Image shows a bird's eye view of a phone on an orange table with a number of crayons and multicoloured scribbles all over the table.

Research

Data Poverty in Wales and Scotland

We are working with partners to find out more about the scale and depth of data poverty in Wales and Scotland and the impact on people's lives.

We are working with Nesta in Scotland to scope and identify where research already exists on data poverty.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the scale of digital exclusion in the UK and finding out why people are unable to access online services is more important than ever.

With paid work, school and many NHS services now being delivered online, what does it mean if you have to make a choice between data or dinner?

Following conversations with a range of key stakeholders in both countries, we commissioned some research to understand and better define the challenge, and to find out where innovation could help address this inequality.

We published phase one of this data poverty research in December 2020, a few weeks before many millions of people in the United Kingdom were told to stay at home once again. 

Read the report

We are now working on a second phase of research alongside some polling that will start to investigate the scale of the problem of data poverty and some additional recommendations for ensuring fair and equitable access to essential online services for everyone.