DISCOVER

Project website/blog

http://www.discover4carers.eu/

What research questions the project addresses, aims & themes

DISCOVER aims to familiarise carers with digital technologies and embed them in their day-to-day lives to help transform the experience of those receiving care. The aim is to help carers find the information they need, and to make this more accessible. The project will develop online training resources to enhance the digital skills of both formal and informal learners.

How the research questions are addressed by the project (methodology and activity/environment)

The DISCOVER learning environment will be piloted in four testbeds across the EU, in Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. This will involve 400 family and paid carers who will each receive digital skills training to maximise the potential of digital technologies to support them in their caring role.

The work is divided into four stages:

Stage 1 - development of the DISCOVER web portal and learning environment as a ‘one stop resource’ for carers’ information and ICT skills development (April 2012 – May 2013)

Stage 2 – the pilot phase in which we will work with carers in four EU countries to test the effectiveness of different technologies to support the diverse needs of carers (June 2013 – June 2014)

Stage 3 - in conjunction with stages 1 and 2 is designed to increase the motivation for service providers to engage with DISCOVER (September 2013 – March 2015)

Stage 4 - in conjunction with stages 1 to 3 is designed to engage carers with DISCOVER, and particularly the learning environment (June 2013 – March 2015)

For more information see http://www.discover4carers.eu/?q=about_discover_project

The Open University's contribution to the project centres on the evaluation of the online training resources that are being developed by the partners in Spain, Greece and the Netherlands.

Findings and outputs

The project is in the early stages

Project impact

Expected benefits include improved digital skills, better communication and support for carers i.e. less isolation through the development of social networks, increased confidence and thus a better quality of life.

The benefits for those being cared for will include improvements in quality of care and levels of independent living.