Overview
IFB Gaming contributed real-world, lived-experience insights from its community-based digital inclusion work to the Greater London Authority’s Community Insights Hub, supporting London-wide understanding of digital exclusion and inequality.
By sharing evidence drawn directly from communities experiencing digital barriers, IFB Gaming helped ensure that London-level policy discussions were informed by practical reality, not solely aggregated data or assumptions.
Strategic Alignment
This contribution aligned with key GLA and Mayoral priorities, including:
- Mayor of London’s Digital Inclusion Strategy
- Smarter London Together Roadmap
- London Recovery Programme
- Inclusive Economy and Strong Communities missions
- Evidence-led policy development through the Community Insights Hub
The Community Insights Hub provides a platform for frontline organisations to contribute insight that complements quantitative data with lived experience — a role IFB Gaming actively supported.
The Challenge
While London has robust digital infrastructure, digital exclusion remains unevenly distributed across the capital.
Many communities continue to experience:
- Limited access to devices and connectivity
- Low digital confidence and skills
- Safety, trust, and accessibility concerns
- Barriers linked to income, age, disability, migration status, and language
Policy responses risk being incomplete if they do not fully reflect the day-to-day realities of those affected.
The challenge was to ensure that community experience meaningfully informs city-wide strategy.
Our Contribution
IFB Gaming submitted community-rooted insight to the GLA Community Insights Hub, drawn from our work across London.
This included:
- Real experiences from individuals facing digital exclusion
- Observations on access, skills, confidence, and motivation
- Evidence of how digital barriers intersect with wider social inequality
- Reflections on what works — and what doesn’t — at community level
Our contribution helped add qualitative depth to London-wide digital inclusion evidence.
What We Provided
Through the Community Insights Hub, IFB Gaming shared:
- Lived-experience evidence from digitally excluded communities
- Practical insight from frontline delivery and engagement
- Community perspectives to support evidence-based policy development
- Learning that complements existing research and data sources
This ensured that community voices were represented within a strategic policy forum.
Impact
By contributing to the Community Insights Hub, IFB Gaming supported the GLA’s commitment to evidence-led, inclusive policymaking.
Our input helped strengthen understanding of digital exclusion as it is experienced on the ground — reinforcing the importance of community-informed approaches in shaping London’s digital future.
Why This Matters
Effective digital inclusion policy depends on understanding how systems are experienced in real life.
This case study demonstrates the value of frontline organisations contributing lived experience to strategic policy platforms — helping ensure that London’s digital ambitions are grounded, inclusive, and equitable.
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About IFB Gaming
IFB Gaming is a research-led digital inclusion and community innovation organisation working across London and the UK.
We support policymakers, public bodies, and partners by providing community-rooted insight, ethical technology practice, and evidence-informed perspectives that help reduce digital inequality and expand opportunity.