New £500,000 fund to tackle the digital divide and e-waste
Hubbub and Virgin Media O2 have announced a new £500,000 Time After Time fund to support innovative solutions that address the digital divide and reduce electronic waste. This grant fund aims to connect the 1.5 million digitally disconnected households in the UK, who have limited access to devices or the internet, while promoting circularity in technology.
The fund seeks to bridge this gap by supporting innovative approaches to digital inclusion that make use of e-waste such as unused smartphones, tablets and laptops, etc. The goal of the fund is to ensure that technology can be utilised by those who need it, time after time.
The fund will provide grants of between £25,000 and £100,000 to support various projects. These projects can include research initiatives, campaigns for device redistribution, repair projects to increase device availability, or projects addressing the root causes of these problems.
Funding is expected to support 6-8 projects of varying grant sizes. The focus will be on digital inclusion projects utilising smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Projects must demonstrate measurable impact and leave a legacy. All learnings and results from funded projects will be openly shared to allow others to build upon and amplify the impact, while respecting intellectual property and patents.
The deadline for expressing interest in the funding opportunity is Friday, October 20, 2023.