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Evaluation of the Public Internet Access Point Initiative
1 Introduction
The Scottish Executive began implementing its Public Internet Access Initiative in Summer 2002. Since then it has provided approximately 1,600 computers in 725 different venues. The initiative is part of the Executive's wider Digital Inclusion Strategy, which aims to extend access to and use of the internet. This report assesses how well the programme has met its objectives and looks at its overall impact across Scotland.
1.1 Digital inclusion strategy
The Scottish Executive published its Digital Inclusion Strategy called Digital Inclusion: Connecting Scotland's People in 2001. It has set several targets in seeking to bridge the digital divide:
- achieving universal access to the internet by 2005;
- increasing the number of households in disadvantaged areas with access to the internet;
- securing the benefits of advanced networked information technologies for education and lifelong learning.
The Executive created a dedicated digital inclusion team to coordinate action across a range of initiatives, which developed and launched the Public Internet Access Point (PIAP) initiative. This is now part of the recently established 21st Century Government Team.
1.2 Aims & Objectives
The PIAP Initiative is one of the Scottish Executive's key components in its Digital Inclusion Strategy. The Executive's stated aims for the PIAP initiative were:
- improving public access to the Web in areas of Scotland where access is currently poor;
- encouraging more people - including those in disadvantaged communities, and disadvantaged individuals such as some older people - to access the web, and:
- improving the IT literacy rate in the Scottish population.
Under the PIAP initiative, the Executive has invited a wide range of agencies in the public, private and community/voluntary sectors to install PCs with web access and make these available to the public. Each venue receives between one and four PCs, workstations and a Freeserve internet connection.
Broadly the initiative aims to make sure that everyone in Scotland can get access to a publicly available internet connection.
- In urban Scotland this should be within one mile of every home; and
- within five miles in rural areas.
The PIAPs were funded to fill identified gaps in existing internet access coverage. Other publicly available access points are available through a range of locations including:
- libraries;
- internet cafes; and
- SIP-funded learning centres.
The aim is to provide Web access in the places people already go, such as shops, pubs, post offices, hairdressers and community centres.
One aspect of the initiative however was to bring computers into places where those not currently using them are likely to be. So some venues are not necessarily open to the public at large, but may deal with specific excluded groups such as lone parents, ethnic minorities or New Deal clients.
1.3 Progress
Our research is largely based on the first 600 PIAPs, which had opened by June 2003. We contacted 526 venues through our background survey and follow up calls, representing 89% of those venues offered machines through the Initiative. We understand some 725 PIAPs have now opened.
To help the Executive assess the situations in which PIAPs work best, we have split the PIAPs by sector of the PIAP host. These break down into three categories:
- Community sector, including those based in community centres and managed by community or voluntary organisations;
- Public sector, where the access point is hosted in a building run by the public sector, such as a Council office or library; and
- Business sector, hosted in private sector businesses, including hotels, garages, shops and pubs.
We will use these classifications throughout the report in looking at some of the issues in greater depth. As Figure 1-1 shows, the majority of PIAPs funded are in the business sector (62%) with a further 27% in the community or voluntary sector, with 11% in the public sector.
Figure 1-1 Internet Access Points Funded by sector
Source: Scottish Executive
By summer 2003, the Scottish Executive had provided around 1,300 computers through the PIAP Initiative, with an average of 2.2 machines per host venue. The average number of machines in each venue tended to be higher in the public and community sectors at closer to three machines per venue. In businesses the average number of computers was 1.85, possibly due to greater space constraints.
1.4 Evaluation Approach
We have used a number of complementary approaches to gathering information taking account of the lightly regulated context of PIAPs. This report uses information from:
- A review of literature relating to digital inclusion;
- 139 'mystery shopper' visits to PIAPs from Caithness to Wigtown, and from Aberdeen to the Western Isles;
- A background survey of 523 PIAPS covering basic information about their location and user numbers;
- A phone round of the other 77 PIAPs that were believed to have been open in June 2003;
- A survey of 389 PIAP hosts covering their experience of operating PIAPs;
- Area surveys (street and household) within the catchment areas of six PIAPs representing different types of provision, and rurality;
- A survey of 670 PIAP users from 137 PIAP locations; and
- A follow-up survey of 210 users three months after the initial one.
1.5 Report Structure
We have structured this report to reflect the research objectives. So following this introductory structure the chapters will be:
- Chapter 2 - How well is the initiative meeting its objectives?
- Chapter 3 - How are PIAPs being used?
- Chapter 4 - What are hosts' experiences?
- Chapter 5 - What is the value of the approach?
- Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations
Chapter 4 will also cover issues of how sustainable the PIAP provision is likely to be.
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