Power Up
Power Up is a pioneering initiative, launched by Good Things Foundation with the financial support of J.P. Morgan, to drive economic inclusion through digital in communities - powering up people, provision and places.
Digital is changing our lives, our jobs, how we run our businesses and manage our money.
As economic recovery begins, essential digital skills – those we need for everyday life and participation in work – are more vital than ever before. Around 7.6 million workers face redundancy or reduced hours and pay due to Covid-19, and many will lack the essential digital skills required to find new and better work (Mckinsey, 2020). 92% of employers are now saying that they need basic digital skills from their employees (Worldskills UK, 2021). At the same time, 1 in 10 people are struggling to pay bills (Office for National Statistics, 2020) and people in the poorest households are at least four times more likely to be digitally excluded (Ofcom, 2020).
Essential digital skills need prioritisation and investment. This is where Power Up has, and will continue to help.
Power Up was launched in 2019 in the UK as a collaboration between Good Things Foundation and the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation and is a £1 million fund that will help individuals, businesses and communities to become digitally engaged through building the digital skills they need to qualify for in-demand jobs and to improve their financial health.
Building on the success of the first phase of Power Up, Good Things Foundation will deliver a new phase, which aims to reach more people, enhance the digital skills support within community-based organisations.
Funded projects
Power Up funding has been awarded to 9 organisations that take a variety of approaches, tackle different areas of inclusion and work with different groups of people in their communities.
-
Deaf Action
Deaf Action exists to support the diversity of deaf people, including deaf users of British Sign Language (BSL), and those who are deafened, deafblind or hard of hearing. Its work is geared towards empowering all deaf people to achieve their potential and fully participate in society, with equality of rights, access and opportunity.
Insights
Our team of researchers went out into communities and spoke to people and businesses to identify the challenges and opportunities around living in the digital age. Take a look at our research reports and get in touch if you want to talk to us about what we do.
-
How-to guide: Place-based collaboration for digital inclusion
This guide focuses on place-based collaboration with a view to creating a local ecosystem to support digital inclusion.
-
How-to guide: embedding digital skills in your support offer
This guide draws on what we’ve learnt from Power Up so far about embedding digital skills in services. It explains the benefits of embedding digital in services and support, shows how some organisations are already doing this and offers tips and resources to help you move forward
-
Power Up Independent Evaluation: summary report
Power Up was launched in 2019 in the UK as a collaboration between Good Things Foundation and the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, this report details the impact of the first phase of the project.
-
Improving digital skills for small and micro businesses
This report summarises research exploring challenges to equipping small businesses and sole traders with the skills to flourish in a digital economy, and recommendations on how to overcome these.
-
Improving digital skills for employability
This report summarises research exploring challenges for support to improve employability through digital skills for people facing significant disadvantage.
-
Improving financial capability through digital skills
This report summarises research exploring challenges for support to improve digital skills for low-income households in financial difficulties, and initial recommendations on how to overcome these.
Latest news
There has been plenty of activity from our Power Up grantees over the course of the initiative. Here you will be able to keep up to date with the latest news, blogs, and stories from across the funded Power Up projects.
With the financial support of
J.P. Morgan