- Description of the programme
- The study
- What are the outcomes?
- Key findings
- Points to consider
Description of the programme
[This is an extract from the Executive Summary of the evaluation report. Further amendments may be made to this Summary, pending review by the Evidence Hub partner]
Get £ F+IT is delivered by Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC). The intended impact of the project was to answer our research question _“does increasing the digital skills of older people living in a rural area increase their financial capability?” _ To understand what works we developed a number of outcomes that could be measured: did participants have greater confidence in their digital skills; new understanding of how to make the most of their money; increase their ability to identify and avoid financial exploitation and abuse.
The project aimed to increase the financial literacy and capability of 80-100 older people (over the age of 60 years) with basic digital skills and a range of accessibility and deprivation issues in 4 rural locations across Cornwall. Three members of staff, supported by local community volunteers, provided six half-day digital inclusion sessions covering tools and online resources to help older people increase their financial capability and gain more confidence in managing their money (now and into the future). The project made the link between financial capability and digital skills in seeking to find out if increasing digital skills leads older people to have better control and management of their money matters.
The study
The evaluation follows HM Treasury guidance (‘The Magenta Book’) and comprised:
- Process – a consideration of how well the project has been designed and is following its approach.
- Impact – a consideration of the outcomes of the project.
- Economic – a consideration of the value-for-money and cost effectiveness of the project.
The evaluation has included interviews with staff (4 people), participants (30 people) and stakeholders (5 people); undertaking SROI analysis; benchmarking Get £ F+IT with similar initiatives; analysing 95 pre and post course questionnaires; carrying out in depth surveys with 25 participants after the sessions finished; and triangulating the findings at two focus groups with staff and participants.
Through the six half-day digital inclusion sessions participants achieved the following outcomes:
- Have increased their financial capability and be looking to maximise their income and its use through - we call this our business outcome.
- Be more confident in managing their money (through key life events and guarding against financial scams) – we call this our non-business outcome.
What are the outcomes?
- Confidence in digital skills and managing their money
- Maximising Income
- Understanding of how to make the most of their money
- Ability to identify and avoid financial fraud
Key findings
Get £ F+IT is helping 132 older people to manage their money well day-today and plan for life events – all using digital as a tool:
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Participants have seen improvements in their digital literacy – from the 30 in-depth interviews we carried out with participants: 16 participants had a device but didn’t know how to use it; 10 participants were looking to improve their digital skills and 4 people did not have a device/had never been online. In the 3 month follow-up questionnaire with 25 participants all of them said they had accessed the internet in the last seven days and all confirmed they felt safe going online.
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Participants have used improvements in their digital skills to maximise their income and its use – from the 30 in-depth interviews we carried out with participants: 11 had switched/considered switching one or more of their utility providers; 7 participants had looked for information online; 6 participants were using online banking services; 4 participants had compared financial products online; 4 participants had shopped online; and 2 participants had bought insurance online. In the 3 month follow-up questionnaire with 25 participants all explained how Get £ F+IT had helped them to develop a budget that works for them – with some using budget sheets or notebooks to keep track of their money.
For every £1.00 spent on the intervention, we estimate the value of the outcomes produced is £6.57
Given the delivery timescale of Get £ F+IT, the higher than expected number of participants attending the sessions, the additional staff training provided and taking a longer term view (particularly the longer term goals set out in the theory of change), Get £ F+IT is cost effective and offers good _ value-for-money _ when compared to similar initiatives.
CRCC has changed the way it approaches evaluation as a result of Get £ F+IT – with evaluation listed on CRCC’s Project Development Sheet and embedded at the project planning stage.
The key learnings from Get £ F+IT in achieving the digital/financial outcomes are around:
- Having the right delivery staff with money management and technical/IT skills.
- Being ‘hyper local’ – finding venues that older people could walk or ‘scoot’ to.
- The right format – ensuring the content is fun, engaging and applicable to the needs and issues of older people.
- Recruiting and supporting volunteers in each community – leading to peer-to-peer support and the ongoing championing of financial capability.
- Working with partners during and after the course to provide participants with wraparound support (e.g. care planning, benefits take up, debt advice).
Older people are an invaluable resource (and an integral part of) the project. As well as helping CRCC to design and deliver the project, local people have become volunteers (‘community champions’) – ensuring the project reaches as many people as possible and continuing to develop financial capability in rural communities after the project finishes.
Points to consider
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Methodological limitations:
- Standards of Evidence used by Nesta and the MAS: we would have liked to have further isolated the impact of our project by using a control group (Level 3) and develop manuals, systems and procedures for others to use (Level 5). As Get £ F+IT was delivered over one year it has not been possible to incorporate these.
- In our theory of change (section 2b) we set out our long term goals. As project delivery covers one year it has not been possible for us to focus our resources on undertaking a summative evaluation. However, CRCC staff have undertaken a 3 month follow-up questionnaire with 25 participants and we intend to repeat this questionnaire with them again in 9 months time to see if the outcomes are still being achieved.
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Relevance:
- We have undertaken a formative evaluation which has taken place before and during project delivery. This is relevant because it enabled us to improve project design and performance in real time and build up a rich picture of how participants are benefitting.
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Generalisability/transferability: The formative evaluation we have undertaken is especially important in behaviour change projects in community settings. There are three ways the methodology could be transferred:
- A one off evaluation e.g. a snapshot of participants on a financial capability project within the period the project is taking place.
- As part of regular, ongoing evaluation e.g. collecting information from participants at regular intervals (before and during the project).
- As part of a longitudinal evaluation e.g. revisiting participants and tracking whether or not the outcomes are sustained after the project finishes.
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Applicability: Some of the learning is more widely applicable for MAS and the financial capability community:
- Targeting projects in the most deprived communities where digital take-up is low can yield the greatest financial benefits – particularly for the struggling segment.
- Getting the right messages across to encourage older people to participate: Get £ F+IT has been marketed around ‘get confident online’, rather than ‘come and talk to us about your money.’
- Using local venues and an informal social learning environment – being accessible and approachable rather than running an accredited course in FinCap.
- Involving older people in the design, delivery and legacy of projects – facilitating peer-to-peer support and the ongoing championing of financial capability.
Full report
Get £ F+IT - does increasing the digital skills of older people increase their financial capability - full report
