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Race Online 2012

  • Internet Access in the UK: The Facts

    8.43 million adults in the UK have never been online, (ONS Internet Access Quarterly Update - 2011 Q3), or 16.8% of the adult population.  In her role as the UK Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox and her team at Race Online 2012 focus on encouraging as many people as possible to go online and improve the convenience and efficiency of public services by driving online delivery.  Together, we provide a rallying cry for us all to create a truly networked nation – a chance to make the UK one of the first developed countries in the world to achieve near-total internet use by 2012.

  • Why does having internet access matter?

    The UK has 40 million adult internet users and 30 million of us use the web every day.  The 8.4 million people in the UK who have never been online are already missing out on big consumer savings, access to information and education.  They will be even more isolated and disadvantaged as government and industry expand ever faster into digital-only services.  We must change our mindset from one that shields people from using the internet to one that helps empower them to get online and enjoy all the benefits.

    ‘It is often the people facing the toughest times who have the most to gain from what technology has to offer and as the internet is rapidly becoming a tool for everyday life, we should work together to make sure everyone can benefit.’
    Martha Lane Fox - UK Digital Champion

  • What is Race Online 2012?

    Race Online 2012 presents a chal­lenge for all of us in the UK to work together to build a country where everyone has access to the transformative power of the internet.  It is a rallying cry to create a truly networked nation – a chance to make the UK one of the first developed countries in the world to achieve near-total internet use by 2012. By the end of this parliament we endeavour to make sure everyone of working age should be online and no one should retire without web skills.  This would be an Olympic legacy that will benefit all of us. 

     

    Years of research indicate that the same three reasons prevent more people getting online, lack of motivation, access or skills.  We aim to inspire more people to go online, to encourage people to go online, rewarding them for doing so and to support those who need a helping hand.  We are calling upon industry, competing for more online customers, Gov­ernment, needing to deliver better for less and charities, wanting to better support the people they help.  We are encouraging them to act as a collective force to deliver positive social change. 

     

    40 million adults in the UK already use the web.  If a fraction of us chose to share those skills, exploiting our existing network of community access points, we could inspire and support millions more to try the internet for the first time.  We are aiming to sign up partner organisations that want to act and individuals can join the growing network of digital champions across the UK.

  • Who is Martha Lane Fox?

    As the UK Government’s Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox founded the Race Online 2012 campaign and sits on the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Board. She is also non-executive director at M&S, Channel 4 and MyDeco.com.  In 2005 she co-founded Lucky Voice,  to revolutionise karaoke with its 6 venues and online business and in 2007 she started Antigone, a grant giving foundation. In 1998 with Brent Hoberman, she co-founded Lastminute.com, still Europe’s largest travel and leisure website - they took the company public in 2000 and sold it in 2005.

  • Who are our target group?

    Our target group are the 8.4 million adults in the UK who have never been online, particularly the 4 million people who are also the most socially and digitally excluded.

    Of these 4 million adults:

    39% are over 65, 38% are unemployed and 19% are families with children.  

    High quality digital public services can empower individuals and save Government money.  If the 8.4 million people in the UK who have never had access to the internet got online, the potential savings for the UK economy would amount to £22bn. 

    Here’s how those over 65, those who are unemployed and families with children would benefit:

    There are 6.4 million over-65s in the UK who have never used the internet and they are most likely to be offline because they don’t think the internet is for them — but being online can bring older people and the service providers who support them a huge range of benefits. Average household savings of £560 a year can be made by shopping and paying bills online. Getting online helps unemployed adults find work faster and could reduce benefit expenditure

    There are 1.5 million unemployed people in the UK who claim Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), of whom an estimated 270,000 do not currently use the internet.  They claim an estimated £0.8 billion a year.  More than 90% of all new jobs require basic internet skills and there are many new job opportunities advertised online: approximately seven million job adverts were placed online last year, with some advertised solely online and only accepting internet applications.  PwC estimate that if just 3.5% of offline jobseekers found work more quickly by being online it would increase each of their lifetime earnings by £12,430, and bring total benefits to the UK economy of £566m a year.

