Tool 2: Online engagement

by Kevin, Maggie, Christine, Niam (and Valeria for part of the session)

…………………………………………………………………………
Tool A: Segmentation

Title: Segmentation of older people for online engagement
What it's for: to break down our audience in order to better identify opportunities and challenges for engaging them online.
What it is: a breakdown of older people based on two criteria:
* ability to use IT
* motivation to act online
How does it work: For each segment (or group of people) we created a list of things to keep in mind when trying to engage them online.

Segments:
1. Motivated - Have IT skills
- they are a resource, could become mentors / volunteers
- can help to develop websites or online forums
- this group can be used to engage the other 3 'segments'

2. Motivated - No IT skills
- important to ensure opportunities to learn skills that are relevant to their needs
- increase their confidence
- ensure access to IT facilities
(this segment is illustrated with Personas in the Tool B, below)

3. Not motivated - No IT skills
- use other media to engage
- offer rewards
(this is the most challenging group)

4. Not motivated but have IT skills
- make online communications more attractive / easy to use
- offer information relevant to the individual
- offer rewards for taking part

See also Ofcom report Accessing the internet at home

…………………………………………………
Tool B: Personas

Title: Personas (in segment 2; Motivated - No IT skills)
What it's for: to better understand the aspirations, behaviour patterns and attitudes of older people who are motivated to go online but lack IT skills
What it is: a series of fictional profiles of people, based on older people we know.
How it works: As a group, these personas represent a segment of people with different attitudes, needs and reasons to engage online. The individual personas support practical thinking. Run ideas past personas and imagine how your idea might work for them.

More about this tool:
In these profiles we included barriers to online engagement, listed earlier in the workshop (see photo) as well as interests, motivations, level of skill, ability for learning, and attitudes towards technology.

Two examples:
a) Jack and Jill, are an active couple in their 70s.
- They are politically and environmentally involved and highly motivated to engage online
- Increasingly, they are relying on their middle aged children to do things online for them
- Not currently able to join online conversations
- Slow to retain learning
Possible hook: online discussion forum about elections
They want: time for ongoing learning & enduring support

b) Safina is recently widowed and lives on her own.
- Goes out but in danger of becoming more isolated
- Never paid her own bills, but will have to
- Children live in another city so can’t help as much as they’d like
- Basic IT skills, first language isn’t English
Possible hooks: online banking & chat in her language
Safina wants: access to a resource nearby (worker/ community centre) for support in her 1st language

…………………………………………………
Tool C: System overview

by Saul

Title: System drawing
What it's for: To find out new ways of encouraging online participation among older people

What it is: an attempt to represent systems level process and structures through Lego™ ... it reminds me of a map to participation. It helped to reveal some priorities and problem.
How it works: first I built the more generic structures of our local community
- An imposing Council head office
- a local health service
- the beginnings of a interactive Camden government website
- a mobile library service (as I’m a Librarian)
- a single dwelling for an active and engaged older volunteer
- an ESOL ‘defined’ older couple
- a local medium size Library with IT facilities
- a couple of skilled support staff/trainers
- a social care facility with old fragile and/or disabled residents

Then I placed a Ladder of Participation in the middle of the ‘community’. The ladder shows the levels of participation we need to authentically engage older people in our planning of service provision. (swap youth for adult)

Beyond this I started to indicate that distinct groups of individual older people will increasingly need private and council services to work together.

We’re facing substantive public services cuts, so cross cutting measures will ameliorate some of this. For instance Libraries in Camden could support older people to fill council housing applications and report repairs online.

Fine tuning of our service delivery needs to be done at every level of the planning process, as the ladder shows.

 How effectively can we work together for our interdependent services? For a successful migration of service delivery and customer feedback from face-to-face to online, our ageing community must be sufficiently skilled and supported.