• Health, disability and wellbeing
• Technology

Living Digitally: an evaluation of CleverCogs

Clever Cogs

CleverCogs™ is a digital care and support system designed to increase digital participation in adults receiving care and support packages and enable increased use of technology enabled care.

Just Economics was commissioned by Carnegie UK Trust to carry out a mixed methods study to measure changes in outcomes for customers before and after the introduction of the technology. The linked report sets out the key findings from the evaluation. The full evaluation report is available on request.

It is well understood that digital technology has radically changed how we live our lives, transforming how we work, learn, consume, communicate and think. Of course, digital technologies bring significant risks too, including implications for privacy, security, mental health, access to trustworthy news and information, and our ability to ‘switch off’ – and there is growing recognition that more needs to be done to tackle and mitigate these problems. Evaluation of the use and impacts of new technologies is therefore critical. 

In 2015, Blackwood Homes and Care -  a housing and care provider specialising in homes and care services for people with disabilities in Scotland - began the development and implementation of CleverCogs™ a bespoke digital care and support system. It aimed to improve quality of life and tackle digital exclusion amongst its customers, as well as transform its own social care practice. 

This evaluation, commissioned by Carnegie UK Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government is a mixed methods study that measures changes in outcomes for customers before and after the introduction of the technology. The study finds positive impacts on a range of outcomes including:

  • digital participation
  • meaningful use of time
  • subjective well-being
  • self-management of health

Other outcomes such as reduced social isolation, or enhanced telecare could not be assessed due to data limitations but baselines are available for future follow-ups. The evaluation, which is based on the SROI methodology, also quantifies the costs and benefits of the technology and discusses barriers and enablers to its implementation. Please get in touch if you would like a copy of the full evaluation.