About
This project was funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, and was delivered in partnership with the Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust, a community charity based in North Tyneside.
The project set out to improve the digital safety skills of older adults through a peer-to-peer model: rather than relying on expert-led training, we asked whether trusted community members could be trained to share digital safety knowledge with the people around them. Our approach centred on a Train the Trainer model, in which two Linskill staff members were trained by an academic team and then delivered that training to six volunteer peer influencers drawn from the local community.
Over approximately two months, those six volunteers reached 199 documented community members through a wide range of activities — from monthly group presentations to one-to-one drop-in support sessions -- sharing knowledge on topics including password security, online scams, safe device use, misinformation, and AI.
The project found that digital safety content can be delivered effectively by non-experts, provided they are well supported and embedded within a trusted community organisation. Volunteers consistently reported the training as empowering, with many making immediate changes to their own digital habits. The Train the Trainer model proved scalable and sustainable: Linskill staff now have the skills, materials, and confidence to recruit and train future cohorts independently, and several volunteers have continued their activities beyond the funded period.
All training materials developed through the project are freely available on this website under an open-source licence, alongside a practical methodology guide for any organisation wishing to replicate the model.