Leela Damodaran

Leela Damodaran is Emeritus Professor of Digital Inclusion and Participation at Loughborough University. She is also an independent policy advisor working with government departments, local government, commercial companies, and other key stakeholder groups.
 
Leela’s expertise is in the behavioural aspects and human use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), planning of change and transition, strategies for social and digital inclusion, citizen engagement and participation. This expertise has informed policy, strategy and design decisions relating to a whole host of ICT products, systems and services.
 
Leela also has a particular interest in informing and facilitating the dialogue between older people, the research community and business to provide better ICT-enriched living environments for older people. The research conducted on the Sus-IT project has demonstrated the needs of older ICT users and Leela recognises that only by meeting real user needs can relevant technologies be designed and introduced with high levels of adoption.
 
To promote the successful digital participation of older people, Leela also works with communities and grass-roots organisations such as the East Midlands Later Life Forum and the South East England Forum on Ageing (SEEFA)’s Action Group on Technology and Ageing.
 
Recent publications include an evidence review commissioned by the Government Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser, at the Business, Innovation and Skills Department: How are attitudes and behaviours to the ageing process changing in light of new media and new technology? How might these continue to evolve by 2025 and 2040? (for Foresight, 2015) and a paper published in the International Journal on Advances in Internet Technology 2015: Digital Inclusion – The Vision, the Challenges and the Way Forward.