Activating community-led digital skills

Sections of this guide

1. Community-building fundamentals: provides core principles for community building that you can apply to your learning and development community
2. Frameworks for recognition and motivation: shares key considerations for building a recognition programme alongside your community to support motivation for digital skills development, with examples from HE and FE
3. Impact of peer learning and support: explores how the impact of digital skills communities can be understood and evidenced in meaningful ways, including collecting stories
4. Fostering an organisational culture for digital development: provides ideas of how leaders can be involved with digital skills development, and the culture needed to support digital skills development at scale

Community-building fundamentals

Communities can provide a scalable and authentic way to develop skills and address common educational challenges.

An effective learning/development community facilitates an environment to:

• identify champions and encourage the sharing of skills
• help peers to problem-solve collaboratively
• operate as a forum for questions and knowledge exchange
• identify key areas where learning and development may be required, and be an engaged distribution channel for those opportunities

There are common approaches you can take to drive community success, a number of which we will share in this guide. However, it is important to remember that each community is unique, and as such, the needs and expectations of its members will vary.

A key part of developing a successful community is to identify its core purpose and clear objectives. This will depend on your organisational goals, skills profile, structure, and the target audience you are hoping to engage.

It is also important to recognise that the community’s needs and how you deliver on those needs will not remain static. As a lead or facilitator, you will need to review and adjust your objectives throughout the community’s life cycle.

We advocate an approach of starting small, gathering data, learning and iterating – aligned with the minimum viable community (MVC) approach outlined by Rosie Sherry.

“Maintaining a wide community can be difficult, so starting small and having specific areas of focus can help this to grow."

-Louise Woodhouse, head of digital education, Weston College

Community building foundations e-learning module

To help you start your journey and refresh your approach, we have developed an e-learning module for community builders, with sections on:

• community strategy
• platform
• tactics and engagement
• roles and responsibilities
• community events
• community content

Frameworks for recognition and motivation

Recognition and motivation can be central to the success of sustainable digital skills development. Whilst access to tools and training can provide a useful foundation, these factors alone are often insufficient to maintaining longer-term engagement.

Colleagues are more likely to invest time, energy and creativity into developing their digital practice when their efforts are acknowledged, valued and meaningfully recognised, both by peers and by the institution.

Across the sector, digital skills development can often take place informally: through conversations with colleagues, experimentation, peer support and participation in communities of practice.

Much of this learning remains unseen and unrewarded, particularly where professional development models focus narrowly on attendance, completion or compliance. Findings from our annual digital experience insights highlight this as a persistent challenge across both higher and further education, with many staff reporting that recognition and reward for developing digital skills remain limited at best.

As expectations around digital practice continue to increase, this lack of visibility and encouragement can impact greatly on staff motivation and confidence.

“It’s important that the time invested by staff to develop their skills is fully acknowledged and supported by the institution. In an ever-shifting digital landscape, we should strive to nurture a culture of curiosity and continuous professional learning.”

-Chris Melia, collaborative and digital practice lead, University of Lancashire

Adopting a ‘community‑led’ approach reframes recognition as developmental rather than transactional. Instead of positioning recognition solely as a ‘reward’ at the end of a process, it becomes part of the learning journey itself. Structured pathways, milestones and opportunities for reflection help colleagues to see progress over time, build confidence and sustain engagement. Crucially, these models recognise not only individual capability, but also the social dimensions of digital practice, such as collaboration, influence, mentoring and shared problem‑solving.

Embedding our sector developed digital capabilities framework within recognition pathways strengthens this approach. The framework provides a shared, sector‑recognised language for digital capability, encompassing not only technical skills but also communication, collaboration, digital wellbeing, creativity, data literacy and professional identity. When recognition pathways are aligned to the framework, they help colleagues understand what they are developing and why it matters, whilst avoiding overly narrow or tool‑driven interpretations of digital skills.

“Embedding the Jisc digital capabilities framework provides a clear and consistent structure for staff digital development. It enables personalised learning pathways, enhances organisational digital efficiency, and simplifies the process of monitoring and evaluating - ultimately celebrating digital progress across the institution."

-Patrick Turner, IT systems trainer, Leeds Trinity University

There is no single model for designing recognition pathways, and institutions may adopt different approaches depending on their context, culture and strategic priorities.

One key decision is whether to define pathways as role specific (eg academic, professional services), or to be flexible across any/all role types in the institution. Some considerations for each of these are listed below.

