1. Head of Housing & Community Regeneration
Thenue Housing - Digital Inclusion & Digital Services Presentation to TIS Conference 24th March 2017
Brian Gannon,
Head of Housing & Community Regeneration
at Thenue Housing

2. Outline of Presentation
What do we mean by digital inclusion?
Why is it important for housing associations?
How can we support tenants to get online?
What Digital Services should HAs provide to deliver better services and better Value For Money?

3. What do we mean by digital inclusion?
Digital Inclusion is about equipping people with the skills, motivation and trust to go online, be digitally capable and to make the most of the internet.

4. What does it mean to be digitally excluded?
Being digitally excluded means that our:
Unemployed tenants and residents find it harder to enter the job market.
Our elderly tenants will become more socially isolated.
Our most vulnerable tenants will find it harder in future, to claim the benefits they are entitled to.
Our school children have more limited access to educational materials, affecting performance at school.
All our digitally excluded tenants have to pay a premium to buy goods and services that are cheaper online.

5. Scottish Government’s Annual Household Survey 2015
Who is online and how does access vary by area, income, age, tenure and deprivation?
Scottish Government’s Annual Household Survey 2015

6. Scottish Households with home internet access by year

7. Use of internet by age
Old age is the strongest influence of all.

8. Households with home internet access by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 20 per cent most deprived areas
Deprivation is clearly a factor affecting internet access, although most deprived areas have higher internet access than lowest income bands?

9. Households with internet access at home by tenure
Clearly being a social housing tenant is a greater negative factor than deprivation!

10. How do people access the internet?
Survey notes that more people are using mobile devices across age groups and income bands.
Fewer people are using laptops and computers to connect while tablets have increased, particularly amongst the relatively young and the very old.

11. Is cost the reason why people do not use the internet?
Poverty we would largely equate with income but lack of money to buy is clearly not the key factor.

12. National & Local Government Digital Strategies
Both Digital Scotland and Digital Glasgow recognise that social housing tenants are one of the key “unconnected groups” they need to engage with if they are to achieve their objectives of getting as many people as possible to go online.
32% of Social Housing Tenants are not online.

13. Why Digital Inclusion is important for Housing Associations
There is no doubt that not being able to access the internet is a significant form of social and economic exclusion;
Social Landlords have a successful track record of tackling social and economic exclusion in our communities through not only housing regeneration, but also through a range of non housing (wider role) activities.
Many have the local facilities which can help deliver digital inclusion workshops and training
By helping our tenants get online, in addition to accessing our own services, we can for example: help them apply for and get a job, apply for benefits and access other public services, help with education, maintain contact with family and friends and save money through online transactions.

14. GWSF Digital Inclusion Toolkit
Digital Glasgow’s Digital Participation workgroup met with a few RSLs in 2014 to discuss how RSLs in the city might help meet Digital Glasgow’s aims to support that key unconnected group – social housing tenants.
From this came the idea of a toolkit that would showcase good practice in DI but also help other RSLs learn from the lessons and challenges of developing DI projects

15. GWSF Digital Inclusion Toolkit

16. A Digital Strategy for an RSL
One section of the GWSF Digital Inclusion Toolkit has, as an example, an outline of Thenue’s Digital Strategy.
Our Strategy sets out how Thenue will:
maximise our residents access to the internet through supporting and encouraging them to go online, and
at the same time drive forward our Business Objectives of efficiently delivering more of our services and processes in a digital and online way.

17. Digital Inclusion @ Thenue
How is Thenue helping our tenants get online?

18. Digital Inclusion @ Thenue – helping our residents get online
Thenue’s 3 Digital Inclusion Workers are funded to March 17 but we are hopeful of obtaining longer term funding
Key aim is to improve residents digital skills through flexible digital training and support
Recently received a TPAS award for Best Practice in Digital Involvement.

19. Thenue’s Digital Inclusion Project
Digital Inclusion activity is central to all our Community Regeneration Projects; employment support, volunteering, youth work etc.
We have a variety of DI activities, from Digital Drop-ins and Job Clubs, to Tablet workshops (e.g. where service users can be shown how to use their devices) and coding clubs for Kids.

20. Digital Learning @ Thenue
The project supports digital learning in local venues, training volunteers with some IT knowledge as “Digital Champions”.
We have a digital lending library, funded by the SCVO Digital Challenge Fund, where Thenue tenants can borrow a refurbished iPad with internet access
Lending is restricted to tenants only as a means of safeguarding the equipment.

21. Change in Internet Access Among Thenue Tenants

22. Digital Services @ Thenue
Online Housing Services is a key part of Thenue’s Digital Strategy
The UK Government’s Digital Efficiency Report suggested that transactions online can already be 20 times cheaper than by phone, 30 times cheaper than postal and as much as 50 times cheaper than face-to-face

23. Universal Credit – A Key Driver for Digital Services
Thenue currently collect 35% of our rental income (rest comes via HB BACS payment)
Under full roll out of UC it will be around 80%!
How do we collect that additional rental income without increasing staff numbers and costs?
We want to use Digital to achieve efficiencies and redeploy staff to Income Maximisation and Tenancy Support.
We also want to use Digital Services to free up resources to better assist those tenants that need one to one support from us.

24. Digital Transformation @Thenue
Customer Insight
New Customer Engagement
Strategy
Self Service App
Mobile Working
Installing Wifi in Homes
Interactive Website

25. 1st Touch Self Service Customer App
1st Touch integrate with a number of housing software suppliers
We have invested around £30k in a Self Service App that integrates with our Housing System (QL)
We went Live on 14th February 17 and now have 140 tenants using the App.
We have a target of 25% of Thenue tenants (700) to be registered by March 18
95% of new users rate the App as Excellent or Good.

27. Self Service fully integrated with our housing system QL & Task Centre workflow

28. Investing in Mobile Working For Thenue Staff
Avoid having to print off forms etc before going out on visits and manual form filling when on site.
Generates workflows, s and job orders whilst out on site.
Avoids subsequent manual entry in housing system on return to the office

29. Customer Engagement through Digital Services
Our new Customer Engagement Strategy recognises that we need to engage with more customers than those who regularly attend tenant meetings.
Digital allows us to engage with a wider group of customers quickly and efficiently
Self Service App surveys
Texting and ing Surveys - Survey Monkey

30. Low Cost Broadband / Wifi in Tenant’s Homes?
Should RSLs be looking to install digital infrastructure into their homes?
Some tenants find existing packages unaffordable or don’t want to have to take a landline or won’t get credit to sign up to a contract.
Thenue looking to do this with both a new build and an existing block of flats (doesn’t work for houses).
Cost will be covered by adding a new Rent Factor – Wifi Service to the rent.

31. Key Message
If your organisation is not at least developing a Digital Transformation Strategy, then why not?
Digital Transformation leads to:
Better Services for Customers (24/7/365)
Encourages Effective System Review
Leads to Wider Customer Engagement
Potential To Deliver Significant Efficiencies

32. Any Questions?