evidoria

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Good practice Imported

Online Today!

United Kingdom · London · National · See the United Kingdom profile

The main aim of Online Today! was around encouraging and supporting people with sensory loss to understand and better use technology and digital services. Supporting them to use their skills in their life, to remain independent through communication, being able to manage their ow

80,000 people
People reached directly (2015-2019)
5.8 million GBP
Programme funding (Big Lottery Fund) (2015-2019)
4-102 years
Age range of participants (2015-2019)
250+ partners
Local delivery partners (2015-2019)

Details

Maturity
Discontinued
Promoter
Royal National Institute of Blind People — website
Type
Service
Status
Ended
Target groups
People with disabilities
People reached
80000
People targeted
2000000
Period
2015-02-01 – 2019-01-31
Keywords
Disability, visually impaired, online, digital inclusion

Context

Online Today! grew out of RNIB research conducted in 2014 on digital inclusion and the struggles people with sight loss faced getting online, which fed into a larger project, My Voice, on sight loss and life experience. People with disabilities are more likely to be digitally excluded and unemployed, so a need was identified for a programme going beyond skills to build awareness of and interest in digital opportunities for people with sight loss and other sensory barriers.

Activities

The UK-wide programme (Feb 2015 – Jan 2019) combined 1:1 tuition, troubleshooting and facilitation of formal training sessions, focused on independence, communication and managing one's own affairs in leisure and general life rather than work. A technology volunteer team supported people in their own homes via a dedicated digital tutor; the UK-wide staff team was predominantly composed of people with sight loss, serving as role models for participants. The programme did extensive marketing work with public and RNIB channels, the sight-loss sector, and 250+ local delivery partners, and was funded £5.8 million by the Big Lottery Fund.

Results

The programme reached over 80,000 people directly, aged from 4 to 102, with many more reached through shared resources and partner organisations.

Conclusions

Visually impaired individuals were involved in developing and delivering sessions to beneficiaries, and high rates of unemployment and isolation among visually impaired people were identified as a persistent, unresolved structural barrier beyond the programme's scope.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Funded £5.8 million by the Big Lottery Fund over the programme period — a national, multi-million-pound programme, scored high cost.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Delivered February 2015 – January 2019, a multi-year (~4-year) national programme.
Staffing & skills
UK-wide staff team, predominantly people with sight loss serving as role models, Dedicated technology volunteer team providing in-home digital tutoring, 250+ local delivery partner organisations

Conditions for success

  • High level of 1:1, in-home intervention via a dedicated volunteer/tutor model
  • Staffing by people with lived experience of sight loss as relatable role models for participants
  • Extensive targeted marketing through RNIB and sector/partner channels to reach an otherwise hard-to-reach population

Common failure modes

  • High rates of unemployment and isolation among visually impaired people identified as a persistent, unresolved structural barrier beyond the programme's scope

Commonly funded by

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.

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