About
Why the work is being done
This programme is part of the Catalyst and The National Lottery Community Fund COVID-19 Digital Response funding initiative; a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund and CAST, supported by the Catalyst network.
The aim of the programme is to equip charities and nonprofits with the tools and skills to understand the needs and behaviours of their communities, and support them to develop digital projects focused on a validated problem area.
Problem to solve
The programme takes a cohort of up to ten organisations through a four-week training course for them to learn and practice Discovery on a real digital challenge facing their communities. This includes teaching the fundamentals of digital service design, building charities’ user research capabilities and supporting them to validate a problem area they may wish to explore with further Catalyst funding or by internal stakeholder engagement.
Who are the users and what do they need to do
The users are a mix of nonprofits and civil society organisations, and their networks looking to identify the needs and behaviours of their community, and how digital, data and design can best support them.
Nonprofits within this cohort:
- Blood Cancer UK - a community dedicated to beating blood cancer by funding research and supporting those affected.
- ONE20 trading as TimeBank - We recruit & train volunteers to help tackle complex social problems.
- Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Totnes with Bridgetown
- Connect: North Korea - We empower North Korean refugees to integrate and share their stories.
- Support Through Court (formerly known as the PSU) - a charity dedicated to providing free, independent assistance to people facing proceedings without legal representation.
- Kent Coast Volunteering - Our mission is to connect communities across Kent through volunteering and community-led projects.
- Citizen's Advice New Forest - We give free, confidential and independent advice.
- Social Enterprise Kent CIC - Every day we deliver a positive social impact, strengthen communities, empower people and improve lives.
- Visionary - a membership organisation for local sight loss charities.
- Age UK - too many older people feel they have no one to turn to for support. We exist to help older people when they need us the most.