On Tuesday, I ran an inspiration session with a small group of Neighbourhood Coaches to explore the topic of ‘digital readiness’. Essentially inspiration sessions are all about giving ourselves space to think differently by coming together to discuss a range of interesting blogs, articles, videos and podcasts. There’s no right or wrong answer in an inspiration session; you might love some of the content, you might hate it, but that doesn’t matter so long as it generates a good discussion. Sometimes inspiration sessions have a direct and immediate impact on our work, but often they will simply act as brain food or new stock for our personal library of inspiration. It’s not always possible to measure a direct outcome from a session, but I believe that if people feel energised and inspired afterwards it’s 60 minutes well spent.
In this session, the team wanted to think about what it means to be digitally ready, so I asked participants to submit a few links to interesting content which we could use as catalysts for conversation. The links were curated into a reading/watching list which I shared with the group a week or so before the session itself. The conversation which flowed on the day felt like it centred around the broad theme of understanding the needs of stakeholders.
Inspired by a short film entitled ‘Uninvited Guests’ and an article from the Alzheimer's Society, the group kicked off by exploring the fine line between technology that supports independent living and technology that gets in the way of it. In particular, Thomas’ uninvited guests prompted the group to think about who benefits from the technology we use and what makes us want to use it in the first place.
Videos such as the Barclays Digital Eagles advertisement prompted a discussion around finding ways to highlight the value of getting online to non-digital-natives without focusing on the online services provided by the organisation you work for. The group concluded that it’s about having meaningful conversations with customers in order to better understand the individual benefits they would get from being online; supporting them to realise those benefits as a gateway to the adoption of your own online services, rather than using your own services as a starting point. Other videos highlighted how it was possible to use games to teach digital skills via stealth; using games as a hook and raising confidence through applications which are ultimately low stakes in terms of getting things wrong.
The group also discussed the way that technology is impacting on work and reflected on a video from Careers Wales which suggests that 65% of primary-school-age children today will be doing jobs that don’t currently exist. This led to a discussion about how technology can make life better and worse, the way in which we will be using technology to support our work in the next 10 to 20 years and how attached we will be to that technology, in some cases maybe even physically attached.
Ultimately, the discussion kept coming back to the importance of understanding the needs of stakeholders, be that the training needs of colleagues or the user needs of customers. Understanding the forces which drive adoption of technology is critical. This means understanding the customer journey and adopting new ways of prototyping and testing new online services.
We found that the reading and watching list provided us with some great starting points for our conversation. I’ve included the full list of links provided by participants below. Why not check them out and join the conversation - are you ‘digitally ready’ and what does that mean anyway?
SHORT(ER) WATCH: Uninvited Guests
Thomas, aged 70, lives on his own following the recent death of his wife. His children send him smart devices to track and monitor his diet, health and sleep from a distance. In a world where ’smart objects’ will increasingly be used to provide care at a distance, how will we live with these uninvited guests?
SHORT(ER) READ: 5 new technologies that could help people with dementia live at home for longer
We know that technology will never replace human contact. But with the right approach, assistive technology can bring additional support and peace of mind to people affected by dementia.
SHORT READ: Care technology helping the vulnerable during Covid-19
In partnership with RETHINK Partners and Alcove, Essex CC is rolling-out a new and innovative response to the COVID-19 crisis, by providing virtual care and health and wellbeing support to vulnerable or shielded people.
SHORT(ER) WATCH: Robotic Pets Are Helping Dementia Patients (HBO)
Benchmark Senior Living at Plymouth Crossings uses robotic pets to help brighten the mood of elderly residents, while also stimulating cognitive function. VICE News goes and finds out what that looks like.
LONGER READ: Digital innovations tested to support vulnerable people during COVID-19 outbreak
New parents, unpaid carers, the homeless, young people and cancer patients could benefit from digital solutions as part of the TechForce19 challenge.
SUPER SHORT WATCH: Is technology making life better or worse?
Technology is changing our world. Our devices allow us to do things that were previously unimaginable. But is that always a good thing?
MEDIUM WATCH: I listed in colour
Artist Neil Harbisson was born completely colour blind, but these days a device attached to his head turns colour into audible frequencies. Instead of seeing a world in grayscale, Harbisson can hear a symphony of colour and even listen to faces and paintings.
SHORT(ER) READ: Embracing the digital shift
Nigel Rees from Aareon UK explains how the latest advances in technology are helping to transform the ways in which housing associations operate.
MEDIUM WATCH: What your smart devices know (and share) about you
Once your smart devices can talk to you, who else are they talking to? Kashmir Hill and Surya Mattu wanted to find out, so they outfitted Hill's apartment with 18 different internet-connected devices and built a special router to track how often they contacted their servers and see what they were reporting back.
SHORT(ER) WATCH: Improving the Customer Journey with Digital Transformation
The customer experience is a journey. From opening an account to applying for a loan or insurance policy, every interaction you have with your customer is an opportunity to provide an engaging experience.
SHORT READ: Learning through prototyping: tools for Universal Credit claimants
In the past 3 months, a small team of developers, designers and policy professionals from the Universal Credit Digital Service design team have been exploring digital tools that could help both claimants and work coaches.
SHORT(ER) WATCH: Technology - Its impact on your world of work
Careers Wales take a look at how technology is changing the way you work.
SUPER SHORT WATCH: Barclays Digital Eagles
Barclays Digital Eagles are passionate colleagues, helping everyone get the most out of digital. No matter where you are on your journey, they can help keep you up to date and stay safe online.
SHORT(ER) READ: Why do you need to be digital ready?
Being ‘digital ready’ is something all companies need to be thinking about. Faced with strong competition, many new or small businesses face a long, hard battle to establish themselves, which is why it’s so important that they have the most efficient processes in place.
LONG(ER) READ: Introducing another World: older people and digital inclusion
Previous research has shown that digital inequalities tend to replicate and compound existing inequalities by gender, age, race, educational background, geography and disability. Our qualitative research has focused on excluded older people, highlighting their attitudes and opinions, and helping to better understand what is effective in reducing digital exclusion.
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Image by William Iven from Pixabay