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Investment Programmes

There are many ways in which the internet can bring about change.  To make sure we achieve the greatest impact, our focus is on supporting projects and organisations that use digital technology to improve lives of the disadvantaged and vulnerable and to strengthen communities. 

To this end, we want to seek out, galvanise and support innovative projects that use digital technology to design radically new solutions to address specific social challenges.

We have two investment programmes open at this time, Digital Edge and Later Life, details of which can be found below. 

Please note our Open Innovation programme is currently closed for new applications and will be relaunched in June. Please check back here for details of this exciting development from mid-June onwards.

Encouraging open innovation
Why do we support this area?

  • It is important to remain open to new ideas that offer fresh perspectives on tackling social challenges.
  • The internet offers opportunities to design radically different approaches to big social challenges from unemployment to social isolation.
  • Our aim is to seek out, galvanise and support innovative, early-stage projects that use digital technology to address social challenges – from the local to the national.
 What types of projects do we support?

  • Projects that demonstrate imaginative applications of digital technology to address a significant gap in current provision.
  • Projects that develop new models, tools and approaches to tackling an issue.
  • Projects that deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to support new users of digital technology and promote online well-being.
  • Programmes that stimulate new ideas, including innovation labs or industry-wide roundtables.

We also invest in a number of programmes that address a specific social group or issue.  By clustering investment in this way we hope to increase our social impact and provide more targeted support to our partners. We regularly review the groups of people and issues we support.  We are currently focussing specific investment on two areas:

Supporting young people to address the social challenges they face
Why do we support this area?

  • We want to re-engage young people in building an inclusive, healthier, more equal and economically viable society.
  • 20% of young people in the UK are currently unemployed which has strong social and economic costs (valued as much as £28bn). However it also demonstrates a wasted opportunity to support young people as our greatest resource in building stronger, healthier communities.
  • Young people growing up in disadvantaged communities often face other challenges such as anti-social behaviour, violence and poor physical or mental health.
 What types of projects do we support?

  • Innovative projects that use digital technologies in new ways to support young people to participate in their communities both socially and economically.
  • Projects that encourage young people to be involved in co-designing solutions that benefit them – from concept stage through to final evaluation.
  • Projects that build the skills young people require to access employment or education opportunities.

Improving well being and opportunity for people in later life
Why do we support this area?

  • There is huge potential to mobilise our aging population’s enterprise and digital savvy to address social problems in their lives and communities using the internet.
  • An ageing population is putting pressure on traditional care systems and family units and using digital technology we can redesign how we best support older people and their communities.
  • 60% of people over the age of 65 have never used the internet; however, they are the fastest growing group of digital and social media users.
 What types of projects do we support?

  • Projects that deliver products, services and technologies for older people designed by older people.
  • Projects that help older people use their skills and experience to support themselves, their families and communities
  • Projects that give people with disabilities equal access to new opportunities.

 

The Digital Edge

The Digital Edge is an investment programme, from Nominet Trust, to fund new ideas for using digital technology to support young people. To inform your application we've produced a number of resources:

Knowledge Centre blogs

Community Outreach Fund

Read about some of the local projects that have benefited from the Community Outreach Fund