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.
Limitations and onward planning
Some organisations highlighted the general limitations of device lending in terms of long term, sustainable inclusion. They noted that their lending projects work for some people but not for everyone - the device and connectivity support is only temporary and many people will have to go without again after the end of the loan period. This was particularly the case for the most vulnerable, such as people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, and people experiencing insecure housing or financial hardship.
If some of your service users regularly borrow or renew devices, it can be an indication that they have a clear need to be connected, but no means to afford it. Depending on your relationship and other support provided you may already know about their circumstances, but if you don't this can be an opportunity to start a conversation about their digital needs and how they might be able to meet them long-term or when a device loan is not available. You may be able to make a referral to a refurbishment project gifting or selling devices to people in need, apply to the National Device Bank, or ask your supporters for device donations.
The ongoing costs of internet access can be a burden on household finances. Broadband and mobile social tariffs are cheaper than standard broadband packages and available to people receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support. Helping people to learn about eligibility means they can save money and have their own connection. You can find out more about social tariffs by visiting the Ofcom website.
What happens at the end of your project?
It may sound counterintuitive, but it's critical to plan for the end of a project whilst you are still at the beginning. Lending libraries can find it difficult to end their support when funding, connectivity or device access and function runs out, and it can be very hard to conclude assistance to service users who have perhaps begun to rely on the borrowed devices.
If your project is funded externally, make sure to have a plan for when that funding ends. It's possible to find new funding to continue projects, but relying on this without creating a wind-down plan in advance is risky.
In practice, you can alleviate the impact of the end of your project by taking several steps:
- Transition Support: Offer guidance and resources to help users find alternative access points for devices or connectivity.
- Partnerships: Establish collaborations with other organisations or other device lending libraries in the area to help find continued access to devices.
- Communication: Keep open lines of communication with service users, informing them in advance about any changes and providing clear guidance on next steps.
- Feedback: Collect feedback from users to inform future digital inclusion work and address any concerns proactively.
Device disposal and refurbishment
At the end of the lifetime of the devices or lending project, there are multiple options available for organisations:
- Recycling of devices: Either through donation to refurbishment organisations or disposal facilities
- Gifting devices to users: This may not be practical, but in some cases it is and can be an added benefit long-term to users who might struggle to afford their own device
Whatever the decision, it's important to consider the environmental impact of device disposal and seek to mitigate this as much as possible. There are a number of refurbishment organisations in the third sector that can receive and reuse devices that would otherwise be thrown away, and we would recommend this as a final step when ending the project.
Your organisation may have an environmental policy which outlines the process for disposal of IT equipment.
Feedback has been positive, with many customers grateful for the offer of assistance - one customer had recently moved into her property, had no internet and a phone with no internet access so was really grateful for the chance to loan a device so she could get online.
- Lending Library grantee