparison in the US between 2009 and
2011 an additional 2% of the US population became internet users• USA: 76.3% (Nov 2009) -> 78.3% (Dec 2011)
Internet and peoples lives
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
Self Confidence
Overall happiness
Quality of life
Ease of organising social gatherings
Informed on current affairs
Skills to get a new job
Confidence talking to different people on different subjects
Confidence expressingviews to key
decision makers
Connection to family andfriends who aren't local
Informed on local affairs
Internet user Internet non-user
“Does the internet improve lives?” Freshminds April, 2009
More confident
Happier
Better quality of life
More informed
Comparison of Internet Users and Non Users
Confident of their skills to get a new job
The internet makes you happier than money
The BCS research found that: ‘IT has a direct positive impact on life
satisfaction, even when controlling for income and other factors known to be important in determining well-being’
Source: The Information Dividend: Why IT makes you ‘happier’, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT by Trajectory Partnership, September 2010
The internet makes you more employable
• 73% of employers wouldn't even interview entry level candidates who didn't have basic IT skills
ICM/UK online centres survey, February 2012
Pipes
• Shetland Islands:• 0% superfast broadband• 19.9% of the households <2Mbits/sec• 71% take-up
• Rutland:• 0% superfast broadband• 22.1% at <2Mbits/sec• 74% take-up making it in the top 10% of
areas for take-up in the UK
Ofcom 2011
People• Middlesbrough:
• 91% superfast broadband• 9.6% <2Mbits/sec• 58% of houses have taken-up broadband
putting it in the lowest 10% in terms of take-up
• Sandwell 55% of people use broadband
• South Tyneside 57%
• Stoke-on-Trent 58%
• Barnsley 59%
A tale of two issues
• Cumbria has less pipes yet more people online
• Hartlepool has more pipes and less people online
• It’s clear that investment needs to continue in both building infrastructure and supporting people
1m online for £30m: Saving £157mThrough UK online centres April 2010 – July 2012
1 April 2010 – 27 April 2012
88% people feel more confident79% think they are more independent
after they have got help to use the internet
New Stuff
E-Reading Rooms
Community Hubs & SROI
eReading Rooms
Dr Alice Mathers
A six-month pilot
• 20 pilot partners: community organisations, local authorities, libraries, social housing providers, union learning centre, Community Learning Trusts
• Informal Adult & Community Learning – enabling more people to learn, and people who wouldn’t normally learn
• Local (friendly, informal) + Technology (bringing the world to you) + Scale (potential for spreading across the UK)
1. Is the eReading Rooms approach effective in facilitating informal learning?
2. How does this work at a variety of scales – for individual learners, centres and across the pilot?
What are we trying to find out?
1. To use person-centred ways to capture the eReading Rooms experience from learner and centre perspectives.
2. To share our findings in a transparent and user appropriate manner.
3. To provide clear policy guidance about informal learning.
Our evaluation approach
During eReading Rooms…Individual experiences
1. Self-directed film 2. Filmed semi-structured
interviews
Interpretation of eReading Rooms.Motivation for involvement.Centre experience - physical and
social.Commitment to continue.Benefits and innovations (approach,
technology, facilitation etc.)Limitations and areas for
development.
During eReading Rooms…Centre experiences
1. Focus group discussions at eReading Room centres
Self-directed film and film/sound clips from the individual SSIs will be used to prompt group discussion around selected topics.
The focus groups will enable the individual centre experiences (learners and facilitators) to be revealed.
A series of emerging eReading Room key themes will be generated.
Then, webinars to discuss themes across all pilot partners.
eReading Rooms: Outputs
1. eReading Rooms report (including policy guidance and recommendations)
2. eReading Rooms experience films
3. User-led Learning Zone
Community Hubs & SROI
OCF & Sheffield Hallam University
(Peter Wells)
Community Hubs• 30 Community Hubs across England, chosen as
clear anchors in their locality
• Using technology to improve communities
• Each Hub defined their own objectives and their own implementation based on local needs
• Digital inclusion:• as a potential outcome of the initiative• not the reason for the initiative
• All hubs using a common framework to evaluate their local outcomes (with SROI ambition)
Social impact of digital inclusion
ICT proficiencyAccess Use Familiarity Confidence
Social proficiencySelf-confidence
Families and friendsCivic engagement
Social capital
Cognitive proficiencyLiteracy
NumeracyVisual literacy
Human capital
Improved life chancesIncome Employment Health Education Housing Crime Living environment
*
* The definition of improved life chances is based on Department of Communities and Local Government 2004 Indices of Deprivation
Social Impact Demonstrators Programme: 2007 - 2008
Harold Tomlins Centre
Social impact of digital inclusion
ICT proficiencyAccess Use Familiarity Confidence
Social proficiencySelf-confidence
Families and friendsCivic engagement
Social capital
Cognitive proficiencyLiteracy
NumeracyVisual literacy
Human capital
Improved life chancesIncome Employment Health Education Housing Crime Living environment
*
* The definition of improved life chances is based on Department of Communities and Local Government 2004 Indices of Deprivation
The tool will have the following sections:
1. Outcomes theme selection process
2. Demographic questions
3. Baseline questions
4. Distance travelled questions
5. Reflective (end of project) questions
6. Evaluation (based on proxy measures and benchmarks)
Outcome Themes1. Building ICT capacity and capability:
Organisations
2. Building ICT capacity and capability: Individuals
3. Improving employment and employability
4. Increasing influence and engagement
5. Improving access to services
6. Reducing social isolation
7. Improving social cohesion
8. Increasing volunteering
Demographic questions
1. Gender2. Age3. Length of time living in the local area4. Current economic status5. Ethnic group6. Qualifications
7. Disability
To be confirmed - matched against existing demographics for UKOC data,
Outcome Measures Overview
Outcome Theme
Primary measure
Baseline Question
Distance Travelled Question
Reflective Question
Secondary Measures
Tertiary Measures
Distance Travelled Questions
Distance Travelled Question
SROI
• Matching the outcomes to national frameworks and financial values
• Aim to then ensure each financial value is equivalent to each other (apples and apples)
• Add up all the values to calculate the total return on investment
