News

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit a proposal and for their interest in building cyber resilience capacity in Scotland.

We received a high volume of applications towards the funding call and the variety and quality of outline proposals received was very encouraging.

We have now selected 16 proposals which we will be funding as a result of this call and which we hope will create a varied and effective programme of cyber resilience awareness activities reaching out to the target groups.

Below is a list of the successful proposals, with a short description of each project.

Delivery partner	Project name	Project description
University of the Highlands and Islands – Shetland	Digitally secure and resilient communities	The project aims to address the digital divide affecting those living in rural/and or remote communities and people with specific learning needs to become active participants in Scotland’s digital ecosystem UHI Shetland will develop and deliver bespoke courses and qualifications, which will be delivered through learning centres in Shetland.
Generation: You Employed, UK	Skills bootcamps to support underrepresented groups in into-life changing Cybersecurity careers in Scotland	Generation propose a train-and-place bootcamp supporting 20-25 learners facing barriers to employment to upskill into life-changing IT and cybersecurity opportunities in Scotland. It will target learners from ethnic minorities, people living in areas of social deprivation, people who speak English as a second language, and people with disabilities.
Red Chair Highland	Cyber Resilience Workshops	The project addresses cyber resilience, scam awareness, internet safety, and media literacy to bridge gaps in deprived and rural communities. Participants will attend workshops and also receive 1-1 support to address any specific issues people may be having with cyber resilience or their devices.
Digital Skills Education	Cyber Resilience Magazine for Scotland	The magazine will be written using language and tone accessible to all audiences, particularly older women, who are often underrepresented in technology guides and publications. Distribution will be focussed on local councils, retirement housing, age-exclusive housing, community groups, care homes, church groups, and senior citizen clubs, as well as through Police Scotland who will distribute the magazine as part of their own community engagement projects.
Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise	Cybersafe Community Stirling	This project aims to upskill the community groups and the CLD workforce in the third and public sector to increase their own cyber awareness and support them to feel more confident about speaking to the public on cyber resilience. The project will ensure that all target groups of the fund are reached through relevant community groups such as; community councils and development trusts in rural areas and areas experiencing deprivation, and charities supporting disabled people, people with a specific learning need, minority ethnic people and people for whom English is not their first language
KK Cyber Security Ltd	Increasing the cyber resilience of the Polish population in Scotland	Polish language is the fourth most commonly spoken language in Scotland, and Polish is the most common non-British nationality residing in Scotland. This project aims to address the cyber security knowledge gap created by the language barrier some Polish people might be experiencing, given the highly specialised vocabulary prevalent in the cyber security domain. The solution consists of at least 3 cyber resilience themed live events in the three cities with the largest Polish population: Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow. Video material on personal cyber security and resilience against online scams and attacks, as well as printed resources to be distributed in places popular with Polish communities will be provided to accompany and widen the reach of the project.
West Lothian College	CyberDrive: Developing cyber resilience in West Lothian regeneration areas	This project will support learners in the community where English is not their first language and those with additional support needs, delivering cyber resilience training through West Lothian College’s fully equipped CyberDrive mobile van. The project will be supported by a specialist in cyber security, with additional support from Support for Learning as required by the needs of the learners.
West Lothian College	CyberDrive: Introduction to Cyber Security and Resilience	In partnership with West Lothian Council, The Prince’s Trust and Donaldson’s School, West Lothian College will design and deliver tailored training that meets the needs of targeted learners. The 6-week course will provide an introduction into cyber security and strategies for cyber resilience for people who are disengaged from school education, the long term unemployed, and young people with additional learning needs.
Community Enterprise (via its Digital Division called Breeze Digital)	Cyber Resilience in Areas of Coalfield Deprivation	This proposal will deliver a range of virtual and face to face cyber resilience initiatives across the Scottish coalfields, with a particular focus on deprived areas in Fife and in East Ayrshire which have struggled most to address the impact of the demise of the deep coalmining industry. Not only will this cascade information and techniques into hard-to-reach areas but the project also aims to build a small group of coalfield digital ambassadors who will take simple cyber resilience information back into their communities.
Community Enterprise (via its Digital Division called Breeze Digital)	Cyber Rural Resilience	The Cyber Rural Resilience Project will consist of six events/workshops with advice on becoming cyber resilient for those who have no access to support due to their rurality, making Cyber Security Resources available on the Rural Hub to increase awareness and provide easy access to information. Community Enterprise will also work with Scottish Rural Action to present cyber resilience consultations at the next Scottish Rural Parliament held in Fort William in November 2023 It will deliver a social media campaign with partners while creating printed resources to distribute to rural village halls, ensuring dissemination of information to communities who have minimal information and limited broadband/phone signal.
LGBT Youth Scotland	Building cyber resilience through service access	LGBT Youth Scotland’s most recent annual survey found that 77% of participants were neurodivergent and 48% had a disability or chronic health condition. This project will work with LGBTQ+ young people to increase their awareness of cyber resilience, and the steps they should be taking to protect themselves online.
Scottish Union Learning	Digital Wellbeing for Workers: Building Cyber Resilience with Unions.	The project will work with unions, external partners, and employers to deliver a series of digital wellbeing and cyber security courses for workers across Scotland from September 2023 to end March 2024. The project will specifically target harder-to-reach workers including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and in low-paid jobs, those who do not have English as their first language; workers living in rural and/or remote communities, workers who have disabilities and/or have learning support needs, and workers from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Code Division	Refugee Cyber Skills Program	Working in partnership with industry and third sector organisations, Code Division will create a learner centred cyber skills program designed to support refugees into secure job roles. The program will be for 16 learners and will last 15 weeks. The program comprises of SQA PDA Qualification (Level 8) in Cyber Resilience as well as embedded core skills development in Communication, Collaboration, Critical and Creative thinking
Learning Link Scotland	Cyber Resilience in Adult Learning	This project aims to raise the capacity of third sector adult learning organisations to deliver cyber resilience training to adults from the funding target groups. LLS membership consists mostly of small, community-based organisations, many run by volunteers. Those small organisations often do not have the resources or skills to support learners’ cyber security. When those tutors have completed the training, LLS will support them to run a series of 3 workshops per organisation for adult learners using existing cyber resilience resources, either as standalone workshops or embedded in the organisation’s current delivery.
Central and West Integration Network SCIO	Internet Safety Project	Central and West Integration Network works to support asylum seekers, refugees and BME communities through services and projects including community learning, events, information and advice, and support for health and wellbeing. This project aims to enable those communities to recognise and manage cyber risks. CWIN will organise weekly computer classes to identify and reduce cyber risks and gain skills on safe ways to access information on the internet. CWIN will also organise monthly cyber resilience information and awareness workshops and will provide a weekly information and advice drop-in service available to all its community members.
Milan Senior Welfare Organisation	Cyber safe@Milan	Milan works with older people and unpaid carers from underrepresented and marginalised communities from South Asian origin. Milan will deliver workshops around cyber resilience in a variety of community languages to both above groups, and individuals via one to one support.