Scottish Government

Digital Communities Final Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Digital exclusion continues to be important and needs to be addressed;
• The initiative did increase use of the internet and e-mail in the participating communities, especially in Bellsmyre where information and communications technology (ICT) usage was relatively low before the pilot;
• While people who did not use computers to start with used them less and for a more limited range of functions than those already using computers at the start of the project, it did provide an entry into ICT usage for new users;
• Most participants did clearly perceive benefits from taking part;
• However, there is a clear need to appraise new policies in detail to avoid deadweight, incentive compatibility and implementation problems;
• There was very significant dead-weight in this project. Targeted interventions are likely to be more cost-effective unless there is a priori evidence of low deadweight (e.g. new /uncommon technology);
• Programmes need to be tailored to the needs of participants, and in this it is essential to decide what specific benefits the technology can provide;
• Appropriate outcome objectives (e.g. achievement of a labour market qualification or access to particular services) can serve as a useful centre around which to build interventions;
• There is still a very significant group of people that do not take up the opportunity of ICT even if free access is provided. A completely different angle to reach these groups might need to be developed; and
• The focus of future digital inclusion interventions should be more on 'intangibles' (such as training and education and community portals) rather than 'tangibles' (such as computers).