Acorn Newsbot
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2006
- Posts
- 22,963
- Reaction score
- 151
This March 2025, the UK Government published its Digital Inclusion Action Plan. This is a significant and welcome moment as, for the first time in over a decade, those who work on this issue have a nationwide mission to galvanise their efforts.
The Plan represents an important milestone for everyone in this space to address digital inclusion in a more coordinated and strategic manner. It also signals a major opportunity: if the UK gets digital inclusion right, it will help Government’s growth and productivity agenda and improve access to public services. In this way, digital inclusion becomes a key enabler as opposed to a standalone issue. But most importantly, it’s fundamentally the right thing to do to enable citizens have equal access to the essential services, skills, and opportunities that digital technologies bring.
Breaking down barriers and building digital confidence
The Plan recognises specific groups at risk of digital exclusion; young people, older adults, people with disabilities, those currently out of work, and low-income households. The goal is to break down barriers to digital access and build confidence in using digital services.
Historically, it’s been difficult to always reach those who are the most digitally excluded as this requires additional funds and a deeper level of support. The commercial sector has primarily funded digital inclusion efforts, and the plan acknowledges this will, at least initially, remain the same. This can lead to tensions between commercial reality and corporate responsibility.
If true inroads are to be made, it will be how Government addresses this dynamic between corporate priorities and public good. We must all work together – the private and public sector – to ensure that the measures that are put in place are equitable. This means that it can’t be a ‘one size fits all’ solution that only caters to those on the edges of the digital divide, which need less support. The test now will be to ensure that the most vulnerable communities and individuals who have been left behind in the digital revolution aren’t forgotten.
There has never been such a clear and explicit incentive for the Government – digital-first public services will only be more effective and efficient if the people who rely on them the most have the access, skills, capabilities and confidence to do so.
Connecting the nation through data, devices and support
We take our role in supporting transformative initiatives to tackle the root causes of the digital divide very seriously at Nominet. We helped initiate, test and trial the National Databank and the National Device Bank, both of which were born out of our collective response during the pandemic. These initiatives now ensure that people have access to the internet through devices and connectivity.
That’s why partnerships with organisations, like Good Things Foundation, are so important. They help provide local support through regional and local governments to reach those who are most excluded with novel solutions to complex problems. By working together, we can ensure that everyone can benefit from technology through trusted faces in local spaces, using the social infrastructure already in place.
We’re incredibly proud of our partners’ hard work in making this plan a reality. As a strategic partner of Good Things Foundation, it’s inspiring to also see its advocacy for digital inclusion come to fruition. Its work has been instrumental in shaping this plan, and we’re proud to have stood alongside them at the forefront of this important conversation in the UK.
For the last 3 years we have also actively participated in the Digital Inclusion APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group), which champions policies and actions to address the digital divide. Additionally, we were early signatories to the Workforce Digital Skills Charter from FutureDotNow, demonstrating our commitment to improving digital skills across the workforce.
The future of public services is digital
If you have an interest in this topic, the Government has opened a call for evidence that closes in April 2025 – inviting feedback from individuals, businesses, charities, and community groups to help shape the next steps. We look forward to seeing how the plan shapes up following the call for evidence, and how it then moves into the implementation stage.
The post Ensuring the Digital Inclusion Action Plan delivers for the UK’s most disadvantaged appeared first on Nominet.
Continue reading...
The Plan represents an important milestone for everyone in this space to address digital inclusion in a more coordinated and strategic manner. It also signals a major opportunity: if the UK gets digital inclusion right, it will help Government’s growth and productivity agenda and improve access to public services. In this way, digital inclusion becomes a key enabler as opposed to a standalone issue. But most importantly, it’s fundamentally the right thing to do to enable citizens have equal access to the essential services, skills, and opportunities that digital technologies bring.
Breaking down barriers and building digital confidence
The Plan recognises specific groups at risk of digital exclusion; young people, older adults, people with disabilities, those currently out of work, and low-income households. The goal is to break down barriers to digital access and build confidence in using digital services.
Historically, it’s been difficult to always reach those who are the most digitally excluded as this requires additional funds and a deeper level of support. The commercial sector has primarily funded digital inclusion efforts, and the plan acknowledges this will, at least initially, remain the same. This can lead to tensions between commercial reality and corporate responsibility.
If true inroads are to be made, it will be how Government addresses this dynamic between corporate priorities and public good. We must all work together – the private and public sector – to ensure that the measures that are put in place are equitable. This means that it can’t be a ‘one size fits all’ solution that only caters to those on the edges of the digital divide, which need less support. The test now will be to ensure that the most vulnerable communities and individuals who have been left behind in the digital revolution aren’t forgotten.
There has never been such a clear and explicit incentive for the Government – digital-first public services will only be more effective and efficient if the people who rely on them the most have the access, skills, capabilities and confidence to do so.
Connecting the nation through data, devices and support
We take our role in supporting transformative initiatives to tackle the root causes of the digital divide very seriously at Nominet. We helped initiate, test and trial the National Databank and the National Device Bank, both of which were born out of our collective response during the pandemic. These initiatives now ensure that people have access to the internet through devices and connectivity.
That’s why partnerships with organisations, like Good Things Foundation, are so important. They help provide local support through regional and local governments to reach those who are most excluded with novel solutions to complex problems. By working together, we can ensure that everyone can benefit from technology through trusted faces in local spaces, using the social infrastructure already in place.
We’re incredibly proud of our partners’ hard work in making this plan a reality. As a strategic partner of Good Things Foundation, it’s inspiring to also see its advocacy for digital inclusion come to fruition. Its work has been instrumental in shaping this plan, and we’re proud to have stood alongside them at the forefront of this important conversation in the UK.
For the last 3 years we have also actively participated in the Digital Inclusion APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group), which champions policies and actions to address the digital divide. Additionally, we were early signatories to the Workforce Digital Skills Charter from FutureDotNow, demonstrating our commitment to improving digital skills across the workforce.
The future of public services is digital
If you have an interest in this topic, the Government has opened a call for evidence that closes in April 2025 – inviting feedback from individuals, businesses, charities, and community groups to help shape the next steps. We look forward to seeing how the plan shapes up following the call for evidence, and how it then moves into the implementation stage.
The post Ensuring the Digital Inclusion Action Plan delivers for the UK’s most disadvantaged appeared first on Nominet.
Continue reading...