Role‑specific pathways

• Use role‑relevant examples, tools and expectations
• Can feel more relevant and immediately applicable
• Risk of reinforcing silos if pathways are too narrowly defined

Non-role-specific pathways

• Designed to work across all role types – with shared language and capabilities
• Helps foster a sense of shared responsibility for digital capability
• May not feel as relatable – leading to lower staff engagement

Many institutions adopt hybrid approaches, combining a shared recognition structure with flexibility in how evidence is generated and presented. For example, some institutions will implement a shared set of digital capability badges or criteria, while allowing teams or departments to choose the types of activities, artefacts, or reflections that best demonstrate their practice. This gives staff a clear framework to follow, but the autonomy to share their learning in ways that feel authentic and relevant to their role.

Examples of tiered development recognition frameworks

University of Lancashire: DigiLearn programme

A tiered model can work effectively across both role‑specific and non-role-specific approaches.

In 2018, the University of Lancashire established their non-role-specific ‘DigiLearn’ framework, consisting of three progressive levels of recognition – each with a corresponding descriptor, emphasising a transition from initial self-development (Practitioner), through to wider impact and influence (Advocate/Champion).

• Practitioner: focuses on developing confident, inclusive digital practice. Evidence may differ by role (eg teaching design, service processes, collaboration tools), but alignment to shared capability areas ensures consistency and clarity
• Advocate: recognises colleagues who support others through sharing practice and encouraging peer development. This level works particularly well across roles, as advocacy is often transferable across teams and disciplines
• Champion: acknowledges sustained impact and contribution to digital culture. A professional dialogue and portfolio‑based approach allows individuals to demonstrate evidence in ways that are meaningful within their context, while remaining aligned to the programme framework and values

Following the university's lead, other FE and HE institutions have developed frameworks which adopt a similar ‘tiered’ approach to DigiLearn. In each of these examples, the model has been adapted and re-contextualised to focus on local strategy and key priorities.

A copy of the 2026 DigiLearn framework has been shared below providing a practical template and inspiration for how the programme works in practice.

Download the DigiLearn framework (pdf).

DN Colleges Group: DN digital skills programme

The DN Digital Skills Community was established to address the growing need for digital skills among staff. It began as a response to feedback from colleagues who wanted more peer support, practical resources, and recognition for their digital learning. The community was formed through initial workshops and discussions, leading to a structured approach with regular activities and a digital badge system.

Phil Whitehead, director - digital, academic and customer services, DN Colleges, shared three key things he’s learned from setting up the programme:

• Recognition matters: the digital badge scheme motivates participants by providing tangible recognition for learning and sharing
• Peer support is powerful: Engagement increases when staff see colleagues leading sessions and sharing real experiences
• Keep it simple: easy sign-up processes and clear communication help lower barriers to participation

Download the framework for how to gain badges in the DN Digital Skills programme (pdf).

Embedding your own framework

Using a common structure across levels helps colleagues understand progression, while flexible evidence models ensure recognition remains relevant and motivating.

Within a broader digital capability strategy, recognition acts as a catalyst. When aligned to sector insights and designed to support both individual and collective development, recognition signals that digital skills development is valued, supported and embedded within professional practice. This guide positions recognition and motivation as mutually reinforcing, helping institutions address recognised sector gaps and create cultures where digital capability is visible, celebrated and collectively owned.

Our project working group highlighted a strong emphasis on the role of digital badges and physical lanyards as powerful motivators within digital skills programmes.

Contributors explained that these visible markers of progress help colleagues understand the levels of development within a programme and provide a tangible sense of achievement. Staff respond well to recognition systems that make progress visible, whether through badges, awards or peer‑focused platforms such as colleague spotlights.

Below is a short checklist of things that can help to make your recognition programme relevant and effective.

Checklist for recognition and motivation

• Use visible recognition tools: digital badges to represent levels of development and evidence achievement. Physical lanyards and pin badges to spark conversations, demonstrate programme participation, and introduce friendly competition between colleagues
• Highlight time‑saving benefits: demonstrate how digital skills can save time and streamline tasks. Acknowledge that time can also be a barrier and design support to fit around workload
• Recognise achievements publicly: use awards, spotlights, and shout‑outs to maintain momentum. Celebrate achievements at all levels to encourage ongoing participation.
• Make digital skills meaningful and relevant: connect development to real tasks, teaching practice, or everyday digital workflows
• Address localised needs: demonstrate how digital support can solve specific departmental or role‑based problems
• Celebrate small journeys: recognise incremental progress, not just advanced technical accomplishments
• Narrow the focus to avoid overwhelm: try to limit the scope to key digital tools or practices rather than ‘everything digital'

Impact of peer learning and support

Some of the most valuable learning happens when colleagues share experience, ask questions, and support one another as they try new digital approaches. This kind of learning matters, but its impact is not always easy to measure.

