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What is Tech for Good?

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We hear the words ‘Tech for Good’ used on social media and even in the popular press. But what do we mean when we talk about it?

Tech could save the world.

Literally.

Good tech, that is. Not bad tech.

Good tech: digital tech that solves the world’s problems or brings joy and hope to people.

Bad tech: digital tech that disregards people’s rights or uses dark patterns to influence online behaviour.

And of course, there’s tech that has potential for both. But for now, let’s [Read more…] about What is Tech for Good?

Tech for Good Learning

Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation are keen to document and disseminate key learnings from the Tech for Good programme. We use our learning to strengthen our approach to social tech funding for future programme development, as well as to understand what is needed to grow the Tech for Good ecosystem.

Underpinning the programme is the Theory of Change which maps out the challenge, what we will do to address this challenge, the outcomes we anticipate as a result of these activities and any assumptions we have made behind all of this. The longer ToC narrative provides more detail on the elements of the Theory of Change. The ToC was developed in 2017 with support from InFocus Enterprises Ltd. It is a living document that we will revisit and refine as we learn more from the programme – watch this space!

Evaluations

Since 2017 Comic Relief and PHF have commissioned evaluations of each funding round, building on the learnings and recommendations each year.

Tech for Good 2019 Evaluation

The evaluation for the current funding round (Tech for Good 2019) is being delivered by Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR), and seeks to answer some of the programme’s current strategic questions and interests, ensuring that we build on, rather than replicate, findings. The main priority areas for this evaluation are:

  1. What does it mean to be ‘tech-ready’? What do organisations need in order to embrace and embed a digital approach into their work and their organisations where suitable?
  2. Exit support and pathways for funded-partners: thinking about the sustainability of the support provided through the Tech for Good programme, what happens next?
  3. Common threads across the current cohort: are there similar experiences, potential collaborations or areas that Tech for Good participants could work on together?
  4. Developing a deeper understanding of Tech for Good’s ecosystem: thinking about the contributions of the different layers that make up the Social Tech space, including funders, support agencies, grantees etc.
  5. Organisational learning: for Tech for Good participants, Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, contextualising the fund within the wider discussions and debates taking place within the funding sector around ‘learning-led grant-making’.

IVAR will also work with Comic Relief and PHF to revisit and review the Theory of Change, and consider whether any adaptation or development will be required.

To check out the eight organisations funded through Tech for Good 2019 and the products they’re working on, please see this page.

Watch this space for the final report!

Evaluations from previous years:

Tech for Good 2018

This was a 14-month evaluation, delivered by inFocus and built around 3 key questions which were based on the Tech for Good Theory of Change, these questions were:

  1. To what extent has the Tech for Good programme been successful in generating the intended outcomes for participating not-for-profits?
  2. Have changes made to the Tech for Good programme in 2018 led to increased efficiency and effectiveness compared to 2016-17?
  3. How can the Tech for Good ecosystem be strengthened and what role could Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation play in this?

Have a look at the full Tech for Good 2018 Evaluation report, or the Tech for Good 2018 Executive Summary (extracted from the full report), for more information.

Tech for Good 2017

This was the first year we commissioned an evaluation of the Tech for Good programme and was when the aforementioned Theory of Change and longer ToC narrative were developed by inFocus.

Tech for Good 2017 Evaluation Summary

Blog Posts Relating to Learning

Since the fund started in 2016 we have published blog posts in the Tech for Good hub, sharing and responding to the ongoing learning emerging from the programme, these include:

 

How and why we changed our Tech for Good initiative in 2020

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The Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation Tech for Good fund has been running since 2016. It has supported non-profits to take a significant digital step forward by funding them to develop digital solutions that make their work or services more effective, and providing access to digital experts.

A core ethos of the Tech for Good fund has always been encouraging organisations to keep their users’ needs at the heart of development. As funders, we are mindful that our users are the non-profits engaging with us, applying to our programmes, and accessing our funding.

That’s why, in 2019, we reviewed the fund with the help of Think Social Tech to make sure it was still fit for those it served. One of the main findings of our review was that organisations needed early stage support, through ring-fenced time and funding, to enable them to focus their energy on thinking about the direction and potential of digital development in their context, before embarking upon full scale development.

While this need was identified by our review, which came before COVID-19 emerged, it’s clear that organisations are now facing more pressure than ever to adopt digital practices – this is being well documented by Catalyst, a charitable network which helps the voluntary sector strengthen its digital capabilities. Through their granular and on-the-ground work with organisations, Catalyst has identified a range of areas that organisations are currently dealing with. One of the biggest mid-to-long term challenges outlined is the way organisations are dealing with the impact on services. Issues include the surge in demand alongside adjusting to rapidly shifting modes of service delivery, understanding the medium-term evolving needs of service users, and how to effectively safeguard them.

We were due to launch a new strand of our funding, ‘Explore’, in summer 2020, offering short, early stage scoping funding and support to organisations. We have worked with CAST to slightly adapt this offer to the current circumstances. However, we think the same broad principles still apply. We want teams to access the right conditions for meaningful digital development; this is even more crucial for charities thinking about the challenges outlined above, and the implications for mid-to-long term service delivery as the consequences of COVID-19 become clearer.

The Tech for Good ‘Explore’ programme, delivered by CAST, and co-funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, will support 40-50 organisations to undertake early stage digital scoping:

  • It will guide organisations through a three-month structured design programme supporting teams to gain experience and understanding of user-led, test-driven approaches, and enable them to develop a prototype to test with their service users
  • It will also offer £5,000 grants for single organisations and £7,500 for collaborations to backfill staff time and operational cost. This was designed to make digital service development conceivable and feasible for organisations, ensuring their use of digital was best suited to their contexts.