    For children, being online at home improves attainment, helps parents engage with their children’s schooling and cuts administration costs for schools.  It also helps confidence and eventually improves employability.  PwC estimate that increases in educational attainment if all children of school age were online at home could result in a lifetime increase in earnings of £10.5bn.

  • What will we do to help?

    In June 2010 the new Government reappointed Martha Lane Fox as the UK Digital Champion, asking her to ‘focus on encouraging as many people as possible to go online and improving the convenience and efficiency of public services by driving online delivery.’  Supported by the Cabinet Office and as part of the Efficiency Board, the role is to advise and challenge the Government, the wider public sector and industry on ‘making faster progress on getting more people and services online.’ 

    In Martha's remit, she was asked to:

    • Continue the Race Online 2012 campaign to encourage as many people as possible to get online.
    • Advise the Government on how efficiencies can be best realised through the online public delivery of services.
    • Lead work to drive efficiencies through the greater use of online services across government, including the transformation of Directgov.

    For more information, read our Manifesto for a Networked Nation

  • What are our campaign objectives?

    Race Online 2012 is a challenge for all of us in the UK to work together to build a country where everyone has access to the transformative power of the internet.


    We aim to inspire more people to go online, to encourage people to go online and reward them for doing so and to support those who need a helping hand. 

    There are 8.4 million adults in the UK who have never used the Internet – the combined size of the entire population of our five biggest cities.  Four million of those are among the most disadvantaged: 39% are over 65, 38% are unemployed and 19% are families with children.   

    We are calling for urgent action to get millions more people online by the end of the Olympic year 2012, through partnership with government, industry, charities and individuals.

    We want to build a UK of near-universal web literacy by the time of the Olympics, with access as easy and affordable as water, electricity or gas and skills considered as fundamental as literacy and numeracy:

    Sign up your organisation as a Race Online 2012 partner and to help as an individual, join the growing network of digital champions across the UK. (For more info on Digital Champs, take a look at the digital champion section below)

  • How are we funded?

    Race Online 2012 is Government funded but independent, set up by Martha Lane Fox to support her work as the UK Digital Champion.

  • Who are our partners?

    Our partners come from a range of backgrounds including not-for-profit, government and industry. All our partners are committed to this agenda. Together we aim to inspire real change: our first step is to work as an intelligent hub of information and resources, to match-make people with the skills and resources with those that need their knowledge and funds. We’ll work with some core national and local partners to ensure improved quality and sufficient scale, of free or low-cost access and training in disadvantaged communities.

    View our current partners

    To become a partner requires a real commitment to reach the 8.4 million people in the UK who have never even been online. We are also helping to create a network of digital champions across the UK.  As an individual, please join the growing digital champions network (our partners have already pledged over 100,000 digital champions!) or pledge to inspire digital champions within your organisation as part of your Race Online 2012 partner promise.

  • How do we measure Partner Promises and delivery against target?

    We've set out to reach as many of the people who have never accessed the web as possible by partnering with organisations, from high-street brands like McDonald's and employers like Sky or Sainsbury's, through to local government and third sector organisations like Age UK.

    We recognise this 'pledge model' is a bit of a blunt tool and may lead to some duplication on numbers, but strongly believe it is only through building real momentum around this issue that we will gather the visibility and upswing in civic action that we need to crack this. We work with our top tier partners to ensure they are meeting their targets and we are resting on the goodwill of smaller organisations to report impact honestly.

    Having said that, we do look at a range of measures to monitor the sucess of what is happening. These include, but are not limited to:

    1. ONS figures published on a quarterly basis showing changes in the uptake of Internet usage.

    2. Use of Go ON benefits messaging.

    3. We publish Promises in Action on our website shouting about how out partners are fulfilling their promises.

    4. Digital champion network numbers.

    You can find out more about recent figures by visiting the Race Online 2012 homepage and looking at the partner counter (you can embed our partner counter widget into your site which automatically updates as partners sign up).

