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 Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG.
Getting started
Device lending is an impactful way to support people affected by digital exclusion. It enables users to access the digital world from their own home, build their skills and confidence, and test out devices before they decide to buy.
This guide was created to help organisations learn more about device lending and to share practical tips on how to set up and run your own lending scheme. It is informed by learning from the Connecting Scotland Device Lending Library Fund 2023-25, which provided devices and connectivity to 26 organisations across Scotland delivering digital device lending schemes.
Over the 2-year funding period, projects submitted regular monitoring information about the progress, learning and impact of their lending schemes. SCVO also hosted an online workshop, bringing together organisations to connect with one another, and to share their experiences, challenges and successes. We are very grateful to all projects for sharing their stories and insights, without which this guide would not have been possible.
Device lending in your organisation
Before you start developing a new device lending scheme, consider your organisation, your service users and your overall aims. What has encouraged you to take this step? Have you noticed that digital exclusion is affecting many of your service users? For example, do you offer classes learners can’t take part in without devices, homework support for school children who cannot complete their tasks from home, or more general support for low-income households who rely on your help to complete online forms and other essential tasks? Be specific about the need you seek to address and consider carefully whether device lending is the right solution. Then look at what you currently offer and talk to your service users about whether a lending library would be of interest to them. Does it fit in with the support you are known for providing, or would this be a new service that you need to advertise in different spaces?
Finally, engage with your staff and trustees about what you want the project to achieve and ensure that everyone involved is in agreement about what you can offer, what time and resources you can devote to it, and how the project will benefit your service users. This is all the more important if you are planning to apply for funding to help achieve your goals. Be realistic about your offering and don't over-commit - a lending library can easily be scaled up, but it is much harder to reduce its scope once people are benefitting from it.
Lending these devices has opened up access to our activities, supported skill development, and enhanced participants’ confidence and independence. This highlights the significant difference that access to digital technology can make for individuals who face obstacles to participation.
- Lending Library grantee