Digital Express (Northern Ireland) Limited

Public benefits

The direct benefits flowing from purpose a) are the wellbeing and degree of social inclusion of participating people with disabilities will be enhanced as they will be equipped to more fully express themselves in ways that lead to fuller participation and engagement in many aspects of society. These benefits will be evidenced through analysis of

evaluation questionnaires filled in by all participating people with disabilities on completion of their engagement with a programme or project run by Digital Express and by periodic longitudinal quantitative research following up samples of ‘graduates’ of digital Express projects and programmes. The direct benefit flowing from purpose b) is public policy concerning digital inclusion will be better informed in relation to the particular needs and circumstances of people with disabilities so that initiatives arising from it will more fully benefit people with disabilities in terms of enabling them to acquire and utilize digital skills as vehicles to more fully participate in all aspects of society. These benefits will be evidenced by tracking and analyzing public policy developments in relation to digital inclusion to enable the establishment of the degree to which it and initiatives arising from it reflect and embrace the particular needs and circumstances of people with disabilities. The direct benefits that flow from purpose c) are increased levels of educational attainment and fuller levels of employment amongst participating people with disabilities. These benefits will be evidenced by surveys completed by participating people with disabilities. The direct benefit that flow from purpose d) is any such future action under this purpose will only be planned and taken if it is designed to increase the degree of social inclusion, educational attainment or employment levels amongst participating people with disabilities. This purpose is included in an attempt to future proof the work of Digital express in a sphere – digital technology and digital inclusion – which is fast evolving so that future developments cannot be fully envisaged at this time, consequently this purpose is included to seek to ensure that the work of Digital Express, and the benefits arising from it will remain relevant as future events and developments unfold and require being responded to. Benefits under this purpose will be evidenced through a blend of questionnaires of participants as they conclude engagement on a project or programme and through longitudinal follow up surveys designed to establish the long term benefits of such projects and programmes. The outcomes of our purposes are purely beneficial so that we can state with confidence that no harm will arise from it. The beneficiaries of Digital Express are people with physical, sensory, learning, psychological or hidden disabilities. The only private benefit flowing from these purposes are that members of our Board during the course of making their contribution to the development of the organization may gain knowledge, skills and understanding that is useful in other contexts. As such, this is incidental. Given that any such benefit is an incidental byproduct we cannot envisage any related situation which could be described or characterized as a conflict of interest. However, should any conflict of interest arise, members of the Board will be expected to identify these under the Matters Arising portion of the agenda of Board meetings for discussion and satisfactory resolution by members of the Board.

What your organisation does

Digital Express (Northern Ireland) Ltd provides a programme of training and other events designed to enable people with disabilities in N.Ireland to gain increased skills in the uses of digital technology, thereby providing them with the means to more fully participate in the economic, social, educational, civic and social life of the community