Become a Partner

  • What can my organisation do?

    Any organisation of any size can make a contribution, no matter how big or small. All you have to do to make your partner promise by going to this page; it contains lots of information and ideas about how you can help.  Once you've decided, please write in your partner promise, add your logo (if you have one) and fill in your contact details. 

    Don't forget to send us details of how you've put your Promise into Action and you can also sign up to receive our newsletters, read our blogs and follow us on Twitter.  

  • How can we help you?

    Can the Race Online 2012 campaign shine a light on your work?  Please contact us with information about local or national initiatives you believe warrant more media attention or that you believe policy-makers should be aware of.  Our team travels the UK to find out about what works and why.  We welcome the opportunity to hear from grassroots practitioners, local authority staffers, educationalists, technologists, academics and business people who could be potential Race Online 2012 Official Partners.

    We also publish Promises in Action on our website as well as across Whitehall.   Please share your Promise in Action with us here

  • How can you help us?

    As a Race Online 2012 Official Partner, you will be part of an incredible cross-sector movement working to build a country where everyone has access to the transformative power of the internet.  We can all make a difference if we work together.

    Here are a few of the things you can do:

  • Go ON

    As part of their promise to Race Online 2012 brand communications agency 23Red created the Go ON badge – a visual and communications device that makes it incredibly easy for organisations and companies to promote the benefits of the internet. It helps to unify all the valuable initiatives that are available to people who are taking their first steps online.  See how you can use it here.

  • Is there any funding available?

    There are a number of commercial organisations, government agencies and charitable foundations that currently award grants for projects related to digital inclusion: at Race Online 2012 we will do everything we can to encourage these bodies to do more, especially in providing more support to local authorities and charities that have strong existing relationships with our target groups. Please check our partner page for details of these partners and their projects. We will also feature details of current grants on our blog, Twitter feed and the digital champions Facebook page. 

    If you work with people who aren't online but your organisation isn't part of the UK online centres network, now is the time to think about becoming a member. Visit the UK online centres website.

    For more information about funding sources, the below links should get you started:

    Nominet Trust aims to support distinctive and inventive internet-related projects that can make a difference to people, primarily in the areas of education, online safety and inclusion.

    Sustainable Funding Project is a first-stop shop helping voluntary organisations explore a full range of funding options to develop a sustainable funding mix. It is part of NCVO. It promotes thorough organisational planning, grant diversification and income generation as three key means of enhancing organisational financial stability.

    Fit for Funding, from the Charities Information Bureau, provides advice via the web for community groups and voluntary organisations who are seeking funding.

    Funding Central is a free smart website for all third sector organisations, including community groups, providing access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus a wealth of tools and resources supporting organisations to develop sustainable income strategies appropriate to their needs.

    Directory of Social Change publishes independent and well-researched books for the charity and voluntary sector covering charity fundraising, campaigning, finance, charity law, management, media and marketing.

    ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations) provides details of member sites

    Open4Funding works with local council websites to provide facilities for charities and community groups to find relevant funding sources.

     

    Funders with useful websites:
    The Community Foundation Network promotes local 'endowment funds' by pooling donations that will generate ongoing income, for local grant-making.

    Esmée Fairbairn Charitable Trust makes grants in five sectors: arts and heritage, education, environment, social and economic research and social welfare.

    Lloyds TSB Foundations application forms can be downloaded from the website, which also has application guidelines. Also see Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland; Lloyds TSB Foundation for NI.

    Voluntary Action Fund, an independent grant making trust, gives grants to, and works with, local voluntary organisations in Scotland.

    Governmental/agency:
    CDF is the leading source of community development expertise and delivery. As a public body and a charity they bridge government, communities and the voluntary sector.

