UK online centre projects to demonstrate social impact of ICT

Notes to editors

• UK online centres engage with adults who have low or no skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), or who do not have access to ICT at home or at work.
• UK online centres provide people with access to technology and support in using it. There are approximately 6,000 UK online centres across England, which provide free or low cost access to the internet and email, deliver online courses and encourage people to progress onto further learning. An estimated two thirds of those people are from the most deprived wards in England - more than half are not in employment, one in ten has a disability, one in seven is over 65, and one in five is from a minority ethnic group.
• The Social Impact Demonstrators will run for between six and 15 months from January 2007. Around 150 UK online centres will be involved in the 20 projects. At least one project will run in each of the English regions.
• The successful bids are listed below. The lead UK online centres appear in alphabetical order:
  
  Aberfeldy Neighbourhood Centre, Tower Hamlets, London
  Age Concern Leeds, Yorkshire and Humberside
  Age Concern Newcastle, North East
  The Association of Bristol Community Learning Centres (led by CSV Avon), South West
  Britannia Centre, Sandwell, West Midlands
  Cambridgeshire Libraries (led by March Library and Learning Centre), East
  Destinations@Saltburn, North East
  Everton Development Trust, North West
  Friends Centre, Brighton, South East
  Harold Tomlins Centre, Chester, North West
  Hendon 2000, Sunderland, North East
  Inverteign Family Learning Centre, South West
  Ipswich County Library, East
  Kenwick Hill UK online centre, Lincolnshire, East Midlands
  Leeds Central Library and Leeds Library and Information Service, Yorkshire and Humberside
  Newcastle Clubhouse, North East
  Probe, Hull, Yorkshire and Humberside
  Selby Learning Zone, London
  Windhill Community Association, East Shipley, Yorkshire and Humberside
  Windmill Hill City Farm, Bristol, South West.