‘Explore’ support forms part of a wider digital journey for organisations, and has been designed with this in mind. We hope that this early stage support will not only help organisations to respond to the current need for digital solutions, but play a role in the longer term digital transformation of the sector within and beyond our own funding programmes.

You can find out more about the ‘Explore’ programme and apply here.

The eight organisations funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Tech for Good 2019 programme

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The 2019 round is the third time that the funders have joined forces to fund tech-based initiatives that have the power to accelerate positive social change.

The Tech for Good programme was developed in response to the emerging need for charities to use technology to explore different approaches to delivering better services that help people, organisations and communities. As part of the programme, funded partners are offered a monetary award alongside access to support from experts and advisors, as well as the opportunity to collaborate and share learning with other teams.

The organisations are receiving grants of up to £51,500 for each project, giving them the chance to explore new approaches that seek to improve people’s lives.

An intensive package of non-monetary support is also provided, recognising that digital development is an area that relies on skills and expertise as well as funding for opportunities to be realised. This is designed to enable organisations to learn, develop their digital capacities in a new way and strengthen their work by developing viable and sustainable digital products.

Kicking off in August 2019, the projects will last for nine months until May 2020. Each includes a two-month soft development phase, an intense four-month hard development phase, followed by a three-month launch phase.

The digital support agency for this cohort were appointed following a competitive tender process. A consortium application from CAST, Snook, Founders and Coders, and Doteveryone were selected to undertake this work; the consortium provides digital mentoring support, advice as well as mutual learning opportunities for the cohort of organisations funded through the initiative.

Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive of Paul Hamlyn Foundation commented:
“The latest round of grants continues to demonstrate the power of tech to find new ways to address disadvantage. We look forward to seeing how these ideas evolve with access to tailored tech support and valued partnerships backing people to pursue their vision for social change.”

Comic Relief’s CEO Liz Warner added: “We’re pleased to be supporting another Tech for Good cohort, responding to a diversity of social issues, and helping them put the needs of the people they serve at the heart of their digital development.”

The successful Tech for Good 2019 projects are:

Alexandra Rose
Rose Vouchers for Fruit and Veg Programme (RVP) supports families on low incomes to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, through vouchers which can be redeemed at local markets and community food projects across four London boroughs, Barnsley and Liverpool. They received a grant in a previous Tech for Good Fund to develop and launch the Rosie app to digitise the reimbursement of Rose Vouchers. This additional funding will enable them to meet increasing national demand by customizing their app to make it scalable to allow them to work with a wider range of local partners such as GP surgeries, food banks and various community services, so that areas can adapt RVP to their local needs.

AVA (Against Violence and Abuse)
Survivors of domestic and sexual abuse often struggle to have their mental health needs met – waiting lists are long and services are rarely trauma-informed. AVA will design and build a digital product to meet these needs. It will give users immediate relief through functions that could include trauma-informed-meditation and tips around coping strategies. The project will test assumptions about what survivors want and need using a steering group of ‘experts by experience’ from scoping through to launch.

Bipolar UK
According to research conducted by Bipolar UK there are 1.3 million people living with bipolar in the UK. They are developing a chatbot to help users self manage their symptoms and provide practical advice. The chatbot combines machine learning with the informed research from Bipolar UK, by giving answers, prompts and signposting users to information. This funding will scale up the chatbot by installing it on the website, integrating it with services, so people can book a call with a volunteer or attend a group.

Deaf Kidz International
DeafKidz International (DKI) is a young organisation working to address the safeguarding and protection needs of Deaf, hard of hearing children and young people. They are developing DeafKidz Defender, an interactive digital game concept that will empower Deaf children aged 7-11 to reduce their risk and vulnerability to abuse and exploitation. There is currently no dedicated digital safeguarding and protection provision specifically aimed at Deaf children of this age in the UK or worldwide.

Muscular Dystrophy UK
Muscular Dystrophy UK is the charity for 70,000 people living with a range of muscle wasting conditions in the UK. The project will develop an online Holistic Needs Assessment portal, where people living with these conditions can conduct their own wellbeing assessments. This will make it easier for NCAs (Neuromuscular Care Advisors) to manage their care plans and enable them to be signposted more quickly to specialist services. There are only 60 NCAs, supporting about 500 patients.

Ruils
Ruils will transform its highly successful Sitting and Befriending service, which matches trained befrienders to disabled children in south west London. The grant will develop a new website which will empower parents, carers and children to engage directly with the service, outside of office hours. This will remove a huge amount of administration, enabling Ruils staff to significantly expand the service, meaning more befrienders can help disabled children to enjoy activities, gain independence and practice social skills.

stem4
stem4 provides education in secondary schools in four areas of mental health; anxiety and depression, self-harm, eating disorders and addiction with a clear focus on enhancing resilience. Building on the success of their NHS-accredited ‘Calm Harm’ app (helping teenagers manage the urge to self-harm), as well as the previously Tech for Good-funded ‘Clear Fear’ app (helping teenagers manage symptoms of anxiety), stem4 will develop a third app which will use an evidence-based, Behavioural Activation approach to help teenagers manage symptoms of depression.

The Mix
The Mix is the UK’s leading support service for young people, by young people, supporting them to take on any challenge they face; from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. The Mix will develop chatbot technology to create a personalised experience for young people using their channels. This digitised outreach and engagement will ensure that The Mix’s capacity is increased, users find what they are looking for, benefit from improved signposting to other services and that The Mix can serve a higher percentage of young people.