Measuring impact

This section explores how the impact of digital skills communities can be understood and evidenced in meaningful ways. It focuses on how organisations can clarify what success looks like for a community, understand engagement and meaningful participation, and gather feedback that reflects real member experience. It also considers how insights from communities can inform services, priorities, and wider strategy.

Collecting stories from our communities

Use impact stories alongside other data to evidence change in your community. Stories help you move beyond activity and show what has changed, for whom, and why it matters.

Start with a simple and structured approach. Guided prompts can help contributors reflect on their experiences. Use clear “building block” questions to shape responses:

1. What brought the person to the community?
2. What wasn’t working before?
3. How did the community help?
4. What changed for them and for others?
5. What have they done since?

Use more than one approach for maximum impact

One approach that is easy to scale and can generate useful insights is to distribute an online form and ask members to complete it. However, response rates may be low if you rely on a form alone. In our experience, sharing a form widely resulted in only a small number of responses, even where community engagement was strong.

To gather richer stories, collect them where people are already engaged. Build story capture into existing activity such as workshops, community events or focus groups. These settings give you a more active audience and allow you to prompt reflection in the moment. You can also use short interviews, facilitated discussions or informal conversations to explore experiences in more depth.

Audio and video formats can be particularly effective. For example, we captured detailed stories by interviewing community champions as part of a podcast series at Digifest. These approaches often produce more natural, reflective responses than written submissions alone.

You can also embed story collection into regular community activity. Ask participants what they will do differently at the end of a session, or follow up with active contributors to track change over time.

Combine stories with other forms of evidence, such as participation data and examples of practice change, to build a fuller picture of impact.

For more detail on structuring and writing impact stories, see our blog post: What makes a powerful impact story?

Fostering an organisational culture for digital development

This section explores how organisations can create the conditions for community-led digital skills development, where stakeholders learn with and from each other. It considers the role of senior leaders in championing digital capability, both in their own practice and across their teams.

It covers:

• why digital capability development should be approached holistically
• how a digital mindset supports participation in shared learning
• practical things that leaders can do to foster a culture for digital skills development
• how to engage stakeholders is creating a culture of digital development
• how the Jisc discovery tool and digital capability framework can be used as part of the approach

A holistic approach to digital skills development

Digital skills and capability are a growing priority for many organisations. As technologies such as AI become increasingly embedded in everyday work and life, it is essential to keep people at the centre of these changes and recognise that digital transformation is, ultimately, people centric and that digital skills underpins the use of these technologies.

Digital capability and skills development is about more than offering more training courses or introducing more technologies. It is about creating the conditions in which people can continually learn, reflect, apply and share digital practice together. At Jisc, we define digital capabilities as the skills needed to equip people to live, learn and work in a digital society.

Digital capability is not just the ability to use tools, but to make informed decisions about when and how to use them effectively, safely and appropriately in context.

When considered at an organisational level, this requires a holistic approach, with senior leaders and managers driving the digital mindset and enabling ongoing, community-led learning.

Importance of senior leaders and managers

Organisational leaders and management play a crucial role and contribute towards digital skills development within an organisation by:

• setting a clear direction and ensuring digital skills are embedded across organisational strategies and initiatives for both staff and students
• supporting approaches to embedding digital capability within the student curriculum
• enabling staff to develop their skills by providing time, support and a safe environment for learning
• recognising and rewarding digital skills development
• providing teaching staff with guidance on how to embed digital capability in pedagogically appropriate ways
• removing barriers to staff digital skills development, such as limited time and lack of access to technology
• embedding expectations for digital capability within role profiles and development processes

A supportive management culture helps create an environment that is open to experimentation and visibly values learning. In a community-led approach, this includes supporting networks, champions and peer-led activity, not just formal provision.

A digital mindset

A key role of senior leaders is to adopt and encouraging a digital mindset. This is about being open, curious and willing to learn in a continuous changing environment. It’s less about technical expertise and more about confidence, adaptability and participation.

Individuals can develop a digital mindset by being open to trying new tools, reflecting on what works well, and learning from others. Small, practical steps taken regularly can build confidence over time and help digital approaches feel useful, relevant and manageable in everyday work.

Organisations can support this by creating spaces where people can build confidence, understand that mistakes are part of the process, and know where to find support – as demonstrated in the case-studies contained in this guide.

Top tips for senior leaders to promote a digital first approach

Because senior leaders play such a vital role in shaping an organisation’s approach to digital development, their support can make a real difference.

