What happens when the funding stops?

As Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and their partners across Scotland embark on a new period of Digital Lifelines funding, there is an opportunity to think not only about what we can deliver now, but what we want to leave behind.

Digital Lifelines has demonstrated the difference that access to a device, connectivity and the right support can make for people affected by harm from drug use. But traditional approaches to digital inclusion can be heavily dependent on funding to purchase devices and connectivity.

So perhaps a question we should be asking at the beginning of this funding period is: what happens when the funding stops?

At Simon Community Scotland, necessity became the catalyst for change. Faced with increasingly limited funding for new technology, more than two years ago we moved to a 100% sustainable model for the devices we provide through our digital inclusion work.

Rather than continually purchasing new devices, we have developed relationships and routes that allow donated and redundant technology to be securely processed, refurbished and put back into use. Technology that might otherwise sit unused or become IT waste can instead have a second life supporting someone experiencing digital exclusion.

This experience has shown us that sustainability doesn't have to mean doing less. By thinking differently about where devices come from, building the right partnerships and embracing a circular approach, we can reduce our dependence on short-term funding.

Through work with partners in East Ayrshire and Angus, we have also been exploring how ADPs, local organisations, device donors and accredited refurbishment partners can create sustainable local routes to technology. Crucially, this is something ADPs and partners can start building now, rather than waiting until funding is coming to an end.

And sustainability isn't only about devices. Connectivity, skills, confidence and trusted support remain essential. Building the digital capability of frontline staff and embedding digital inclusion into everyday services creates capacity that can remain long after a project ends.

The opportunity extends beyond Digital Lifelines too. Every organisation replacing technology can be part of the solution.

As this next phase begins, perhaps success shouldn't only be measured by what we provide during the funding period, but by what is still working after it ends.

For every organisation reading this, there is one question worth asking:

Where will your next 100 redundant devices go?

To read more about what has been achieved and to adopt some novel approaches on Digital Sustainability go to the new section of the Digital Lifelines Scotland website Our Work, Digital Sustainability.

Nigel Gallear, Digital Inclusion Programme Manager, Simon Community Scotland

Member of the Digital Lifelines Scotland Delivery Group