LOTI Dragons’ Den: Bridging the digital divide together

About this talk

This two hour session offers the chance for London boroughs and other organisations to share what projects or products they’ve developed to bridge the digital divide.

We're hosting a series of short pitches by digital leaders where each tries to promote their project or product to the Dragons (aka the audience) and convince them of their worth. As Dragons, you’ll have the chance to ask questions directly following the pitches on what worked, how it was delivered, any pitfalls or anything else relevant. Those keen to take it further will be directed to the relevant resources on LOTI’s website so that we can all borrow from each other's efforts and speed up implementation and reuse.

At the heart of this event is the idea of reuse. The research has been done. The thing’s been built. And, most importantly of all, it’s been rolled out and tested. Let’s champion the best ideas and turn them into a format that accelerates others’ ability to pick them up and run with them.

• 12:00 Welcome Address; Eddie Copeland, LOTI
• 12:15 Pitch 1: Setting up a multi-generational buddy system; Susan McFarland-Lyons and Lynn Alex Humphrey, London Borough of Hackney
• 12:30 Pitch 2: Content curation & digital marketing; Daniel Green, Royal Borough of Kingston
• 12:45 Pitch 3: Developing digital skills guides; Opama Khan, London Borough of Croydon
• 13:00 Pitch 4: Creating a connectivity + devices + skills training package; Lucy Dunn and Ala Uddin, London Borough of Brent
• 13:15 Pitch 5: Improving digital skills capabilities internally; Dionne Lowndes, London Borough of Southwark
• 13:30 Pitch 6: Creating an internal digital engagement and training campaign; Paul Tait, London Borough of Lambeth
• 13:45 Pitch 7: Setting up a crowdfunder for digital devices for school kids; Philip McCorkell and Ally Round, London Borough of Camden

Why digital inclusion? Everyone has had to adapt, in some shape or form, in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. This has magnified the issue of digital inclusion because people who may have been able to make do in the past, may be at real risk as a result of how quickly the world has changed. Those not previously digitally savvy have had to pick up new skills; and organisations not offering services digitally have had to step up their game.

Why is LOTI involved? The London Office of Technology of Innovation (LOTI) was established to support a coalition of London boroughs who want to work together, bringing the best of digital, data and innovation to improve public services for Londoners. We are running this session to support boroughs in sharing the knowledge, ideas and resources they’ve developed, and ensure they are replicable and scalable.