Thank You to the National Records of Scotland

National Records of Scotland carry out Scotland’s Census, the official count of every person and household in Scotland.

Back in November we were excited to hear many of the Chromebooks and smartphones that had been used ‘in the field’ were being donated to Scottish charities.  

We successfully applied for two laptops for our volunteers to use and last week were pleased to pick up our new - to us - kit. The laptops will be used in our office by volunteers and interns, to test our website with a focus on digital accessibility and when out and about introducing Euan’s Guide, especially at events with partner organisations and to groups of potential volunteers and users. 

We were really pleased that the application process looked at longer-term sustainability and what we would do with the devices when we no longer needed them... Our headquarters are based in the technology hub, CodeBase, in Edinburgh, and CodeBase have partnered with an organisation called Remakery who take obsolete tech and refurbish / recycle it. We've already donated obsolete tech to Remakery on this basis and will be doing this with the Chromebooks when they are no longer of use to us. 

More than 400 Chromebooks and 130 mobile phones have been donated to a wide range of voluntary and charitable organisations across Scotland by National Records of Scotland as part of the legacy of Scotland’s Census 2022. 

Linda Sinclair, Director of Corporate Services at National Records of Scotland, said:  

“We are pleased to be able to donate this equipment to well deserving voluntary and charitable organisations, particularly at a time of rising costs for everyone. It is important that where we can, we support the reuse of equipment for wider benefit and a more sustainable impact.

“We received a huge number of applications and I am sure all those organisations receiving the equipment will make good use of it.”

We can't wait to get started!

Tags: technology, disabled access, volunteers, interns