Our researchers have helped hundreds of people across North East England take confident steps into the digital world through the Trusted Connections project.
Led by Dr Cristina Costa and Dr Michaela Oliver of our School of Education, the initiative brought together local partners to tackle long standing digital inequalities in innovative and practical ways.
The project focused on people most at risk of being left behind in the online world.
This included those not in education or employment, unemployed adults and people aged 55 and over.
Rather than focusing only on technical skills, our researchers developed a model built on four pillars of digital inclusion; access, digital literacies, empowerment and inclusive participation.
This approach recognises that people need confidence and support in navigating the internet, not just devices or training.
A new model built on trust
A key feature of Trusted Connections is a community mentoring model.
The project trained 27 mentors who acted as trusted guides within their own neighbourhoods.
These mentors were familiar faces who understood local needs and could support people over time.
Together with our partners, we set up five community digital hubs and ran a mobile pop-up lab to reach even more people.
We also created an online learning and mentoring platform and hosted a Festival of Digital Culture to celebrate progress.
Lasting impact and future potential
Over five months, Trusted Connections delivered 113 digital inclusion sessions and supported 369 participants, with feedback showing clear gains in confidence and online safety awareness.
Older participants made particularly strong improvements in confidence levels.
In addition to technical skills, participants developed improved digital wellbeing practices, greater awareness of online safety and privacy, and a more critical understanding of the impacts and consequences of their digital engagement.
Mentors gained new skills and qualifications, and communities reported stronger connections and shared learning across generations.
Many participants began passing on their knowledge to friends and family, creating a positive ripple effect.
A project evaluation led by Dr Costa and Dr Oliver shows that the community led approach works.
Trusted Connections involved the following partners; Digital Safety CIC, Pact House, Let's Connect, Sacriston Youth Project, Auxillia Youth Services, Newcastle Rugby Foundation and BornGood.
I am incredibly proud of the achievements of Trusted Connections. By placing trust, relationships, and community at the centre of digital inclusion, we demonstrated that meaningful digital participation extends far beyond skills training. Through trusted community mentors, local hubs, and partnerships, we reached hundreds of people and built local capacity to support digital engagement. The project provides a powerful, scalable, community driven model of digital inclusion, showing that an approach based on trust and shared knowledge is effective in addressing digital inequality.
Serving the North East community through the Trusted Connections project was a real privilege. The sustainability offered via the mentoring model reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting communities to tackle deeply ingrained digital inequalities. We are committed to ensuring that our communities continue to benefit from support and mentorship.
