The Scottish Government

As part of the public meetings the Scottish Executive held a discussion meeting with the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) practitioners or ICT providers in local communities in order to seek their view on Digital Inclusion activities and issues in their areas. The representatives ranged from library staff and volunteers to community workers and education professionals.

The majority view was that the most effective way of reaching the disadvantaged groups was to combine internet access with lifelong learning. Library practitioners were of an opinion that in terms of this and flexibility i.e. opening hours and provision of relevant training packages, libraries were the most effective way of reaching and providing ICT support for the disadvantaged groups.

However it was emphasised that although libraries have been successful in reaching and providing training to the elderly and the disabled people, other disadvantaged groups were harder to reach and require a different approach.

The general consensus was that in a number of cases people were still reluctant to take up the ICT and the internet even where the access and support is available in the local community, and that it was imperative to tackle this issue effectively and imaginatively. The majority of practitioners were of the view that the a Back Door approach, or linking ICT training with peoples interests, was the most effective way of achieving this.

In other words through indirect use of the ICT and the internet, such as healthy eating groups, cultural groups and community groups. The view was that it is essential to find out what people are interested in and then slowly introduce the ICT aspect to it. The reasoning being that by identifying individual's interests, hooks can be developed to maintain those interests and use them as a springboard to promote wider benefits of the ICT and the internet.

All practitioners felt that sustainability of long term training provision in particular the availability of staff to continue to offer the provision of adequate support, either through libraries or voluntary ICT projects, was seen as a barrier to effectively tackling Digital Divide. The issue of utilising volunteer resource for this purpose was discussed with mixed views as some participants actively promoted the use of volunteers in the provision of ICT training while others were less inclined to follow this route for various reasons.

Financial Exclusion was identified as one of the major barriers preventing people from being digitally included but that if tackled properly it could not only make people financially but also digitally inclusive. Voluntary organisations and credit unions were seen as having a potential to take a lead on the issue by increasing people's numeracy skills and access to financial services such as bank accounts or payment cards which in turn could potentially entice people to use the ICT and shop online.

The partnership working both on a local and national basis and the need to share best practice across various stakeholders was echoed across the board as the best way to tackle the digital inclusion to the most appropriate quality and to avoid duplication and waste of resources.

Following the completion of Broadband for Scotland project, it was acknowledged that broadband access has improved significantly and is enabling distance learning.

However an issue specific to rural communities was raised in that although broadband access was there the full benefits were not being realised in some rural communities due to their distance from the telephone exchange boxes, meaning that in some instances the speed of the broadband access was greatly reduced. This in turn is potentially affecting the ability of some of the rural communities to participate in distance learning.

Similarly transport was identified as another barrier specific to rural communities. Lack of flexible transport options in rural areas is seen as preventing people, in particular the elderly, from reaching ICT access and training opportunities, thus further highlighting the need for efficient broadband services. The issue was also seen as impacting the effectiveness of individual training accounts (ILA's) as in order to qualify for the ILA funding people have to undertake training in ICT project centres the majority of which are not located in rural areas.

Finally community based initiatives have been identified as having more success in rural and remote areas of Scotland.

A series of public meetings were held in order to capture the views and ideas of the people of Scotland on digital inclusion.

The meetings were held in areas in which there are issues with, for instance, access to the internet, as well as trying to capture a wide range of geographical areas, and urban/rural mix, to ensure that the views are as representative as possible.

Following groups were identified as the disadvantaged in terms of Digital Inclusion:

• Homebound
• Disabled
• Elderly
• Financially Excluded
• Unemployed

In terms of barriers preventing people from being digitally included the following have been identified:

• Lack of financial means
• Jargon and technical language
• Security worries
• Lack of awareness of benefits
• Perceived lack of incentive
• Perception that one is too old or not intelligent enough

In terms of awareness raising the general consensus was that a Back Door approach or raising awareness through the existing activities and interests in which people already engage within their local authority, was the most effective way of achieving this. Additionally the best way of selling the ICT was through selling the benefits such as the ability to pay council tax, claim benefits and buy cheaper products and services online. This approach was particularly favoured by remote and rural areas of Scotland.

Similar to the opinion expressed by the ICT practitioners the participants of the public meetings felt that a partnership approach in raising the awareness and the benefits of the ICT and the internet was required. This was to be achieved through a coordinated effort between various establishments such as the libraries, doctor surgeries and job centres which all should be promoting the same message. A general consensus reached was that branding of ICT and internet access points would be beneficial especially if the brand related to the services provided.

