The latest round of the Digital Participation Challenge Fund has awarded grants to 33 community projects across Scotland
Community groups delivering projects to help people get online have won £236,000 of funding.
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisation runDigital Participation Challenge fund announced grants to 33 organisations across Scotland.
Awards ranging from £323 to £15,000 have been made to projects ranging from Dumfries & Galloway to the Western Isles for a wide range of activities, including developing entrepreneurial skills, encouraging people to get involved in volunteering, learning more about family history and delivering classes in Gaelic.
All of the awards will support older people, disabled people or people wishing to develop basic digital skills – helping them to set up an email account, browse the internet, search for a job or access online services.
Chris Yiu, director of digital at SCVO, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled with the range and standard of applications in this second round of the Digital Participation Challenge fund. One hundred and fifty organisations applied for funding, twice as many as in the first round. The 33 awards made this time will play a crucial role in ensuring Scotland becomes a world-leading digital nation.”
John Linn, manager at Flourish House, which was awarded just over £6,000, said: "We support people with lived experience of long-term mental health conditions and our members have multiple barriers affecting their digital participation. These include access and cost, but motivation and perceived lack of relevance are also major factors. By using our eBay fundraising project as a vehicle to learn digital skills, we are creating a sense of purpose and meaning to discovering the potential of IT. The more members we have supporting our eBay project, the more money we can earn to invest in our service.
“We will also support people to take advantage of the potential of tablets and smart phones. Most of our members do not have a computer at home, but many do have access to either a tablet or smart phone without really understanding the capability of these devices. This project will help people to feel connected and more confident about using IT. "
