The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Partnership
Digital inclusion works best when we work together. Being aware of the work that’s happening around you, sharing your resources and knowledge, and making sure our services are effective and efficient is good for everyone.
Key actions
- Map potential stakeholders you can collaborate with.
- Engaging actively in partnerships, internal and external, in support of digital inclusion.
- Promote digital inclusion and participate in national conversations.
- Contribute to national resources, sharing knowledge and resources to avoid duplication of effort.
Types of partnership
Internal partnerships are how you work with different teams and departments in your own organisation. These kinds of partnerships can be the most useful if you run different services across the organisation. When you start these kinds of partnerships, have a think about the following things:
- How are you going to align your goals to make sure you’re getting the right outcomes for everyone?
- How will you decide who does what?
- What are the expectations for communication and staying in touch?
- Is everyone that needs to be bought in already on board? How do you plan to make sure they are?
- In what ways will you measure the success of your partnership? How will you shout about it so everyone in the organisation knows the lessons you’ve learned?
A great way to understand the local landscape and align everyone’s ambitions is to form a local network of digital inclusion enthusiasts. Bringing people together to discuss the issues and opportunities in your area can help to deliver on effective solutions.
A fantastic example of this exists in Renfrewshire, where a partnership between Renfrewshire Council and Engage Renfrewshire has brought together stakeholders to influence and embed digital change across the locality.
Digital exclusion is a big issue that impacts people from across the country. That’s why it’s important that partnerships go beyond the local and ensure that we continue to make digital inclusion everyone’s responsibility.
There are a range of national networks and partnerships that advocate for better resources, awareness and action to fight digital exclusion. Being a part of these can help to elevate your work and give it a platform.
It can also be an opportunity to learn from people and organisations in different parts of Scotland and the UK.
- Signing Scotland’s Digital Inclusion Charter is a great way to become an active part of the digital inclusion community in Scotland. Read more about the Charter below.
- Good Things Foundation run the National Digital Inclusion Network.
Your local area is the best place for local people to find support that works for them. The hyperlocal nature of good digital inclusion work means that developing a place-based model can sometimes be exactly what communities and people need.
See below for more information about how SCVO can support you.
In this video, Shaun from Glasgow's Golden Generation shares some insights on how they leverage different types of partnerships to support older people get online.
Scotland's Digital Inclusion Charter
Scotland’s Digital Inclusion Charter is the focal point of digital inclusion work in Scotland. We are working to build a community around the work that happens across the country, to support, guide and recognise organisations like yours.
Signing the Charter is how organisations can make their voice heard, and ensure that digital inclusion stays on the public agenda for good. It’s also an opportunity to find out who is doing what where. As our community grows – so will opporunities for partnership!
Place-based digital inclusion
Place-based digital inclusion is about building sustainable solutions to digital exclusion, taking into consideration the assets, and needs, of a specific place. SCVO has been working on developing and delivering place-based digital inclusion since 2019.
This way of doing digital inclusion is all about the strength of partnerships in a local area, including how they can think about what they have, what they don’t and what needs to happen next.
We’ve developed a guide to support you in how you can make positive, sustainable change happen. Our place-based guide is informed by our years of experience in supporting communities to understand and deliver digital inclusion.