Vulnerable children, ICT, Digital gap, Education, Social work, Evaluation, Social innovation

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in Czechia resulted in widening a digital gap (also known as digital divide) in the case of vulnerable children and their families, who did not have Internet access or devices through which children could engage in online learning. According to recent research, vulnerable children are one of the groups most at risk of digital exclusion. In light of this, in collaboration with social services, the researchers introduced a social innovation – the use of ICT in social work interventions. As part of this, 24 families and their 13 social workers were provided with 37 tablets with Internet access. The experimental validation lasted 20 months and still continues. Data to evaluate the impact of the implemented social innovation on the target group of vulnerable children were collected in two phases (after 6 and 18 months). The objective of the impact evaluation was to find out how the social innovation based on the support of digital education influenced the development of digital skills of vulnerable children and their families. The secondary objective was to find out what impact it had on the formation of a digital gap. The research results showed that the implemented social innovation contributed to mitigating e-exclusion, but at the same time emphasized the topic of e-risks and the need to strengthen digital skills, of vulnerable children and their families and others, but it also brought the need for specialized courses supporting ICT use in social work interventions.