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Good practice Imported

DigiAcademy: Co-Designed Digital Literacy Platform for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Ireland · Dublin · See the Ireland profile · See the Dublin profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 9% 96/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Trinity College Dublin project Digi-ID PLUS built DigiAcademy, an e-learning platform teaching email, browsing and video-calling, co-designed and co-taught by adults with intellectual disabilities; 400+ people across Europe/UK took part, backed by EUR2.2m from EIT Health.

400+
Participants across Europe and the UK
2.2 EUR million
Programme funding (EIT Health grant) (3-year grant)
500,000 EUR
Initial platform funding (2022 launch)
14
Citizen Advisory Panel members
50.8 %
EU employment rate, adults with intellectual disabilities
74.8 %
EU employment rate, non-disabled peers
DigiAcademy: Co-Designed Digital Literacy Platform for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Trinity College Dublin (Digi-ID PLUS) with WaytoB
Period
2021-2025
Region (NUTS)
IE06
Keywords
digital literacy, intellectual disability, co-design, e-learning

Context

Digi-ID PLUS is a cross-European research programme led by Dr Esther Murphy of the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities and the ADAPT Centre at Trinity College Dublin, working with Irish start-up WaytoB. It responds to the digital divide facing adults with intellectual disabilities, whose EU employment rate (50.8%) lags far behind that of non-disabled peers (74.8%).

Objectives

The programme set out to close this digital divide by building DigiAcademy, an e-learning platform teaching adults with intellectual disabilities everyday digital skills such as email, web browsing and video calling.

Activities

DigiAcademy launched in 2022 with initial backing of EUR 500,000, growing into a three-year EUR 2.2 million grant from EIT Health. The platform was built through a user-led co-design process in which people with intellectual disabilities act as tutors, sit on a 14-member Citizen Advisory Panel, and test the material, with adaptive, badge-based progress tracking. Delivery partners include Stewarts Care and the National Learning Network in Ireland, Microsoft as a global partner, and further partner organisations in France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Croatia.

Results

More than 400 people with accessibility needs and their supporters have taken part across Europe and the UK. The co-design approach and its early impact on well-being and inclusion were documented in a peer-reviewed study in the British Journal of Learning Disabilities (2025) and recognised with the European Union Prize for Citizen Science.

Conclusions

These are participation and recognition figures rather than a randomised outcome evaluation, so effect sizes on digital-skill gains are not yet independently quantified; continued growth in funding and international partners suggests the model is being scaled rather than concluded.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Grew from EUR 500,000 initial backing at 2022 launch to a three-year EUR 2.2 million grant from EIT Health.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Platform launched 2022; peer-reviewed evaluation of early impact published in 2025, roughly three years into delivery.
Staffing & skills
Dr Esther Murphy (Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities / ADAPT Centre, Trinity College Dublin) leads the programme with Irish start-up WaytoB, Delivery partners Stewarts Care and National Learning Network (Ireland), Microsoft as global partner, Adults with intellectual disabilities acting as co-design tutors and testers, including a 14-member Citizen Advisory Panel

Conditions for success

  • User-led co-design in which people with intellectual disabilities act as tutors, advisers and testers
  • Adaptive, badge-based progress tracking suited to the target group
  • Multi-partner delivery network spanning Ireland, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Croatia
  • Sustained, growing funding (from EUR 500,000 to a 3-year EUR 2.2m EIT Health grant)

Where it fits

Governance type
university research programme with corporate/NGO/start-up partners
Scale
cross-European (6 countries)
Income level
high-income (EU/UK)

Commonly funded by

Horizon Europe National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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