No Isolation Social Impact Review

Evaluation of the social impact of No Isolation. No Isolation is a Norwegian company founded in 2015 to reduce isolation and loneliness by using technology (No Isolation, 2023). One of the products No Isolation created is the AV1 Robot (AV1) which aims to reduce school absences by supporting children who are unable to attend school to access education from home (No Isolation, 2023). AV1 is a telepresence robot that was designed by No Isolation specifically for children and young people who have long-term illnesses such as cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and many others (No Isolation, 2023). AV1 has a camera, a microphone and a speaker, and it sits in a pupil’s desk in their classroom while the pupil can be at their home, hospital, or might be in another room at school. This allows pupils to safely participate in class through their use of the AV1 (No Isolation, 2023).

This is a desk-based, with an extensive literature review and development of a Social Impact Measurement Framework. The overall aims of this evaluation are:
1) Conduct an extensive literature review to understand:
a. existing models and educational tools to help children stay connected with school, and how they compare to AV1 .
b. the reasons behind persistent school absences and how the AV1 can act to support Local Authorities, schools, and wider society by enabling pupils to remain in education.
2) Develop a Social Impact Measurement Framework that could be used to evaluate the overall impact of AV1, as well as to understand the monetised social impact of AV1 on wider society. The research team designed a Social Impact Framework with the existing quantitative data provided by No Isolation.

AV1 has the potential to help reduce isolation among pupils who are absent due to long-term illness and help reintegrate these pupils back into their schools.