Digital hubs for communities in crisis

Communities everywhere are self-organising to support people left vulnerable by coronavirus and help regenerate local economies. We are working with partners to provide a social Web platform that empowers local organisations and local people to deliver a safe future for their community.

Features

Give each community an interactive website, linked to social media, where people can get their lives on an upwards track by making a wellness plan from community resources and a personal support network to help implement it
Give community organisations permission to keep the data they publish up to date, reducing the administration burden for central teams
Capture data on resource usage, effectiveness, and user feedback to track the impact of different organisations and services, as well as to analyse gaps and overlaps in provision

Benefits

If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Manage It
Use community resources effectively, by allowing community organisations to publish up-to-date information online and track the impact of their services
Prevent Data Loss
Ensure data is secure and subject to regulations, by using a robust Web platform with controls over what users can see and do
Connect Providers With Clients
Reduce costs for social traders and other community organisations, by helping them use the Web and social media to target and reach local clients
Keep The Community In The Loop
Share updates with the community, by letting them enter new and changed services in a central Web platform automatically linked to social media
Make Services Sticky
Encourage people to use services from social traders and other community organisations, by letting them track what they use and give feedback
Make Decisions Based On Evidence
Measure the impact of local initiatives and assess gaps/overlaps in service provision, by analysing feedback from community members

If your community would like its own digital hub or you would like to help with this initiative, please email towndigitalhub@gmail.com.

Learn More

Email Us

TOWN DIGITAL HUB

Manage life issues with local help

The free web platform for volunteer supported wellness planning

Andrew Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, 2014

Whether seen from an economic or social perspective, volunteering is big business, with annual turnover well into three-figure billions. But it is a well-hidden jewel, whose social worth is rarely the subject of a public valuation.

Learn More

Ernst & Young, 2016

When social costs are considered the programme returns [from volunteer advocacy are] £7 for every £1 invested ... Across a range of conditions the opportunity is vast.

Learn More

Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2016

Taken together, [the Care Act, Children and Families Act, and NHS Five Year Forward View in 2014] form a policy programme which promotes citizenship and community as the foundation on which local health and social care systems are built. Volunteering and social action are at the heart of this programme.

Learn More

Help others learn to self-manage their wellness

Show people how to create a holistic wellness plan from local resources and share it with their personal support network

Problems such as isolation, weight/fitness, criminality, and employability often have complex underlying causes that people cannot redress unaided. Social prescribing and other public sector outreach schemes may recommend community assets such as coffee mornings and clubs but, without addressing such causes, clients in the most need will continue to have poor quality of life and make extended use of public services.

The problem is particularly acute for people who are transitioning from a major life change such as bereavement or discharge from an institution (armed force, prison, hospital, children's home, detention centre, or educational establishment). Services to aid such transition have limited resources, which they could make better use of by focusing less on delivery of one-off recommendations and more on coordination of sustained volunteer support.

Social Return on Investment from advocacy is 3 times the maximum from social prescribing, but professional advocacy is expensive. Town Digital Hub is a web platform that unlocks the massive potential of volunteer resources by enabling peer-to-peer support in self-management of wellness. Volunteer advocates, with professional coordination and safeguarding, help others create a holistic personal wellness plan from community assets and other resources including professional services, share it with people/organisations that support them, track progress using standard self-assessment tools, and provide feedback on the effectiveness of resources for specific purposes.

People need less and less support over time, in many cases going on to coach others in wellness planning. Data from wellness plans is aggregated/anonymised to inform smart investment into local infrastructure. Community, professional providers, and commissioners become part of a virtuous circle of community engagement, resilience, and regeneration.

Download a 1-page summary including evidence and testimonials