Provision of access to the ICT and the internet in local communities, close to people's residence and places already frequented by people was seen as essential if it was to incite people to use the facilities. Such places could include community centres, libraries and shopping centres. Although community centres were favoured by rural and remote communities.

In terms of support and training provision a uniform view was that one size does not fit all and that training needs to be tailored to people's needs, abilities and age group and that it should be delivered in a more flexible manner, including the use of group training sessions and one on-one training, depending on an individual.

School classroom approach to training was not seen as the best option and more structured training courses such as the European Computer Driving Licence was seen as too inflexible and expensive.

Colleges and universities were seen as playing a crucial role in the provision of ICT training and support but that any training manuals should be provided in hard copy as well as CD ROM's. Cooperation and involvement of higher education establishments in the delivery of the ICT training and support was particularly voiced in the remote communities.

Similarly to reach the most disadvantaged groups and to keep their interest once reached the use of jargon of technical language should be avoided and that ICT should be explained in layman terms wherever possible.

A number of participants expressed the need for a local central information point that would advise people where to go to access required levels of support/training and also for advice on the ICT equipment most suitable for their needs.

The point was expressed that people want a sense of ownership of ICT activities/projects that they are involved in and that this was a good way of maintaining their interest and enhancing their learning. Participants in remote areas highlighted that the development of community web portals would be a good way to involve the community in the use of ICT and at the same time link remote island communities together.

A number of focus groups were run as part of the review of digital inclusion. The groups consisted of representatives of the voluntary, education and public/community sectors and aimed to discuss examples of good practice, and come up with ideas for future policy development, before examining the barriers to these, and potential solutions which could be adopted.

In terms of awareness and benefit raising the general consensus was that as people do not see the immediate benefit of the ICT there was a great need to raise their awareness and that this was best done through marketing of benefits in a way that appeals to people's lifestyles and interests. The voluntary sector emphasised the need for the jargon language to be avoided and the terminology to be explained in simple terms if people are to remain interested in the ICT and the internet following the initial contact. This is in accordance with the views expressed through public meetings.

It was expressed as beneficial to map the motivational factors or the reasons that attracted people to the ICT and the internet, broken down according to different disadvantaged groups. This was seen as a good platform to target and attract non users.

In line with the agreement coming from the public meetings the community sector expressed the need to utilise a more creative ways of raising people's awareness of the ICT through innovative ways such as promoting the ICT in bingo halls and health centres.

Education providers highlighted the need for varied training methods and approaches including one to one training, group training and children to adults/parents training.

This need is also reflected by the general members of the public, however a strong view coming from public meetings was that children to adult training would not work as majority of people would feel uncomfortable being trained in this way.

A general consensus between all participants of the policy review was that training courses should be flexible and funding should not be linked to concrete learning outcomes as it puts people off. Similarly focus groups participants stated that training content should be informal and less structured with education providers stipulating that it should be linked to employability with the libraries network being best placed to deliver such training.

To a lesser extent this is in agreement with the views expressed by the ICT practitioners, however it is not entirely cohesive with the views of the general members of the public who preferred access to the ICT in their local community, which perhaps backs the conclusion of the ICT practitioners that libraries have not been successful at attracting all disadvantaged groups.

In order to attract all the disadvantaged groups focus group participants agreed that ICT projects should be set in local communities and ensure that in setting up of the projects local community networks are utilised and local people involved through all stages of the project and given ownership of it.

The issue of partnership working was the main issue the focus group participants raised and agreed on. The consensus was that there is a need to develop a community led approach to ICT projects and focus should be given to particular disadvantaged groups which has to involve partnership working in order to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.

An overwhelming number of the participants from all the focus groups agreed that partnership approach should prevent pilot projects which are costly and not sustainable and instead should result in the development of proven projects.

However this was best done not in isolation but in partnership with the private sector and stakeholders such as the credit unions. It is viewed that this approach was best placed to tackle the issue of sustainability and financial exclusion.

A desire was expressed for the Scottish Executive to take the lead and develop policy on the way funding is provided to the ICT related projects including the, criteria required and the links and the role of the private sector. The Scottish Executive was also seen as best placed to develop a common vision and mechanisms for sharing information and best practices on a national and local basis.

In relation to funding and access to the ICT the voluntary sector raised that special attention should be given to disabled people and that more funding/effort should be made to provide viable access to the specialised hardware and software as at the moment coverage is patchy at best, a view echoed by the ICT providers.

One point on which all the respondents to the policy review in particular the voluntary sector agreed on was that the local authorities need to be encouraged to conform to uniform policy on the internet access in particular in relation to firewall settings as the policy varied considerably between different local authorities.