Are you involved in a project that helps to empower and enhance the lives of homeless and vulnerable people through digital technology?

Lemos&Crane working with Thames Reach and the LankellyChase Foundation are currently accepting entries to the LankellyChase Digital Empowerment Awards.

A total of £2,500 prize money is offered for any UK projects which utilize the growing potential of digital technologies such as the internet, social media, apps and SMS for the improvement of the lives of homeless and vulnerable people. Projects will be celebrated for helping to give vulnerable people a voice, enhancing and expressing different people’s capabilities, facilitating peer-to-peer support and making services more personalised and enabling.

There are 5 award categories with a winner and runner-up for each category:

• VOICE – homeless and vulnerable people have new opportunities to express themselves and their experience ‘as citizens’ to reach a public audience and to challenge cultural stereotypes

• DIALOGUE – homeless and vulnerable people have new ways to communicate ‘as consumers’ with service providers, redressing the power imbalance between them, and providing feedback to inform and shape service development

• SUPPORT NEEDS – providing live information feeds, ‘nudging’ take up, and reminding homeless and vulnerable people of appointments for housing, health, employment and welfare services

• CAPABILITIES – improving skills in numeracy and literacy for employment and enterprise, offering volunteering opportunities, and providing information on mainstream / high-street services that make day-to-day life easier, cheaper and safer

• SOCIAL NETWORKS – homeless and vulnerable people have new opportunities for contact with family members, peer networking and support, and creating new opportunities for friendships through shared-interests and social activities for happiness, well-being and life-enrichment.

Entries are invited from UK non-profit organisations such as: 

Timetable 

• Deadline for entries – Friday, January 31st, 2014
• Shortlist announced – End of February 2014
• Winners announced – April 2014

Rules and procedures

1. Entries must be completed using this entry form and submitted electronically here
2. Receipt of all entries submitted online will be automatically acknowledged.
3. Entrants may be asked to provide further information.
4. The judges’ decision is final. Awards will be made at the judges’ discretion and no correspondence will be entered into concerning any decision.  Not all the awards advertised may be awarded if the judges consider the criteria have not been met.  Additional commendations may be made at the judges’ discretion.
5. The content of any entry may be used for informing other practitioners and also for publicity purposes unless the entrant withholds their consent to this in writing.
6. Entrants are deemed to have accepted these rules and procedures and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering this competition.

For more information on the awards and to enter click here.