Digital Health and Social Care roundup 2025
- Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
- Type: News Item
- Published: 21st December 2025
The Digital Health and Social Care Programme has continued to drive transformational change across the sector.
This year, the Digital Health and Social Care programme delivered a range of impactful activities that strengthened digital inclusion, promoted human rights in digital services, and amplified the voices of people shaping Scotland’s digital health landscape.
Digital Links Project
The one-year Digital Links pilot supported 103 people to overcome barriers to digital inclusion and gain the skills and confidence needed to use digital health and social care tools – and to participate more fully as active citizens.
Delivered in partnership with the Community Links Programme, 27 Community Links Workers helped address digital exclusion, recognising it as both a cause and consequence of poverty and inequality.
A key legacy is the Glasgow Digital Inclusion Peer Network, now bringing together 21 organisations as a solution-focused working group.
Learning, achievements and ambitions for scaling the project are captured in the Digital Learning Series paper Discover Digital: Supporting Digital Inclusion in Primary Care.
Discover Digital
Discover Digital continues to help people navigate digital health and social care and to make digital tools more accessible.
This year the project delivered:
- Eight roadshows showcasing digital tools and services across community events
- Tailored workshops with six organisations
Digital Health and Social Care Human Rights Principles
This year we revisited and revised the Human Rights Principles for digital health and social care. We reviewed learning from five years of programme activity, published in the Digital Learning Series paper Benefits and outcomes of digital in the context of health and social care.
Through engagement sessions and workshops, we gathered insights and used them to reshape the principles. We also produced two supporting guides:
- An introductory guide for people or professionals with no prior knowledge
- A comprehensive guide for professionals designing or delivering digital health and social care services
In October, we launched the revised, co-produced principles at our in-person event DiGiTal Get Together: How to stay human rights focussed in a digital Scotland.
Digital Citizen Panel (DCP)
The DCP now supports 175 members to take part in engagement activities that influence digital policy and design, including work on NHS Inform.
Membership has become more diverse this year, and members have gained confidence – many contributing to local and national events such as the Digital Health and Care Conference (Feb 2025), the ALLIANCE Annual Conference (May 2025), and the People’s AI Panel on Health & Care (Aug 2025).
The DCP also hosts a monthly Conversation Café, which brings together 10–15 members for informal learning and discussion.
End of page.
You may also like:
Gordon Moody is running free pilot residential programmes in Scotland for people experiencing gambling harm between February and April.
Continue readingGlobal Intergenerational Congress in Glasgow (29 September-1 October 2026) exploring research, practice and learning across generations.
Continue readingDrop in sessions for senior leaders in social work and social care to learn more about the Leading for the Future leadership programme.
Continue readingEvery Tuesday the Discover Digital team at the ALLIANCE shares a free and trusted digital tool that supports health and wellbeing.
Continue readingThe 'joint statement on prevention' partners have issued a follow-up ahead of the 2026-27 Scottish Budget.
Continue readingReflections from ALLIANCE Lived Experience group members about their role in contributing to the Women’s Health Plan.
Continue readingScottish Government accepts ALLIANCE call for voting rights for lived experience, unpaid carer and third sector representatives.
Continue readingALLIANCE supports the launch of a new DEAP report sharing learning on meaningful lived experience involvement in mental health policy.
Continue readingOver the year, we have delivered a series of engagement activities with our partners that centre voices of people with lived experience.
Continue readingIn 2025, the Person Centred Voices programme engaged with 9.000 people at over 200 events, to embrace kindness in care.
Continue readingIn 2025, the networks have continued to information share and connect people with experience of heart disease and Long Covid.
Continue readingThe Academy has continued to advocate for long term, meaningful and sustainable change.
Continue readingThe programme continues to raise awareness of how Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) can support children and their families.
Continue readingIn 2025, we have continued to build and strengthen relationships within the third sector and promoted integrated ways of working.
Continue readingIn 2025, the Community Links Worker Programme continued to support people facing challenges such as isolation, poverty and debt.
Continue readingThe Self Management Programme continued to drive the uptake of self management practices in community and health settings.
Continue readingIn 2025, the Scottish Sensory Hub has launched a major campaign on inclusive communication, contributed to consultations, and more.
Continue readingThe Women’s Health Plan Programme continues to represent lived experience priorities in policy development on women’s health.
Continue readingHumans of Scotland continues to champion the voices of disabled people, people living with long term conditions, and carers.
Continue readingIn 2025, the Policy team played a key role in shaping national decision-making and influencing human rights and social security policy.
Continue readingALISS continues to help people find and share information about community assets and services that can support health and wellbeing.
Continue readingThroughout 2025 the membership team has supported members to share their views and experiences and work together to shape change.
Continue readingRegister now to join Scotland's Disability Summit, taking place on 21 February 2026.
Continue readingEvent calls for human rights to be a priority ahead of the Scottish Parliament Elections in 2026.
Continue readingNES are calling for interviewees from minority ethnic backgrounds to help refresh their 'Informed about Dementia' learning resources.
Continue reading