Response from the Inclusive Digital Economy Network to HM Government Delivering Digital Inclusion: A

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Response from the Inclusive Digital Economy
Networkto HM Government Delivering Digital
InclusionAn Action Plan for consultation
Leela Damodaran Loughborough University
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The Government consultation

• Consultation was announced on 24th October 2008
  and ran until 19th January 2009
• Large document six chapters (84 pages)
• Definition of inclusion, principles to promote it
  and proposed actions
• 21 Questions inviting responses

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Contents of the action plan

• Why is digital inclusion important?
• Direct benefits who is missing out and why?
• Indirect benefits realising the opportunities
• Action for digital inclusion
• Next steps and consultation for a shared vision

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Our Response

• Warmly welcomed the Action Plan
• Refined the definition of digital inclusion
• Synopsis of comments
• Suggested additional actions
• Identified critical omissions

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Digital Inclusion our definition

• Digital inclusion is the best use as defined
  by individual citizens or a local community of
  digital technologies to improve lives and life
  chances and the places in which people live

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Synopsis of comments

• Problems are well scoped solutions less so
• Little reference to the wealth of existing
  research and knowledge
• Access to the Internet is necessary but not
  sufficient to deliver Digital Inclusion
  capacity building is essential
• Participation is fundamental to inclusion but
  barely mentioned

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Suggested additional actions

• Promote active participation of all stakeholders
  including individuals, communities, local
  government, policy makers, NGOs etc
• Creating value chains and business models for
  inclusion
• Build capacity throughout society for inclusion
  as mainstream process

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Build capacity to promote digital inclusion

• Promote awareness of features and benefits of ICT
• Engage socially excluded people in planning/
  prototyping/designing systems and services
• Provide a wide range of learning opportunities
• Engagement of excluded individuals and groups
  in shaping technology and services to meet their
  particular needs and circumstances

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Critical omissions (Q21)

• Stakeholder participation
• Grass-roots engagement
• Reference to relevant standards and legislation

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Promote awareness of Legislation

• Article 9 of UN Convention on the Rights of
  People with Disabilities
• - requires governments to promote common
  technological standards to reduce costs of
  assistive technology

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Proposed research agenda

• Learning needs of designers and developers
• Social, psychological and cultural aspects of ICT
  use by marginalised groups
• Knowledge sharing across communities, academic
  disciplines, businesses (including SMEs), NGOs,
  policy-makers, etc