Digital Inclusion Fund | Action Together

Thanks to funding from Rochdale Borough Council, Action Together were able to offer investment to help VCFSE groups provide digital inclusion support to individuals and communities in the Rochdale Borough.

The funded projects fell within one or more of the following priorities:

Multi-lingual digital skills training in communities that enable people to feel confident and independent
Digital skills courses that are aimed at people with a learning disability and/or mental health issues
Basic digital skills sessions and 1:1 support in communities that enable people to feel confident and independent
Creative approaches to engaging people and getting them excited about learning digital skills i.e. digital art, AI, tech innovations
Drop ins and digital skills sessions to help people use their existing devices i.e. smartphones

Projects funded via the Digital Inclusion Fund:

Member Organisation	Amount Awarded	Investment Projects
Aspire 2 Inspire Communities	£3,060	The project we are looking in to delivering is to teach community members basic digital skills, such as learning how to use a mouse, learning how to use a keyboard, how to copy and paste, how to stay safe online, read books online, shop online safely and how to fill out forms online. We are looking in to delivering a 6 weeks programme on how to use Microsoft office. We are hoping to deliver a bespoke programme that will focus on Microsoft Word, Excel, power point, One Drive, Outlook and Microsoft teams, once the programme is delivered, we will have drop in sessions where community members can come in for two hours and receive one to one support.
Bowlee Community Association	£1,380	We would like to create an engaging, inclusive, digital learning environment. To do this we will need to bring our IT infrastructure up to a level, with good materials and updated equipment to give them a great experience.
Caring and Sharing Rochdale	£5,000	Caring and Sharing currently provide Basic/Beginner IT classes in English for the local community. With this fund we hope to develop a series of new IT classes which will be aimed at individuals, where English is their second language. Caring and Sharing currently attracts individuals from Iran, Portugal, Spain, France, Bengali and Urdu.
Deeplish Community Centre Association	£5,000	We want to engage people and get them excited about learning digital skills through creative approaches and art-making. This project will enhance digital inclusion for the group and make them feel confident and independent in two ways. Over four sessions, we will work with our participants to create digital artworks, take photographs, digitally alter their pieces, and navigate the internet to archive their artwork on an online gallery.
Empowering Education CIC	£3,750	‘Digital Empowerment’ will support socio-economically disenfranchised south Asian women in Rochdale by enabling them to understand and begin to use the potential of digital devices to engage with the wider world and take advantage of the opportunities it presents. Our project will fit with the following priorities of the fund: Multi-lingual digital skills training in communities that enable people to feel confident and independent Basic digital skills sessions and 1:1 support in communities that enable people to feel confident and independent Drop ins and digital skills sessions to help people use their existing devices
HMR Circle Volunteer Drivers Service	£4,750	We want to create a more reactive service with the ability to cover a larger number of areas as and when demand and the availability of venues dictates. This will include ‘pop-up’ style drop in classes and 1-2-1 sessions. Within the group, we can look to support some of the newer and emerging communities as our delivery staff speak not just English, but French, Romanian and Cantonese. We want to be able to deliver a more targeted offer, increasing the number of 1-2-1 sessions available.
Iqbal Cultural and Community Centre	£2,930	We plan to offer 15 Digital Skills Training and Resources in multiple languages, such as English, Bangla, and Urdu, to cater to the diverse linguistic backgrounds of the Bangladeshi and Pakistani residents in Deeplish.
Kashmir Youth Project	£2,480	We will deliver: Five basic IT courses, two hours per week, over eight weeks. These courses will be delivered throughout the year with a break during March-April 2024 to facilitate the month of Ramadhan which tends to affect participation for Muslim learners observing fasting. Recruitment will be aimed at older people, women, refugees/asylum seekers, parents, unemployed people. (50 learners) Drop-in support/training for employability skills (job search, CVs, online applications, creating accounts, etc). 1-1 or group support (two hours x six weeks) for men, women, new settlers (ie, those with leave to remain in the UK) who need to acquire/enhance skills to move closer to the job market or gain employment. (20 learners) Support/digital training (1-1 or group support – 1 hour x six weeks) to create accounts and access online services (eg, Patient Access; benefits; banking) aimed at Older people, women, refugees/asylum seekers, parents, etc. (30 learners)
Maverick Lab CIC	£4,240	Group Training Sessions: Organise regular group workshops covering fundamental digital skills and topics Conduct interactive sessions focusing on internet usage, online communication, utilising common software applications, and understanding digital security One-to-One Support: Assign experienced mentors or volunteers to provide personalized one-on-one assistance to participants Offer flexible scheduling to cater to individual needs and skill levels Tailor the support to each participant's specific requirements, ensuring a holistic learning experience
Middleton Co-operating	£5,000	As part of this project, we will run sessions that encourage people to be confident in exploring the digital world in innovative ways. They will be rooted in phenomenon-based learning, equipping learners with practical skills for real-life situations. This approach actively involves participants in discovering knowledge and skills required to address real-world challenges. By tapping into people’s interests and passions, we will encourage a genuine enthusiasm for lifelong learning.
Wardleworth Community Centre Association	£2,330	This course will be delivered for 45 weeks, 2 hrs per week. This course is for beginners and improvers using computers and digital media, to provide clients with an essential understanding of how to use the internet and email, safely and securely, and develop a range of IT user skills. This will be about learning crucial planning and implementation skills necessary for achieving the vision. It cover the use of SMART objectives. We will deliver 1-1 sessions including availability of multi-lingual support (Urdu and Bengali) every week for clients to gain meaningful skills and complete real life task such as people on universal credit will be able to complete the online journal log, update CVs, fill in online application forms.