We know there are people in the city who need access to digital devices but do not have the finances to buy their own kit. We also know that there are lots of businesses that have portable IT equipment which is coming to the end of its professional time, but could still have a life in the community. So we want to bring together an old kit no longer needed for business, refurbish it, and get it out to people who can use it, whilst also building skills in the city. At the moment we are calling this the “Norwich Digital Refurbishment Project” until we can think of a better name. Late last year we produced a feasibility study which recommended some models of digital refurbishment and distribution that could work for the city (it was co-funded by Norwich Good Economy Commission and you can see it as the last item here Digital Inclusion and Innovation — Norwich Good Economy Commission), and we are now piloting these ideas with our community partners – Voluntary Norfolk and the Shoebox Community Hub. We are going to evaluate success with a new framework blending skills development, digital inclusion, social value, and waste. But we need your help to make the pilot successful and determine whether this could be a long-term project. Can your organisations help us with: The donation of mobile devices (laptops, tablets and/or accessories): if your business has some devices that can be donated over the next couple of months, then we would love to hear from you! We are starting small as we pilot, so it may be that you have a couple orofalf a dozen laptops, either way, we would love to know. You give them to us in working order, unlocked and wiped clean of your data, and we will do any extra things needed to get them roadworthy. Some professional volunteers with IT expertise: for the long-term future of the project we need to upskill volunteers to get them feeling confident with the refurbishment and fixing of IT equipment. We would love to run workshops where corporate volunteers can share some of their knowledge to upskill the community. So can you show the volunteers how to factory reset devices, how to change hard drives, or install new operating systems, for example…? Any skills exchange around the refurbishing of devices is really helpful. Our piloting period is from now and ends March 2022, which isn’t long to test some of these ideas! Of course, we are looking to engage with businesses that can get involved quickly, but also those who can commit to engagement further down the line. This will let us know whether there is an appetite for this work to continue past a pilot stage. If you think you can help and would like to get on board or have any questions, then please contact Laura Wigby, Digital Inclusion Project Coordinator, Norwich City Council on [email protected].
