Informal digital support: a vital link in digital inclusion

Alongside the many associations, digital public spaces and on the field actors that support residents, another form of assistance — more discreet but just as crucial — helps to ensure digital access on a daily basis: informal support from friends and family. The European DHAK project under the ESPON programme, carried out in the City of Brussels and Bordeaux Métropole, highlights just how important this is. 

A city that is open and supportive

A widespread yet invisible reality

The study shows that informal help constitutes an essential layer of support, complementing the formal mechanisms already in place in the City of Brussels. When a process gets stuck – a lost password, a document to be sent, identity verification, or access to an administrative portal – it is often relatives, neighbours or colleagues who step in within minutes. This analysis, conducted simultaneously across the City of Brussels and Bordeaux Métropole, reveals that these everyday acts prevent many people from losing access to essential services, despite the growing complexity of online procedures.

Ten key lessons on digital helpers

  • An invisible pillar: Informal help steps in immediately when someone hits a digital roadblock, preventing minor difficulties from cutting off access to services.
  • Beyond the technical: what matters is understanding the procedures, not IT expertise.
  • Intergenerational support: it flows through bonds of trust, availability and experience—not age.
  • The role of education: helpers are often more familiar with administrative procedures.
  • Trust as a driving force: we help because we feel we have a right to do so, not because we are experts.
  • Reactive support: it is provided mainly in emergencies, without always building lasting independence.
  • The “go-to person” effect: some carers become central points of support within their social circle.
  • Two styles of support: “doing things for them” can create dependency; “accompanying” helps to establish guidelines and routines. 
  • An invisible burden: stress, responsibility, lack of time and handling sensitive information are all part of this day-to-day support.
  • A strategic challenge: digital inclusion also depends on the ability of institutions to reduce unnecessary friction and make pathways clearer.

A key challenge for Brussels: making digital technology simpler and fairer

For the City of Brussels, the lessons from DHAK confirm an approach already enshrined in its Charter of Digital Rights: making digital technology an accessible, understandable and freely chosen tool, rather than a factor of exclusion. The Charter specifically aims to gain a better understanding of the digital divide, strengthen access points and support services, develop training programmes, maintain multiple channels of contact with the City, and raise awareness of online safety and the protection of personal data.

In this context, DHAK represents a concrete opportunity: to better recognise the role of informal helpers, to better link up the schemes already in place across the region, and to continue simplifying online procedures. The report shows that, in a complex institutional and linguistic context such as that of Brussels, informal help can become concentrated on a limited number of individuals who are under considerable strain. Making services more accessible and intuitive is therefore both a matter of fairness for residents and a means of improving public service delivery.

 

Photos: © Unsplash

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