Repair and Re-use Research on Digital Platforms

Conclusions & recommendations

This report has presented a brief landscape review of selected digital platforms, directories and resources that exist in Wales, the UK and Internationally. Stakeholder consultation was also carried out to identify sectoral digital gaps and challenges.

The landscape review was used to inform the development of a list of digital options for future delivery and support needs of the re-use and repair sector in Wales. Ten delivery options were presented in Section 4, along with an initial assessment of effectiveness against social, cost, and operational aspects.

In conclusion, 10 options were identified for further consideration by WRAP and Welsh Government. To take this forward and further develop the scope and content of the options, the following recommendations for additional research have been made:

• Study into citizen motivations - It was flagged by the stakeholder consultation in this study, and in the market engagement work undertaken by Circular Communities Scotland, that the reasons why people do not engage in re-use are complex, and not necessarily linked to knowledge but could include other barriers to engagement. A study that investigates the motivation of citizens to participate in re-use and repair, including perceived barriers, could be beneficial for future engagement activity. This would help to provide an understanding as to which audience types do and do not use re-use and repair services, and how best to engage with these different segments.
• Commercialisation in the sector - The examples of digital resources identified in the landscape review cover solutions that are relevant at both the business and citizen levels, e.g., B2B or B2C. For example, software specifically for lending organisations to use and selling platforms for citizens to use. It is worth considering what a digital hub should provide. Is it about getting consumers more involved in re-use and repair or supporting organisations to grow and expand their services to do the same? Perhaps both aspects are important. The extent to which greater commercialisation of the sector is desirable and feasible could also be explored further with the stakeholder working group and the wider sector.
• Detailed cost assessment - A high level landscape review and cost assessment was undertaken. A more detailed cost assessment is recommended for the preferred options, as well as a review covering how each one might be delivered and by which organisations.
• Detailed options assessment - A high level qualitative assessment of options was carried out based on five identified criteria. A more detailed options assessment process could be undertaken alongside the recommended cost assessment. This would allow the assessment criteria to be modelled and explored in more detail and for a weighted options assessment to be undertaken to test alignment with all stakeholder priorities. This would also include consideration of how to measure the beneficial impacts of increased participation in re-use and repair from a cost, environmental and social perspective.
• Use of social media at community level - Facebook and other social media platforms were not searched extensively for this project due to the time involved. Such a review would need to identify and potentially become a member of many local groups to find out more about how the digital platforms are really being used. A longer study could investigate the use and potential of these platforms in more detail, e.g., through focussing on selected projects and initiatives as case studies.