We see sustainability as a mindset in digital equity community work, where the focus is on building long-term habits, skills, and practices that empower communities to keep using digital tools effectively. It’s about fostering a culture of continuous learning, adaptability, and resilience, so the benefits of digital access and inclusion remain strong even after specific projects have finished.
What does meaningful digital inclusion mean at the INCLUDE+?
The sustainability of your project depends on making sure it is meaningful and valuable to everyone involved, and on working collaboratively with them throughout its design and implementation. In an environment marked by high precarity and uncertainty, it is crucial to develop projects that are not exploitative or extractive, but instead are structurally equitable and do not rely on unseen or invisible labour. By co-designing projects with organisations and communities, they have a stronger foundation for sustainability.
Example: In practice, sustainability could mean setting up community-led digital hubs that continue to operate after the project ends. These hubs could be maintained by local volunteers who have been trained during the project, ensuring ongoing skill development, digital access, and community engagement without the need for continuous external funding.
We also understand sustainability in relation to resources and capacity. Some of the projects we have supported only use recycled and repurposed technologies to explore issues within their communities, while others have designed slower projects to ensure everyone can work at the same pace. We also recognise that work done in situ, within the communities and contexts it is designed for, is important.
Sustainability: examples of critical questions for you to consider for your IN+ Project.
| Sustainability across IN+ Projects | Questions |
| Building long-term impact | How can the project foster habits, skills, and practices that will enable communities to continue engaging with digital equity-related topics or tools effectively after the project ends? |
| Equity and collaboration | In what ways can the project be co-designed with local organisations and community members to ensure it is structurally equitable and avoids placing unseen or invisible labour demands on participants? |
| Resource managment | Can the project make use of recycled or repurposed technologies, or adopt slower, more deliberate approaches to ensure all participants can work at a comfortable pace and capacity? |
| Community-led sustainabailty | How can the project empower community members to take ownership of activities (e.g., through training, shared resources, or volunteer-led initiatives) to sustain digital engagement and skills development beyond the project’s lifespan? |
Examples of diversity from our IN+ funded projects
Our IN+ART Project Digital Equity + Sustainability Climate Rituals in Miami examined how communities can use digital tools to process collective grief over climate change. In their context, Sustainability (IN+ Principle) was interpreted "through the lens of ecofeminism and environmental justice to incorporate social justice principles into an exploration of intergenerational adaptations".
Focusing on communities disproportionately affected by environmental injustice, the project used digital rituals to foster collective care and resilience. IN+ART’s participants in Miami discussed the digital exclusion many faced in accessing reliable climate information, particularly in marginalised communities. The project highlighted the need for digital infrastructure that supports climate justice and addresses the emotional and social dimensions of environmental degradation. It also suggested that digital platforms should be reoriented to prioritise sustainability and collective care rather than profit-driven content.