    The Voluntary and Community Sector Funding Portal, also known as the Government Funding website has been developed by the Directory of Social Change. The DSC is a registered charity which provides a wide variety of information and training for the voluntary and community sector. This site aims to provide 'a common point of access to Government grant funding for the voluntary and community sector and includes funding guidance.

    Welsh Assembly Government grants guide are available via voluntary sector pages. Some of the Assembly Government’s money is made available by way of grants to fund schemes and initiatives that are in line with the Welsh Assembly Government’s agenda. Each grant will have its own set of criteria which applicants must meet in order for applications to be considered.

    Visit the Government Funding Database for Northern Ireland governmental grants for further information on grants available to voluntary and community organisations.

    Lottery related:

    Awards for All - a Lottery grants scheme funding small, local community-based projects in the UK.  Each country is running its own programme.

    Big Lottery Fund can be a good funding source for certain groups – its main aim is "to help meet the needs of those at greatest disadvantage in society and to improve the quality of life in the community".  Use their funding finder for different areas of the UK.

    The Department of Culture, Media & Sport's Lottery site has info on the distributing bodies and an awards search facility.

    Lottery Good Causes is an umbrella site for all the lottery funded grant schemes.

  • I work for a local authority. How can we get involved?

    If just 30% of Goverment to citizen contacts were moved online, £2.2 billion could be saved in Government efficiency savings per annum.  This does not take into account that the digital divide is rapidly increasing social, economic and educational disadvantage.  It must be addressed if take-up of online public services is to reach near 100 per cent by 2014, as set out in the Smarter Government White Paper.

    There are some simple and practical steps that can be taken in the short term that will have immediate and growing impact. The DCSF, Communities and Local Government, DC10plus, the Digital Inclusion Team and the Digital Inclusion Advisors have compiled a list of actions local authorities could take.

  • How do I change my partner details?

    Don’t worry if the details you supplied Race Online 2012 are no longer correct.  Simply email info@raceonline2012.org and we’ll do the rest.

Become a Digital Champion

  • What is a Digital Champion?

    A digital champion is someone who supports their family, friends, colleagues or customers to get all the benefits that the internet can bring. They can inspire people to take their first steps online by telling them about a site or service that matches their interests, showing them how to use the web, and helping people to gain internet access.  Anyone can join the digital champion network; to find out more and to join, please go to http://champions.go-on.co.uk/

  • How can I become a digital champion?

    By joining the digital champion network and inspiring people to take their first steps online.  If you know someone who's already inspired to learn more about the Internet, you can also help them find low cost, local internet courses, show them online training guides and videos, or take the time to teach them yourself. 

    For more information, hints and tips, go to http://champions.go-on.co.uk/ and to network with other Champs, join the Digital Champions Facebook group:

  • How can I get information about how to manage Digital Champs?

    www.go-on.co.uk/champions is not only where you can join the digital champion network, but is also a great source of information about how you and your champs can help; go to the 'at work section' for top tools including the digital champion job description.

    However, if you are looking to set up your own digital champ group, or are looking for advice on working with volunteers, these resources could help:

    Local Council for Voluntary Service offering support
    Advice and Guidance on Volunteering
    General Guide to volunteering
    Various Publications and advice guides
    Consultancy service to help organisations develop volunteering
    Advice on using the media to recruit volunteers

  • Corporate Digital Champions

    Depending on the formality of your corporate volunteering framework, there are different options available to your corporate volunteers to work towards a connected and networked UK. Your first step is always to sign up as Race Online 2012 partner.
     
    1.    If your framework is less formal, then you can encourage your employees to use their volunteering day(s) and to join the digital champion network and pass on their invaluable skills to people they know:  friends, family or neighbours. This is often the simplest and easiest way to volunteer to help people get online and recognises that individual peer to peer support is the most effective way to help people experience the benefits of the internet. There are lots of resources freely available at www.go-on.co.uk/champions and this is where your champs can also join the digital champ network.
     
