Response from the Inclusive Digital Economy Network to HM Government Delivering Digital Inclusion: An Action Plan for consultation Leela Damodaran Loughborough.

Response from the Inclusive Digital Economy Network

to HM Government Delivering Digital Inclusion:

An Action Plan for consultation

Leela Damodaran Loughborough University

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

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

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

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

Our Response

Warmly welcomed the Action Plan

Refined the definition of digital inclusion

Synopsis of comments

Suggested additional actions

Identified critical omissions

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

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”

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

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

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

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

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

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Engagement of excluded individuals and groups in shaping technology and services to meet their particular needs and circumstances

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

Critical omissions (Q21)

Stakeholder participation

Grass-roots engagement

Reference to relevant standards and legislation

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

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

Towards a Truly Inclusive Digital Economy – Friday 6th March 2009

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

Proposed research agenda