Network meeting 20 May 2025
Thank you all who attended, it sure was a busy and informative meeting and of course, lovely to see you all!
Host: Sally Page – Deputy CEO at CCVS
Co-Host: Will Plant – Digital Inclusion Lead at Connecting Cambridgeshire
Co-Host: Karen Cann – Communications and Development Worker at CCVS
Guest Speakers:
Samantha Neville, Programme Manager at Jangala
Donna Baker-Smith, Community Relationship Team Lead at AbilityNet
Marcus Whewell, CEO at Cambridge Online
Attendees
James Lewis – Community Connector at Places For People
Immy Black – Senior Project and External Affairs Officer at Digital Poverty Alliance
Kate Jones – Marketing Manager at Studio 24 and Trustee at Cherry Hinton Hub
Mairead Wright – Employment Skills and Enterprise Manager at Amplius
Alex Stapleton – Digital Support Officer – East of England Clarion Futures Digital
Funmi Sowumi – Volunteer Manager at Brent Carers Centre
Susan Gowling – Founder of Sustainable Tech 4 Good
Dr Clare Oliver-Williams – Specialty Registrar, Public Health Directorate, Cambridgeshire County Council
Sophie Skrimshire – National Management Trainee at Cambridgeshire County Council
Donna Brabin – Senior Customer Partnership Manager at Everon Group
David Manuell – AT Trainer at David Manuell Education Support
Jenny Laws – Community Navigator at The Care Network
Deborah Katznelson – Trustee at COPE (Cambridgeshire Older People’s Enterprise)
Kathryn Andrews – People Development Manager at Woodgreen Pets Charity
Denise Coates – Charity Partner Manager at Sustainable Tech 4 Good
Hugh Travis – Adviser at Cambridge Citizens Advice
Sally, Deputy CEO of CCVS, welcomed everyone and shared these items of interest:
Events & Funding
Get Online Week
October 20th to 26th
The digital inclusion campaign returns for 2025!
Find out how you can get involved and register your events.
Clarion Futures Digital Grants – Applications OPEN
Digital Grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 are available for projects committed to getting Clarion residents, and the wider community, online. Projects must aim to support individuals to improve their digital skills to safely and confidently access online services on a regular basis.
Applications for Round 19 must be submitted by 12 noon Wednesday 11 June 2025.
Find out more and apply.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum are excited to invite you to a Free Police Cyber Crime Prevention Day on Tuesday, 10th June 2025, hosted and facilitated by the team from the The Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre in partnership with CPLRF. Register now
Informational Sessions – Preparing Your Business for the Digital Switchover. Including 2G and 3G Switch-off Advice. Connecting Cambridgeshire in partnership with FarrPoint is hosting free informational events and webinars to help businesses adapt to the switchover. Find out more and book.
Reads & Updates
Cambridgeshire Poverty Strategy Commission report (Digital inclusion included)
This has now been published with input from several VSN members. The recommendations may be of use – these start on page 170. Cambridgeshire Poverty Strategy Commission final report
DPA Inquiry into Digital Inclusion and Health Outcomes
The Digital Poverty Alliance are calling for evidence to support this research: Health Inquiry – Digital Poverty Alliance
A new report, commissioned by Connection Cambridgeshire as part of their wider digital inclusion strategy, has been published in collaboration with the University of Cambridge’s Cambridge Centre for Housing & Planning Research and shines a light on the real-life experiences of people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Connecting Cambridgeshire and Sustainable Tech 4 Good have joined forces in a partnership ‘4 Good’ that will bring greater digital inclusion to Cambridgeshire.
Will Plant, Digital Inclusion Lead at Connecting Cambridgeshire provided an update.
Will shared news about the Digital Switchover and you can find their information webinars and in-person events here. Will stated these are for everyone and not just private businesses.
Will explained that this isn’t just a chance to learn more—it’s also an opportunity to ask questions directly to the experts. Farrpoint, who are running these workshops, are specialists in telecoms, so it’s a fantastic opportunity to engage with them.
