Power Up Independent Evaluation: summary report
Power Up was launched in 2019 in the UK as a collaboration between Good Things Foundation and the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, this report details the impact of the first phase of the project.
96% of beneficiaries supported by Power Up reported gaining digital skills
67% of beneficiaries learned how to use online money saving tools
40% of beneficiaries can now budget more effectively
Power Up was an 18-month programme funded by J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation. The programme was delivered by Good Things Foundation working with 15 grantee organisations, each delivering their own projects, located in Bournemouth, East London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The programme aimed to help people seeking jobs or job progression (Jobs and Skills theme), those managing money on low incomes (Financial Health theme) and sole traders or owners of micro-businesses (Small Businesses theme) develop digital skills so that they could improve their lives, communities and businesses.The programme’s aims and approach to creating a step change in the way that support for individuals, businesses and communities is designed and delivered was expressed in its framework for local action: Powering Up People, Powering Up Provision, Powering Up Places.
The programme was implemented between 2019-2021. Its delivery largely coincided with the global COVID-19 pandemic. This report is a summary of an independent, external evaluation conducted by Chrysalis Research during the final 6 months of the programme.
Through this programme, and our partnership with J.P. Morgan, we set out to explore a landmark idea, achieve impact, and create a body of practice that could inform the design and commissioning of other economic programmes in a digital world.