Collaboration Between People's Partnership and Good Things Foundation to Eradicate UK's Digital and Financial Isolation
Good Things Foundation and People's Partnership Join Forces to Address Digital and Financial Exclusion
In a bid to empower low-income and vulnerable adults in the UK, Good Things Foundation, a leading charity focused on digital inclusion, has partnered with People's Partnership, a pension provider managing £35bn in assets for over seven million savers.
According to a 2024 Good Things Foundation report, affordability, access, and skills are key barriers to digital inclusion in the UK. Ofcom data reveals that 9% of households struggle to afford mobile services and 8% struggle to afford broadband, while 16% of adults lack foundation level digital skills, with 4% being completely offline. To address these issues, the collaboration aims to help these groups manage their money online.
The partnership, which aligns around a shared commitment to inclusion, seeks to ensure no one is left behind in the digital age. The collaboration includes a digital journey audit and a series of webinars for members of Good Things Foundation's National Digital Inclusion Network, which includes over 5,000 community partners nationwide.
People's Partnership is developing an online learning module for Good Things Foundation's 'Learn My Way' platform. This module will help low-income and digitally excluded adults develop digital money management skills and improve their financial capability online. Helen Milner OBE, group chief executive of Good Things Foundation, stated that the partnership empowers these adults to take control of their financial future.
The report describes a minimum digital living standard for UK households, which includes accessible internet, adequate equipment, and necessary digital skills. By combining digital skills training with financial education, the collaboration seeks to empower digitally excluded, low-income individuals to confidently use online financial services, thereby addressing both financial and digital inclusion challenges in the UK.
[1] Good Things Foundation. (2024). Good Things Foundation and People's Partnership Collaboration. Retrieved from www.goodthingsfoundation.org
[2] Ofcom. (2023). Adults' use and experiences of the internet 2023. Retrieved from www.ofcom.org.uk
- The Good Things Foundation and People's Partnership will use development finance to create an online learning module focused on personal-finance and digital money management skills, aiming to impact social inclusion.
- This collaboration, emphasizing education-and-self-development and financial inclusion, plans to equip low-income adults with the tools needed to manage their money online and make informed decisions about their pensions.
- By facilitating the National Digital Inclusion Network's access to technology and financial education resources, the partnership between Good Things Foundation and People's Partnership intends to help adults lacking digital skills to navigate the business world more effectively.
- To ensure long-term personal-finance stability and potentially secure retirement, the People's Partnership aims to support underserved communities, fostering financial capability and positive social impact through technology and digital inclusion.
