Frequently asked questions
We know it can feel a bit overwhelming to sign up to Scotland's Digital Inclusion Charter - but it's easy and the team at SCVO are always here to help! We've listed some commonly asked questions below to help you.
The Charter is the focal point for digital inclusion in Scotland, and we want to make sure we can celebrate and promote as many different organisations helping to narrow the digital divide as possible.
If you'd like some help with your application, we'd be delighted to chat with you. You can always get in touch with us.
Any organisation working to improve digital inclusion in Scotland can sign the Charter. You can be a charity, social enterprise, community group, local authority, health and social care partnership, small business or major conglomerate. As long as you're contributing to narrowing the digital divide in Scotland, we'd love to have you as part of the team!
You need to be an organisation, though - individuals can't sign the Charter. Your best bet as an individual looking to support digital inclusion in your local area is to have a look at local signatories and see if you can get involved with anything.
Better yet, encourage the organisations you already work with to sign up!
Signing Scotland’s Digital Inclusion Charter is simple — and we’re here to support you through it.
All we ask is that you tell us how your organisation is already tackling digital exclusion, or how you plan to. You’ll do this by filling in a short application form.
In the form, we’ll ask for examples of how your work aligns with the Charter’s five pledges:
Don’t worry — we’re not looking for loads of detail. We know how busy you are doing the actual work! A couple of examples for each pledge is plenty, whether it’s something you’re doing now or planning to do soon.
Once you’ve submitted your application, we’ll review it and get back to you quickly with any feedback. If everything’s in line with the pledges — you’re in!
Digital inclusion looks different in every organisation — and that’s a good thing. We’re not here to box you in or score your answers. We just want to hear about how your work reflects the spirit of the five pledges.
Here are some questions to get you thinking about examples:
- Understanding: Have you asked your community what digital barriers they face? Do you know how confident your staff are with digital?
- Approach: Have you built digital support into your day-to-day services? Maybe you’ve changed how you communicate with people to make things more accessible.
- Resource: Are you setting aside time, funding, devices, or staff capacity to help people get online?
- Partnership: Are you working with other organisations to widen your reach or refer people for extra support?
- Community: How are you actively sharing your learning with others, or encouraging others to get involved in digital inclusion work?
We’re not looking for polished strategies or long reports, just real examples of what you're already doing (or planning to do). It can be a new pilot, an existing project, or even something you’ve only just started thinking about.
Each pledge has its own page with more info and inspiration. And if you’re stuck or want to check your examples before submitting, we’re always happy to help, just get in touch.
One note: please don’t copy and paste the example text from the website into your answers — we want to hear about your work, in your words.
Not at all. Narrowing the digital divide in Scotland is a job bigger than any one organisation - and that includes SCVO. While we look after the Charter, we recognise that it should be a home for everyone passionate about the cause. Scotland's Digital Inclusion Charter is the focal point of digital inclusion work in Scotland. That goes way beyond the voluntary sector: digital inclusion is everyone's responsibility.
We get it — there are lots of networks, charters, and initiatives out there. So what makes this one worth your time?
- Credibility: You'll receive a Digital Inclusion Charter badge to use in your comms so you can show your commitment and expertise.
- Connection: Join a growing community of organisations who are tackling digital inequality together, so we can all learn from each other.
- Visibility: We’ll help platform your work and celebrate your contribution at a national level.
- No cost, no bureaucracy: It’s free to sign up, and we won’t ask you for ongoing reporting or monitoring. We know your time is better spent supporting people - not filling in forms!
Above all, it’s a chance to embed digital inclusion more deeply into your work, and to do it as part of a collective. Scotland’s Digital Inclusion Charter is more than just a collection of loose promises – it’s an opportunity to make change happen.
Simply put, you're joining the leaders of digital inclusion work in Scotland.
We have representation from across a range of organisations across all three sectors. Standard Life was one of our first signatories. Scottish Government and a range of local authorities have pledged their support too.
And the powerhouse of digital inclusion - grassroots organisations - make up the largest section of our community.
As much or as little as you'd like! This website is packed full of helpful things you can use to guide your answers:
- Check out the Pledges page to find out more about each of the five pledges.
- Look at our Resources page to see different resources that support each pledge.
- Maybe get some inspiration from what other signatories have said.
- And of course, you can get in touch with our team for a one-to-one chat.
We want everyone that can to join us as a signatory. It's not an exam - and we can help you to craft your answers and demonstrate the best of your work!
Once you've completed your application, we'll assess it on our end and get back if we have any feedback. The feedback is there to help make sure you meet the pledges, so we'd recommend trying again as soon as you like with that in mind.
When you're accepted (🎉) we'll email you with a link to our comms pack so you can get started right away shouting about being one of Scotland's digital inclusion leaders.
We're currently building our community and getting a sense of what our signatories would like to see happen - events, webinars, resources, advocating... - so watch this space for future happenings!
But until then - thank you for being a signatory of Scotland's Digital Inclusion Charter!