Overview
I spent five weeks embedded in a collaborative project focused on advancing digital inclusion for people with learning disabilities in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The initiative called Let’s Link was funded by Scottish Government and brought together the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities, Scottish Care, North Ayrshire & Arran Health and Social Care Partnership, local community organisations, design students, and people with lived experience.
My role was to lead the service design contribution for the project: developing a strategic framework, guiding student work, and helping turn existing research and engagement into practical, usable outputs. I worked across several layers: From mentoring student interns from The Glasgow School of Art, to collaborating with local care connectors and stakeholders, to creating resources that speak to frontline practitioners, service managers, and policymakers.
The Approach
The core aim of the project was to surface and share what already works in digital inclusion, and help scale those ideas through practical tools and frameworks. This approach combined systems-level thinking with grounded, person-centred insight. Over the course of 14 working days, I produced / supported four key outputs:
Case Study Cards
To ground our thinking in real-world practice, I created a set of six case studies. Each captures a different approach to digital inclusion, across a range of contexts and countries. These include initiatives from the UK, Germany, Uruguay, and the US, spanning everything from supported living environments and music-making, to national digital education programs and smart home tech.
Each case study focuses on what actually made the difference: not just the technology involved, but the human support structures, values, and practical decisions that enabled success. Together, they highlight a few key insights: there’s no single ‘right’ model, inclusion isn’t one-size-fits-all, and what matters most is relevance, flexibility, and trust.
I designed these as double-sided A5 cards, so short enough to be picked up and read easily, but rich enough to spark ideas and inform planning. They’re aimed at anyone looking for inspiration or evidence to inform their own work: whether you’re a local team starting from scratch, or a policy lead shaping the next stage of inclusion strategy.
Above all, these stories show what becomes possible when inclusion efforts are shaped by the needs, interests, and strengths of the people they're meant to support.
Best Practice Zine
This fold-out zine is a synthesis of insights and a call to action. It draws on conversations with stakeholders, research findings, and the lived experience of people with learning disabilities to outline what meaningful digital inclusion can look like in practice.
I began by defining the core foundation of inclusion: access to the right device, connectivity, and support. But the heart of the zine is four key “directions of travel” that emerged consistently in conversations and research. Each theme includes examples of “what good looks like” in practice, along with practical prompts to guide reflection, team discussion, or planning.
- Build for the long term: Inclusion isn’t a one-off intervention, it’s something that has to be embedded in familiar places, relationships, and routines.
- Enable the enablers: Carers, family members, and support staff need their own support and confidence to help others explore digital safely and meaningfully.
- Make it meaningful: Inclusion works best when it's relevant to a person’s life, rooted in their interests, goals, and identity.
- Support exploration and learning-by-doing: Confidence grows through trying things out, making mistakes, and having space to learn at one’s own pace.
The zine format was chosen deliberately over a report, something tactile, visual, and informal that can travel easily through staff rooms, meetings, and community spaces. It’s not meant to prescribe a model, but to start conversations and help people reflect on where they are now, and what’s possible next.
Framework
The framework is a practical guide for anyone looking to scale or embed digital inclusion in a sustainable way whether you’re a service lead, commissioner, policy team, or community partner. Rather than being a one-size-fits-all strategy, the framework offers a series of structured prompts, questions, and steps. It’s built to be adaptable, encouraging teams to start small, test ideas in trusted spaces, learn together, and grow from there. Key focus areas include:
- Building cross-sector partnerships rooted in existing relationships and resources
- Piloting locally in low-risk, familiar environments like day centres or libraries
- Embedding learning through real-time feedback loops and reflective practice
- Sustaining momentum by aligning with existing funding streams and policy priorities
At its heart, the framework helps shift digital inclusion from a project-based initiative to a more integrated part of everyday service delivery. And without needing big budgets or new infrastructure. It’s about making change feel possible, even in the real-world messiness of service landscapes.
Toolkit (Intern-led)
While the intern team took the lead on this, I supported alignment with the wider project, advised on content design, and helped them frame this toolkit for practitioners and people with learning disabilities themselves. It includes conversation guides, digital activity ideas, and resources to support everyday inclusion work.
Collaboration at the Core
From the very start, this project was grounded in the realities of North Ayrshire – the people, places, and services already working towards digital inclusion. Input from people with learning disabilities including attendees at Trindlemoss Day Opportunities and Neighbourhood Networks was central to the insights and ideas in every output. They helped us challenge assumptions, shape language, and translate insights into something usable.
Equally important was the contribution of community partners from care connector and support workers to local organisations. Their grounded insight helped us keep things practical and real. They brought deep understanding of everyday barriers and opportunities, and offered a critical perspective on what was feasible, sustainable, and needed most.
Reflections
What stood out to me about digital inclusion was the need to balance ambition and pragmatism. This work wasn’t about designing from scratch, but about recognising what already works in a large landscape of initiatives, and finding ways to amplify, adapt, and embed it. I deliberately aimed for outputs that were practical, actionable, and easy to pick up - whether by a support worker in a community hub, or a commissioner planning a digital strategy.
We also faced the usual challenges of coordination across strands. In hindsight, a bit more alignment on timing and scope between the student-led and consultant-led elements might have helped knit the pieces together more seamlessly. That said, we made it work and I’m proud of the clarity, creativity, quality, and usefulness of what we delivered.
Why this matters
Digital inclusion is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s a foundation for connection, opportunity, and independence. But it won’t happen through tech and devices alone. It takes relationships, context, and support that’s built to last. Let’s Link is our contribution to help make that kind of inclusion more possible through flexible, thoughtful, and grounded tools that others can use to find their own answers.