    2.    If your corporate volunteering framework is more formal, which will often be the case, then there are opportunities for your digital champions to be creative about what they do, either as individuals, or together in a team.

    • As an individual, your digital champion can find a local event or take part in a national campaign for Internet beginners such as Spring Online with Silver Surfers', Get Online Week or Age UK's itea and biscuits.  They can use the postcode search on http://champions.go-on.co.uk/ to find a centre where they can volunteer or help a campaign.
    • As an individual, or as a team, your digital champions can set up and run their own event or take part in a national campaign, taking advantage of the resources available and by being part of national PR. Your organisation could make IT training rooms available for example, to assist. Alternatively, you could assist by enabling your team of volunteers to use portable company equipment at an external public location. Alternatively, they could contact a local UK online centre (in England) or public library (UK wide) to see if the location/equipment can be borrowed for the event.
    • Where your digital champion, or team of champions, have existing contacts in their communities or with charities, it is worth exploring these from the perspective of this agenda.  For example, if your volunteer already works with a homeless charity, they will likely have outreach to people who have not used the internet. Your volunteer (team) could set up and run an event to help these people experience the benefits of the internet.
    • Some corporate volunteering programmes involve people working as a team as part of leadership development. A digital inclusion initiative is a suitable challenge for this. Your team could design and deliver an initiative to help people who have never used the Internet before, in conjunction with local community organisations. Part of the challenge to the team is to come up with a creative solution to identify a suitable community (e.g. sheltered housing, ethnic or minority community, low-income area) and work with them to engage and inspire people who haven’t used the internet to try it out, perhaps on an event basis, ideally with a ‘leave behind’ for the community so that the work can continue.  There is plenty of collateral to assist such a team and the skills benefit to them is clear, as there are aspects of project management, influencing, community engagement, logistics, event planning and technical assistance, all required to make the project a reality and help a target number of people get online.

    3.    Fully managed volunteering programmes

    If your organisation is large, you could consider partnering with service delivery providers such as UK online centres, Age UK or Public Libraries), to set up a specific programme offer for your corporate volunteers. Large or small, employee volunteering programmes can also be set up using the Do-it database, or managed by providers such as Timebank. When contacting such an organisation be clear that your goals are to help people experience the benefits of the internet. As an alternative to helping train people to use the internet, or setting up events, a valuable use of your volunteers’ time can be to deploy their expertise as subject matter experts, for example by mentoring providers’ management staff on HR, finance, marketing or governance. Success factors for such a managed programme include:

    • Have clear ownership and strong nominated contacts both at the corporate and at the charity
    • Develop and communicate a clear proposition for the volunteers, being specific about what they will do, who they will contact, when and where will the activity take place.
    • If your proposition is about training people, ensure together with your partner that your volunteers themselves are given induction training about how best to approach the other person’s interests and skill levels, as well as how to use and access the online tools which are available on the digital champion hub.
    • Include the methods for evaluating the champions' experience in the proposition up front, and consider including both qualitative and quantitative aspects.
    • Introducing an element of competition among your digital champions or business areas is a particularly useful way of engaging people, e.g. highest number of participants that attend an event run by your volunteers with a prize or recognition for the volunteers; top number of events run by a business area, again with a prize for that business area.

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Promises in Action

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Partners

Our 1343 Partner Promises

  • Read Millivres Prowler Ltd's promise
    Millivres Prowler Ltd will get involved in Spring Online with Silver Surfers'
  • Read Avonline Plc's promise
    Avonline Plc will train their customers and work towards helping every home in the UK have a 2MBps broadband connnection by 2012.
  • Read Lache Park Ltd's promise
    Lache Park Ltd will provide free/low cost internet access and support, helping to Pass IT on to employees, friends and family.
  • Read Lasa's promise
    Lasa will continue to help thousands of charities access the benefits of being online.
  • CLC Contractors Limited will spread the word, train their employees and show friends and family.

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