Will stated if you have any experiences or feedback, this is the perfect time to share them, so they can be passed on. And if you need any support, Connecting Cambridgeshire can help however they can.
Will also shared the digital inclusion report by University of Cambridge’s Centre for Housing and Planning Research, and said how the results will help shape Connecting Cambridgeshire’s plans going forward.
In the survey, over 50% of the digitally excluded participants fell into two main segments: those who felt that digital technology simply wasn’t for them—referred to as the “Not for Me” group—and those who relied on others to get online, known as the “Reliant on Others” group. This research focused specifically on these two segments, aiming to better understand their attitudes, motivations, and behaviours. It also led to a set of recommendations for organisations working in digital inclusion, offering guidance on how to more effectively engage and support these groups through tailored interventions.
He was excited to announce a new partnership between Connecting Cambridgeshire and Sustainable Tech for Good—a collaboration that aligns perfectly with their mission to promote sustainability and digital inclusion.
Through this partnership, they’re encouraging businesses, organisations, and local authorities—anyone who regularly upgrades their technology—to recycle and repurpose their used tech via Sustainable Tech for Good. Instead of letting devices go to waste, this initiative helps:
- Support the circular economy
- Advance progress toward net zero goals
- Make affordable tech available to small businesses and individuals
As an added benefit, Connecting Cambridge will also be able to distribute donated devices to those in need, helping bridge the digital divide in our community – read more here!
Our first speaker was Samantha Neville, Programme Manager at Jangala. An organisation that focuses on internet access for anybody who is digitally excluded.
Samantha shared details about their organisation and specifically about how their Get Boxes can help the community get online.
Samantha shared her email and said to please contact her if Jangala can help your organisation: [email protected]
Please see her presentation below. Please note that captions are available on YouTube, if anyone requires a transcription of the presentation please get in touch.
Questions
Q. Are the Get Boxes only compatible with O2 sim cards?
A. Because of their partnership deal, they must be used with the O2 cards supplied for the first year, but then other cards can be used.
Q. 25mg could be used quickly especially if streaming video.
A. You can log in to the user portal to see how much is left and there are instructions on how to do this. It will get renewed each month. Perhaps just use for essentials rather than streaming video, please set your expectations.
Donna Baker-Smith, Community Relationship Team Lead at AbiltyNet was next to introduce their services.
AbilityNet help create a digital world that is accessible for all!
Please see her presentation below. Please note that captions are available on YouTube, if anyone requires a transcription of the presentation please get in touch.
Our final speaker was Marcus Whewell, CEO at Cambridge Online who provided an update on the charity’s work.
Please find his update below. Please note that captions are available on YouTube, if anyone requires a transcription of the presentation please get in touch.
Updates from members
James Lewis – Community Connector at Places For People
James shared the Cambridgeshire Poverty Strategy Commission final report and said a key insight was that people who are digitally excluded are worse off, particularly in rural places.
In fact, people who are not digitally included may end up paying significantly more for essential services simply because they lack the skills or support to find affordable, sustainable online solutions.
There’s a case study in the report that illustrates this well: several individuals were found to be paying far more than they could afford for internet access. Without the right guidance, they were unable to navigate the digital marketplace effectively, leading to unsustainable costs.
There’s a common assumption that simply getting people online is enough. But if we don’t do that well—if we don’t ensure they have the right support and advice—it can lead to greater financial strain. People may end up overpaying for services they don’t fully understand or need, which can be particularly damaging for those already on low incomes.
To give you a sense of scale: while there’s no dedicated research on this yet, anecdotal evidence and proxy data suggest that around 25% of the population may be at risk of overpaying for their internet connection due to low digital confidence and skills. That’s a substantial portion of people who could be losing out financially simply because they don’t know how to find or access better deals.
In one case study, someone was paying over £1,700 more per year than necessary—an enormous burden, especially for someone on Universal Credit. This highlights the urgent need for targeted support and accessible advice to help people find affordable, sustainable digital solutions.
