Go ON NI
United Kingdom
Go ON NI is a government initiative which introduces digital technology to people who aren't familiar with going online and …
Good practice
Imported
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The 'Get Connected' Project
United Kingdom · Ballymena · Local · See the United Kingdom profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 82% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
AIMS: ‘Get Connected’ aims: • To provide training for working-age homeless people to gain digital skills. • To break down barriers to digital and social inclusion amongst residents of homeless hostels in East Belfast. • To support and develop participants' self confidence, digit
81 %
Participants who felt their digital skills improved (2017)
69 %
Participants reporting better physical internet access (2017)
75 %
Participants more confident using the internet (2017)
81 %
Participants who know where to look for information online (2017)
75 %
Participants who can access needed information/services (2017)
50 %
Participants communicating more with family/friends online (2017)
88 %
Participants who feel more up to date (2017)
56 %
Participants who found hobbies/pastimes online (2017)
69 %
Participants who feel more independent (2017)
63 %
Participants who manage personal affairs better (2017)
Details
- Promoter
- Supporting Communities — website
- Type
- Service
- Status
- Ended
- Target groups
- Unemployed and those facing social problems, Marginalised young people and children
- People reached
- 20
- Period
- 2017-01-01 – 2017-12-31
- Keywords
- homeless, digital skills, internet access, training, inclusion
Context
The Get Connected project provided digital-skills training for working-age homeless people living in hostels in East Belfast, aiming to break down barriers to digital and social inclusion. It was initiated when BT Northern Ireland approached Supporting Communities about a community-based project as part of its corporate social responsibility work, with Choice Housing Association joining as a third partner.
Activities
A 12-week tablet course was delivered, adapted flexibly because hostel scheme managers advised that participants were likely to face attendance and other issues affecting delivery of a standard course. BT Northern Ireland provided volunteer support.
Results
In a post-course participant survey, 81% agreed their digital skills had improved, 88% felt more up to date, 81% knew where to look for information online, 75% felt more confident using the internet and could access needed information/services, 69% reported better physical internet access and felt more independent, 63% felt they managed their personal affairs better, 56% found hobbies or pastimes online, and 50% said they communicated more with family or friends online.
Conclusions
Key learning points included successfully retaining the homeless target group throughout the project, successful volunteer engagement, and increased digital skills and connectivity among participants.
Implementation
- Indicative cost
- Low (< €50k) — No cash budget stated; delivered using volunteer support from BT Northern Ireland.
- Time to results
- Short (< 1 year) — 12-week tablet course; project period 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017.
- Staffing & skills
- BT Northern Ireland - corporate partner providing volunteer support, Supporting Communities - delivering community organisation, Choice Housing Association - housing association partner running the hostel schemes
Conditions for success
- Flexible approach adapted to participants likely to face attendance and other engagement issues
- Cross-sector partnership combining a corporate volunteer partner (BT NI), a community organisation (Supporting Communities) and a housing association (Choice Housing)
Common failure modes
- Hostel scheme managers flagged that participants were likely to face attendance and other problems affecting delivery of a standard course
Where it fits
- Governance type
- cross-sector partnership (corporate CSR + community organisation + housing association)
- Scale
- local (homeless hostels in East Belfast)
- Income level
- high-income (UK/Northern Ireland); target population low-income/homeless
Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- MEDICI / Digital Inclusion Atlas — accessed 2026-06-14
- Practice website — accessed 2026-06-14
- Information source — accessed 2026-06-14
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