Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there has been a lot of discussion about how the internet and digital devices can help people stay connected and informed. We want to better understand what is working well in our local community and where there are challenges, including how people who don’t have digital devices manage.
We worked with the University of Bristol (Bristol Digital Futures Institute) to design a survey to help us better understand how Knowle West residents use digital technologies. It was distributed to all homes in Knowle West in summer 2020 with the support of the Knowle West Alliance . The survey was completed by 275 households (885 individuals) and we worked together with the university researchers to analyse the results.
In March 2021 we ran a Community Digital Inclusion Workshop to bring together people who live and/or work in Knowle West who have an interest in increasing digital inclusion, access to technology, and digital skills in the local area. We shared the survey results with them and together we explored how we might share the findings more widely within the community to support action around improving digital inclusion.
We commissioned an artist (Radley Cook) to work with the community to create a game to share the survey results in a fun and engaging way. Together we have created the ‘Clickety Click‘ bingo game which can be played online and there is also a paper-based version of the game.
The detailed research findings are available in an emergent findings report and a policy paper that includes recommendations.
The survey will be repeated in autumn 2021. It will be distributed in ‘The Knowledge’, the community newsletter for Knowle West.
This work was supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, University of Bristol, with funding from the University’s alumni and friends, and by Bristol City Council.
