This article is written by Abhay Adhikari, Founder, Urban Sustainable Development Lab.

Social isolation and loneliness are a growing problem, and some experts warn that it is reaching epidemic levels.

In the UK, according to the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, one in twenty adults report feeling lonely often or always. According to the Commission, having weak social connections is as damaging to the health of an individual as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and could cost £12,000 per person in increased use of public services. However, as another report published by the Campaign to End Loneliness and the University of Kent points out, many public services aren’t geared towards identifying these “hidden citizens” who are experiencing, or are at risk of, social isolation and loneliness.

The consequence is that millions of people are suffering from declining physical and mental health. This adds stress to an already strained health and social care system. And there is a significant economic cost. For instance, the Jo Cox Commission states that loneliness costs UK employers £2.5 billion per year.

This was the backdrop for a workshop on digital innovation care hosted by the Urban Sustainable Development Lab in partnership with Apolitical on 8 October this year. Our guest speakers were Amalia Zepou, former Vice-Mayor for Civil Society in Athens (Greece) and Jonathan Hindley, Public Health Officer for Leeds City Council (UK).

Today, the massive strains that the pandemic has put on local government has created permission to reset and do things in a different way, and many look to digital platforms to do just that

They discussed the conditions necessary to achieve real impact using digital — an apt topic considering that both Amalia and Jon have pioneered digitally-enabled impact in their cities. This session also marks the completion of the ongoing trial of Care View, which is co-funded by the UK and European Space Agencies. Care View is our award-winning digital platform to help local governments re-engage socially isolated older residents.

[Listen to the discussion between Amalia and Jon after the workshop on Soundcloud or read the comic based on the discussion here.]

A loneliness epidemic: the context for digital innovation

Both Amalia and Jon stressed that in order to kick-start innovation in social care, you must first think of your target audience.

If, for instance, you are designing a new digital tool, you have to take the people who will be using it into account, for the simple reason that if people aren’t on board, even the best tool is unlikely to do more than collect dust.

Amalia founded synAthina, a social innovation platform to engage citizens in reforms, in 2013, as a common space to bring together and support citizens' groups to improve the quality of life in the city as a response to the fear and frustration that the 2008-09 financial crisis had fuelled.

Today, the massive strains that the pandemic has put on local government has created permission to reset and do things in a different way, and many look to digital platforms to do just that.

If you want to sustain innovation, you need to tell a story that is an interplay of different numbers: efficiency savings, connections created between different agencies, people impacted to name a few

Care view is one such example. It is a Progressive Web App that enables better collaboration between multi-agency frontline teams from Public Health, Police Community Support Officers, Fire and Rescue Services and the third sector, who use the app to gather city-wide signs of concern in the built environment. These signs of concern are based on the tacit knowledge of frontline workers. For instance, mail piling up, closed curtains and untidy gardens.

This GDPR compliant, geolocated information (gathered by the users via a ‘tap’ on the app) creates easy to read heat, secure maps. These heat maps are used to plan door knocking and leafleting. Care View also has a social prescribing feature that helps the frontline worker recommend local, non-clinical services to a resident. These could range from gardening and walking clubs to befriending services and arts activities.

Through our 12-month NHS funded trials, we found that Care View increased the probability of finding socially isolated residents and in the process helped the city council save several tens of thousands of pounds.

The value of numbers: sustaining innovation

Sustaining a digital platform past the initial prototype is challenging. It’s important to be aware of this before getting into any kind of digital innovation. As funders are impatient for scale and impact, if they do not perceive the funding as “money well spent” they are likely to pull the plug. An estimated (though not formally verified) 80 percent of technology projects in healthcare fail.

This is why numbers are vital.

Care View has been in operation for four years. Independent academic evaluation helped us tell the story of Care View with “forensic” clarity. This evidence, coupled with case studies, “the human component”, helped raise the consciousness of social isolation across the city. But even that’s just one side of the story. We also iteratively developed a transparent business model. This model clarifies how the platform is sustainable from a solutions perspective, for local government and also for the service provider (our Lab).

If you want to sustain innovation, you need to tell a story that is an interplay of different numbers: efficiency savings, connections created between different agencies, people impacted to name a few. This is vital to secure the interest and commitment from your key stakeholders.

An invitation: explore impact beyond the digital jargon

As Amalia correctly pointed out, it’s easy to get lost in the ever growing digital jargon, such as “platforms” and “co-design”. We need to take a step back and explore if the digital services we’re developing create better models of governance to address the challenges we are facing today.

At the Urban Sustainable Development Lab, we believe that technology should be a part of the solution, not the core of the solution. This is the basis of our digital platform Care View. As our current trial co-funded by the UK and European Space Agencies comes to a close, we are starting to plan our next round of Care View pilots in 2021.

We have heard from cities, national charities and researchers in the UK, Europe, South Korea and New Zealand. The team and I are amazed and inspired by the different use cases for Care View that we’re being asked to explore. There are many innovative approaches to tackle social isolation on the ground.

Are you interested in using Care View in your city? We can run fully-funded and part-funded pilots in three, six and nine month cycles. To start a conversation, please visit Care.vu or use this form to get in touch with us. We are accepting responses till December 10.

Thanks to Eddy Adams who expertly facilitated the workshop. To our speakers Amalia Zepou and Jon Hindely. And my colleagues Natalie Nellisen and Giulia Rancati for their contribution. And finally, a huge thanks to Helen at Apolitical. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner. — Abhay Adhikari

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(Picture credit: Unsplash)