Here are some practical, user-friendly ways they can help build confidence, encourage progress, and create a more digital-first culture.

• Attend training sessions, showcases, communities of practice and ‘show-and-tell’ sessions as a participant, not just an advocate
• Before initialising new technologies or systems, explore and ask for evidence of the digital confidence of the staff: Do they have what they need in terms of skills?
• Adopt digital first approaches in everyday work with staff
• Support and resource the creation of digital communities for sharing of knowledge and best practices
• Actively encourage and allow time for staff to develop skills
• Reward and incentivise digital skills development through digital badges, case studies and making digital skills development part of your staff’s work
• Embed digital skills development and opportunities to learn in organisational processes such as appraisals, digital strategies and core organisational processes
• Establish a organisational steering group that links digital capability to strategy, team planning and digital transformation
• Appoint and support ‘digital champions’ or ‘super users’ in local areas with defined time allocation and a support network

Engaging senior leaders

Engaging senior leaders is most effective when digital capability is connected to organisational priorities and embedded into existing ways of working, rather than positioned as a standalone initiative.

At Leeds Trinity University, Patrick Turner describes how embedding digital capability into core processes helped secure engagement:

“For me the key was embedding it into how the organisation already works… integrating elements into inductions, appraisals and development processes.”

He also highlights that:

“Senior leaders didn’t need constant updates… what they wanted was reassurance that the work was addressing the real operational challenges.”

This reflects the importance of focusing on impact and relevance, rather than activity alone.

Similarly, Professor Jane Mooney, University of Manchester, speaking on our Beyond the technology podcast, emphasises the importance of building alliances and embedding digital capability across multiple touchpoints:

“Knowing your allies is absolutely critical… senior buy-in but also your willing collaborators who are ready to try things out and build the evidence around it.”

“I think also once you've started, identifying as many places as possible to embed and keep it part of the conversation. So, right from the start of the role I was thinking about student and staff journeys and thinking through what are the touch points, what are the processes, where's the paperwork where we can include reference, and support for digital capability?”

These examples illustrate that engagement is ongoing and relational. It depends on alignment, visibility and shared ownership, rather than one-off advocacy.

In practice, this means:

• aligning digital capability with organisational priorities
• embedding it into existing processes such as induction and appraisal
• making community activity visible through showcases and case studies
• enabling leaders to participate, not just sponsor

Listen to more about Patrick’s experience in Digifest Community Hub 2026: Leadership, Strategy and Community, and Jane’s Beyond the Technology: digital transformation and lasting change at the University of Manchester.

Using the digital capabilities discovery tool

Our digital capabilities discovery tool supports both individual reflection and organisational insight. It uses reflective, real‑world questions aligned to our digital capabilities framework to help users identify strengths and areas for development. Users receive a personalised report with suggested next steps and resources. At organisational level, anonymised dashboards showing patterns of capability and confidence, supporting targeted planning and investment.

Using the data to leverage insights on digital capability

In a podcast interview, Elpiniki Smith, senior learning technologist, University Academy 92, describes how the data from the discovery tool enabled her to create targeted digital skills support:

“It gives you a good breakdown of what skills are lacking in certain departments, both for staff and for students... So, I can create specific resources to target specific areas as opposed to trying to do everything for everyone...”

Alicia Owen, senior digital education specialist, Manchester Metropolitan University, discussed how it enables continual development to support a digital mindset:

“We've been able to use it to sense check that we're on the right track. For example, our AI guidance for staff and students, we've been able to use the data from the question set, to check that it all makes sense and that things are moving in the right direction.”

These insights can be used to support community-led approaches by identifying shared needs within teams, informing the focus of communities of practice, supporting digital champions in targeting their activity and providing evidence to guide investment and decision-making.

Leaders can use the tool to:

• create a shared language around digital capability,
• target support where it is most needed
• support development conversation
• evaluate progress over time
• evidence for TEF: use the anonymised aggregated data to provide evidence to TEF statements. The recently published Building an evidence base for the Teaching Excellence Framework guide shows how institutions can use the tool to support this.

Summary

Building digital capability at scale is a leadership task that requires clear direction, consistent expectations, time and resourcing, and a culture that makes learning normal. Start small but be systematic: choose priority practices, create visible momentum, and use feedback loops to improve. Tools like our discovery tool can provide a strong foundation for self-reflection and organisational insight, but they deliver most value when combined with pathways, coaching, communities and supportive management.

Further information

• For more ideas and inspiration about community building visit our community blog
• Join a community group to expand your network and exchange insights with like-minded professionals
• You can find further resources relating to community management on Rosie Sherry’s website Rosieland