The landscape

The world of digital inclusion might not have made the huge leaps forward in the past year as it has done previously, but this year has been one of consolidation and consideration, of establishing what works and of putting it into action, with a broad range of partners all lending their support.

BBC research released in 2013 for the first time quantified the number of people in the UK without basic online skills as 11 million, and focus across the sector widened to include from those who had never been online before to those who didn’t have the skills to get any real benefit from the internet. In November, our super-infographic - a Digital Nation - pulled together this and many more stats surrounding digital inclusion, which you can take a look at here.

We were pleased to be involved with the Go ON North East campaign, which aimed to supercharge digital inclusion activity in the region through a six-month campaign that engaged local authorities, grassroots providers and corporate organisations. A number of UK online centres took part in the Go ON NE campaign, and were able to benefit from increased profile for digital skills, and the support of lots of high profile partners. In the North East, we’ve worked with Lloyds Bank to pilot an approach to training SMEs in the region, as well as running five Digital Champion training events sponsored by E.ON, which provided Digital Champions with a networking and sharing experience as well as a learning one.

Tinder Foundation also welcomed the new Digital Inclusion team, which now sits within GDS in the Cabinet Office. The Digital Inclusion team has been tasked with co-ordinating activity across government departments, as well as with the private and third sectors. We’ve been working closely with the new Digital Inclusion team as they create a new strategy that was published in April 2014, and we will continue to support them as they implement this new strategy.

The government’s Assisted Digital strategy also continued to develop during 2013/14, with government departments and other organisations, including SCL and Citizens Advice beginning to consider how to support people who will not be able to access services through digital channels. As these first exemplar services come on board, we will work closely with government departments to ensure these assisted digital plans will not only support people to access services, but help them to improve their skills as well.