There are three things that will always remind me of March 2020: Zoom quizzes, banana bread and digital service delivery.
That same month charities had to pivot rapidly, shifting many of their services online as the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Three years on, few of us want to do a Zoom quiz or eat more banana bread.
But digital service delivery felt like it was more than a passing trend. So how have digital services evolved across the sector since then?
Digital service delivery always struck me as more than a temporary solution, enabling charities to continue helping people when they could not see them face-to-face.
Yet it quickly became clear from the charities I spoke to that there was a longer-term opportunity here.
Digital service delivery meant charities could reach more people across the UK and beyond, effectively scaling their impact.
Last year’s Charity Digital Skills Report found that almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of charities were delivering digital services; it will be interesting to see if this trend continues into 2023.
For DanceSyndrome, a small, multi-award-winning charity that delivers inclusive dance workshops, training and performances that focus on ability rather than disability, digital service delivery was a lifeline that meant it could continue to support people with learning disabilities.
When lockdown happened, its dancers – with and without disabilities – came together to co-design an extensive programme of online dance sessions that helped the charity extend reach beyond the 150 participants it offered face-to-face classes to.
Soon the charity was reaching 600 people in the UK and as far afield as South Africa, Europe and the US.
DanceSyndrome began face-to-face classes again in summer 2021, but continues to offer Zoom sessions.
Its managing director, Julie Nicholson, has found that this has helped widen the charity’s horizons.
Digital service delivery has helped her charity engage people who are isolated, as well as “people without transport, people without enough support and people who are still shielding, in the comfort and safety of their own homes”, she says.
“Often, it is simply a case that this type of inclusive, disability-led activity is just not available in their local area.”
Three years on from the first lockdown, the charity has seen demand for its Zoom sessions lessen, but delivering in this way means it can still reach participants in areas where they cannot access this kind of service.
“There is still a need for inclusive, disability-led sessions across the UK and, as DanceSyndrome is based in the north-west, the only practical way to deliver nationally is online,” says Nicholson.
The charity has secured three years of funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to continue to deliver Zoom sessions.
Meanwhile, the charity Young Lives vs Cancer has grown and developed its digital services since lockdown.
It has specialist social work teams supporting young people with cancer. In 2021 it launched a central support and social care team, which is a virtual team working with local social workers, delivering services through live chat, email, phone, the website and social media.
Tracy Cosgrave, the charity’s associate director for services and impact, says digital services mean that all young cancer patients can access support.
“For example, if a young person isn’t being treated at one of the treatment centres where our teams are based, they can have in-depth support from a professional social worker through the digital channel of their choosing,” she says.
The charity also offers digital groups all over the UK that bring together young people and parents with shared experience, such as groups for bereaved parents.
The stories of DanceSyndrome and Young Lives vs Cancer show that, while digital services have evolved since 2020, they still serve an important need, particularly among hard-to-reach groups.
It will be fascinating to see how digital services change in another three years, when things will shift again thanks to artificial intelligence.
Zoe Amar is founder of the digital and marketing consultancy Zoe Amar Digital @zoeamar