LOTI
In a world increasingly driven by digital connection, digital inclusion is vital for building equitable futures. We partnered with the London Office of Digital Inclusion on research and policy analysis, creating a comprehensive recommendations report that surfaced key challenges to digital inclusion in London, and recommended policy and service approaches that can address them.
Client
London Office of Technology and Innovation
Government and policy
Digital inclusion
Sector
Policy recommendations
People-centred research
Sector mapping
Impact analysis
Our services
Our ambition was to co-design a new standard for digital inclusion for London's boroughs, creating pathways where technology empowers and connects. We set out to design a deeply human-centered approach, focusing on enriching digital access and literacy, ensuring every technological touchpoint was intuitive, inclusive, and engaging for everyone.
Project goals
A policy recommendations report showcasing proposed improvements to digital inclusion across London, as well as a series of case studies that bring participants’ lived experiences to life. This included an ecomap of digital inclusion initiatives that mapped strategies and successes, as well as visualized data and insights.
Outcomes
As an analysis and recommendations partnership, we began our work with the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) with deep, immersive research. Anthill Collective prioritises research methodologies that are ‘people-powered’, meaning they centre and are led by the perspectives of our audience. For this partnership, we combined open-source surveys across London boroughs (to go wide) with one-to-one interviews and group digital inclusion workshops (to go deep). This medley of methods meant we collaborated first-hand with groups of participants about their experiences with digital inclusion, but also gathered a broad perspective that helped analyse strategies and successes across London.
Systems mapping - by researching and designing an ecomap of digital inclusions approaches across London - helped situate the LOTI’s approaches within the broader context of inclusion strategies. Futures thinking - by forecasting digital inclusion needs and mapping approaches against them - helped make sure our recommendations were sustainable over the longterm.
Learnings highlight
Securing access to affordable internet is a key approach to building digital inclusion. In one-to-one interviews, participants were clear that affordability, not lack of infrastructure, is the key issue here in the context of digital inclusion. Connectivity in general, and affordable broadband more specifically, was considered a foundational issue for many as it has a huge impact on the effectiveness of other digital inclusion initiatives. It is a nested challenge in that many councils themselves felt that this was the issue they are most unable to do much about—highlighting the need for action from internet providers, central government, and coordination at a London-wide level.
Designing a digitally inclusive future
By weaving systems thinking concepts into our work with the London Office of Technology and Innovation, we not only addressed immediate digital inclusion needs but also laid the groundwork for a resilient, adaptable, and inclusive digital future for London's communities. Our people first, systems-based approach ensures that the interventions were not isolated efforts but part of a cohesive strategy aimed at transforming the digital landscape for the better, for everyone.