Donna Brabin – Senior Customer Partnership Manager at Everon Group
Donna introduced herself. Everon provide intelligent assisted living technology. They work closely with housing associations and local councils to help them transition from older analogue systems to modern digital solutions—particularly in areas like alarms, telecare, and technology that supports care assessments.
Immy Black – Senior Project and External Affairs Officer at Digital Poverty Alliance
Immy asked if anyone had any information or resources on digital inclusion and its intersection with health—which is, of course, a huge and important topic—please do share them with the DPA.
DPA is hosting its National Delivery Action Plan event on 3 June, where the team will be sharing what DPA is working on in terms of national-level advocacy. Immy said all are welcome to join—either in person or online. The in-person event is in Portsmouth. Virtual tickets are also available, and it promises to be a really engaging session with a couple of great panel discussions.
DPA is also gearing up for End Digital Poverty Day, which the organisation champions but really encourages others to get involved in too. It’s happening on 12th September. Immy said, it would be fantastic to see more local organisations taking part – whether it’s hosting an event, running a campaign, or even just sharing something on social media.
DPA is running a project called Tech for Young Carers, which now covers the whole of Cambridge and Peterborough. Immy said that if anyone knows any young carers who don’t currently have access to a laptop, they can apply to their scheme for support.
Dr Clare Oliver-Williams – Specialty Registrar, Public Health Directorate, Cambridgeshire County Council
Clare introduced herself and said she was part of the Public Health team at Cambridgeshire County Council and wanted to quickly drop in to signpost a resource that might be useful to this group.
They’ve recently completed the Older People’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, and Clare wanted to highlight it because it includes a dedicated section on digital exclusion among older adults. It covers key statistics, as well as the main enablers and barriers to digital inclusion in this age group.
Clare thought it could be a helpful evidence base for anyone working on digital inclusion initiatives focused on older people.
Kate Jones –Marketing Manager at Studio 24 and Trustee at Cherry Hinton Hub
Kate wanted to introduce herself, she works at Studio 24, and they recently signed the Digital Poverty Alliance Charter, which is what brought her to the group— she would like to learn more about what’s happening locally.
Kate also shared that she is a trustee of the Cherry Hinton Hub and manages communications for the Cherry Hinton Residents’ Association. So, she finds it incredibly helpful to hear about all the fantastic initiatives going on, as she can share them with the local community and help spread the word.
Kate said that it was really inspiring to see so much great work happening across Cambridge.
Karen Cann – Communications and Development Worker at CCVS
Karen said she had met with Laura Almond, Partnership Manager at the Passport Office. Laura is looking into insights around why people often struggle filling in their online passport forms.
Karen said she used to work at Cambridge Online, where she helped a lot of people with passport applications, so shared experiences with her.
Laura can arrange a meeting at the Passport Office in Peterborough if people are interested.
If anyone else would like to connect with Laura to share your thoughts, just drop Karen email and she’ll put you in touch. [email protected]
Susan Gowling – Founder – Sustainable Tech 4 Good
Sue reported that Sustainable Tech for Good are currently working with Will at Connecting Cambridgeshire and Marcus at Cambridge Online, and said their impact has grown quite a bit since the early days. Nationally, they’ve distributed around 6,900 devices, with about 1,400 of those in Cambridge.
They’re not a charity—they’re a limited company—but operate with a strong social mission. They collect surplus tech, from networking equipment to personal devices, and repair and refurbish them. They’ve developed four solutions that tackle digital inclusion head-on, getting legacy devices into the hands of those who need them most.
Their work also has a strong environmental focus—it’s about reducing e-waste and promoting sustainability while helping people who are digitally excluded. Sue thanked people for their support and shared her email in case anyone wanted to get in touch: [email protected]
Sally ended the meeting by reminding members that our DigiFest will return in the autumn with some special events!
You can sign up to our next meeting on 4 September here.
Thank you again for all those who attended and remember you can get in touch anytime if you would like to ask questions or share news with the group: [email protected]