Who is the Digital Poverty Alliance
The Digital Poverty Alliance is an independent charity. The DPA was previously an initiative of the Learning Foundation, launched by the Foundation, Currys plc and the Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2021. In 2024, the DPA became the public facing brand and working name of the Learning Foundation, which was founded in 2001.
They pull together existing activity, avoiding duplication and working across industry, government, and the third sector to align approaches to tackling digital poverty based on its five determinants.
They work through advocacy and campaigning with the aim of creating sustainable social change, and through delivery projects to help households around the UK access devices, connectivity, skills and support.
What they've achieved
Some of their achievements so far are:
1: Creation of a Community Hub to bring their diverse partners together. Alongside this, the formation of a Research Library to be the source of reliable and impartial evidence on digital poverty. To build this even further, a heat map and a supply directory is being created so anyone can quickly and easily see the issues and find support.
2: Joined up 27 sectors through their Community Board and will be using their crucial expertise to create a clear plan for change following a full review of the evidence on digital poverty in the UK.
3: Co-designed policy principles for change, which will form the actions recommend to government, third, public and private sectors must take.
4: Launced two Proof of Concepts projects to demonstrate how widespread change can be made with simple interventions. All will have formal university led evaluation and then white papers setting out evidence for interventions in tackling digital poverty.
