Partnership with Leeds Tech Sector aims to
bridge the Digital Divide

The Leeds digital sector is the fastest growing in the UK,  employing around 30,000 people – contributing £6.6bn to the local economy. It continued to thrive during the pandemic and is playing a vital role in the city’s economic recovery.

But not everyone is thriving in the world of digital.  10% of the adult population are not online at all, according to the Office of National Statistics which is a staggering 5 million people.

The pandemic highlighted issues of digital inequality in Leeds. Access to, or lack of internet and technological equipment such as laptops and computers led to children already at a disadvantage falling further behind with their education.

In Leeds, over 45,000 households do not have access to Wi-Fi, with many across the city feeling isolated due to their lack of digital access and/or skills.

Leeds Community Foundation has funded a number of projects which directly addresses the digital divide and supports digital inclusion for all communities – projects ranging from adaption and online delivery during the pandemic, accessibility to technology for young people,  using the internet as a tool to reduce social isolation.

Digital inclusion has been a continuous theme throughout many of our programmes, including Ideas that Change Lives and Time to Shine, and featured as a primary focus for the latest round of The Manjit Wolstenholme Fund. Outcomes of some of these projects can be found here.

As digital equality continues to widen within local communities, we’re delighted to be working in partnership with the Leeds Digital Ball and partners, Leeds City Council and 100% Digital. We have designed and developed a grants programme which will fund the development and use of sustainable interventions which support digital inclusion in Leeds.

The programme will distribute grants to Community Organisations to strengthen their internal capacity, enhancing their core digital-inclusion work, ensuring that people and communities in Leeds have the skills, support and equipment to be active online – improving digital access for digitally excluded people in their communities.

As well as our core work, we also are proud to once again be Official Charity Partners for Leeds Digital Festival 2022.

The festival showcases the city region’s dynamic digital sector with a curated programme of cutting-edge tech events, with our involvement highlighting the need to include communities in the rapid growth of Leeds’ tech sector.

Keep an eye out on our Open Grants page to see when this fund becomes live, and sign up to receive alerts on when our funding becomes available here.

Listen to our #GiveLoveLeeds Podcast which highlights the digital divide in our city, and how the Foundation have worked to address Digital Exclusion.