DUCPs were developed in response to DU’s findings over the years whilst running basic IT literacy projects in social housing and it has been developed with older residents in sheltered housing environments in mind. We also welcome other housing communities - like Day Centres, Residential Homes and others.

DU (formerly Hairnet) has been delivering IT training to older residents in sheltered housing environments since the late 1990s. We were finding with these IT training projects that some residents struggled to find their natural IT rhythm, or an intuitive everyday use for their new skills: how do you continue to stoke the IT fires for a person who has no friends or family with email addresses, or who is shy of using them? Or one who has no great hobby to research on the Net, but who does like being able to use the computer as a new found hobby or skill? How do you prove that IT has the power to stimulate community when a resident has no interest in a virtual community he or she cannot relate to, but whose life is very strongly bound in and motivated by his or her immediate community – the every day life of the block of flats, group of houses or home in which they live?