***Apologies if you’ve already seen this***

 

 

 

7 Steps to Increase Digital Participation

 

Guest blog post from Douglas White, Head of Policy at Carnegie UK Trust. Carnegie UK Trust have just published a new report: Making Digital Real: Case studies of how to help the final fifth get online and co-sponsored CILIP’s digital participation summit.

 

Having access to the internet is now essential to being an included citizen in the 21st century. Indeed, the web has been described by some as “the fourth utility”. But around a fifth of households across the UK are not online. This is a major problem.

 

Research by the Tinder Foundation shows that those households who are least likely to be digitally connected are the very same households who are also likely to be struggling on a whole range of other measures of social and economic prosperity. And as technology gets better and faster, the divide between those who are connected and those who are not grows ever wider.

 

Put simply, digital technology is exacerbating already well-entrenched inequalities when it should be bridging them. So, how do we fix this problem?  I would suggest that there are 7 steps that public and voluntary sector organisations can take – and library and information professionals have a key role to play:

 

1. Show leadership

 

Making it a priority and having a clear strategy are critical to addressing digital exclusion. Digital connectivity pervades all aspects of public policy and all social and economic interventions can be ‘digital-proofed’ to assess to what extent they impact on those who are not connected and what opportunities they provide to help those who are offline to get access. Read about the strategy adopted in Liverpool.

 

2. Co-operate

 

A whole range of different organisations have a role to play in tackling digital exclusion. The work that is required to help connect the final fifth needs to go to where people are and engage with them in their everyday life. This means that housing associations, health providers, charities, community groups, post offices and of course libraries have all got a big contribution to make. But each partner needs to play to their own strengths and find a way of engaging that works for them. Read about how Mersey Police got involved in digital inclusion.

 

3. Have a plan

 

The offline population is diverse and dispersed. Many organisations want to help tackle digital exclusion, which is positive. But if there isn’t a clear plan about how this will be done then there is a risk of both duplication and of people ‘falling between the gaps’. Read about the joined up approach adopted by The Wheatley Group in Glasgow.

 

4. Focus on the person not the tech

 

Every person has a hobby or interest, and there is content online related to every hobby. Conversations with people about going online must start with their interests – not with the technology. Read about how Digital Fife build on people’s involvement in community groups as a way of helping them to get connected.

 

5. Be holistic

 

For most people who are not online there is no single barrier which is preventing them from getting connected – issues of cost, confidence, motivation and skills are all highly relevant. An approach to helping people get online must address all of these issues otherwise it is unlikely to succeed. Read about the range of methods being used by Leeds Federated Housing Association.

 

6. Involve communities

 

The internet is by definition a method of social engagement. It therefore makes sense that activities to help people get connected should be social too. Read about how Sunderland have put the community at the heart of their digital inclusion programme.

 

7. Make it fun

 

The internet brings great social and economic benefits but it should be a source of enjoyment too – and as we’re still in the early phases of learning how to help the final fifth get connected we should not be afraid to be innovative and make it fun. Read about the scheme in Wiltshire where Digital Champions work with their neighbours to help them get online.  

 

How can libraries help tackle digital exclusion over the next 5 years and help more people get online? What other great digital inclusion projects are out there that everyone should know about? Let us know what you think in the comments on the blog post or by tweeting @CILIPinfo and @DW_CarnegieUK.