This document discusses digital inclusion initiatives in Cambridgeshire over the past decade. It finds that while internet adoption is high, 4 million UK households remain offline, citing lack of need, skills or equipment. The key principles of access, skills and motivation are examined. Case studies highlight programs that provided access points, developed skills through volunteer digital champions and community projects, and fostered motivation by addressing community needs. Going forward, consolidating these interconnected elements is needed to achieve an inclusive digital future for Cambridgeshire.

1. Digital inclusion in
Cambridgeshire
15th January 2014
Rebecca Morgan and Liz Stevenson

2. Background
 Over a decade of experience working on digital
inclusion initiatives
 Externally funded by UK and EU funding streams
 State of play in Cambridgeshire
 Three key principles:
 Access
 Skills
 Motivation

3. Participation
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
% not online
Next generation user
• Entering long tail of adoption, 4
million households without
Internet access:
– 59% said they 'did not need it‘
– 20% indicated lack of computer
skills
– 12% equipment & access costs.
• Growing pattern of access
‘anywhere at anytime’.
• New, growing digital divide
between next generation users
and those who are not
Source: Office for National Statistics “Internet Access - Households and Individuals, 2013” (UK households
from 1998 to 2004. Great Britain households from 2005 to 2013.)

4. Digital and social exclusion
• Map exclusion ‘as is’ using
ESD Toolkit heat map data
• Repeat for SFBB roll-out to
identify remaining hot spots
• Digital inclusion activities
targeted at excluded
demographics – elderly,
disability, low income.
• Place-based approaches
Source: ESD-Toolkit ‘Digital and Social Exclusion’ 2012

5. Evolution and innovation…
Access
ICT Learning Centres 20002002
CCN 2002-2011
CPSN 2011-2018
SFBB & SCCP 2013-2015
Skills
Beacon Council for
Social Inclusion through
ICT in 2003/4
UKOnline Centres
EU projects
Motivation
BVPI 157
E-Government
Digital by default

6. Key principle: Access
 Community Access Points
 45 locations
 CPSN infrastructure
 Wi-fi
 Mobile Devices




Migrant communities
Health visitors
Bring your own device
Re-cycling

7. Key principle: Skills
• Embedding digital
inclusion learning into a
variety of activities
• Empowering volunteers in
the role of ‘digital
champions’
• Individual skill
development has built
community capacity

8. Key principle: Motivation
• Identifying the ‘hook’ that gets people involved
• What’s in it for me?
• Developing ownership of services within communities
• Role of volunteers, advocates and community
groups
• Raising awareness of issues and helping develop new
approaches
• Getting ‘buy-in’ from other services
• Building on existing communities of interest
• What’s going on already?

9. Case Study 1:
Community Access Points
 Broadband connected network
established in 2001/2
 Worked with District and Parish
councils to identify location and need
 Developed role of volunteer – digital
tutor/champion to aid sustainability
 Embedded activities and projects with
a digital content/theme
 Gets communities together – limits
isolation
 Provides building block for other
activity
 Now a hub for many of the other
digital projects we are involved in

10. Case Study 2: Cambridgeshire Community
Archive Network
www.ccan.co.uk
• A network of 32 digital community history groups, originally funded by HLF
in 2005/6
• Supporting skills to identify local history information and upload on website
• Self sustaining – own volunteer steering group, technical team and PR
• Self funding – each group pays £100 p.a. for web hosting and support
• A hook for developing other activity and leverage for other funding
opportunities
• Now working as part of EU Interreg IVA project on the Great War
• www.great-war.ccan.co.uk
• Volunteers – community capacity building and links to schools - a hook to
hang digital inclusion on

11. Case Study 3:
Seniors Network Support (SeNS)
 Using technology to develop & support networks for
older people
 tackling isolation
 encouraging active ageing
 Progression – Kindle/Tablet/social media
 Working with sheltered housing organisations
 Developing other interest groups – flower arranging,
days out, local history
 Online book reviews and working with other Read IT
groups

12. Case Study 4:
Talk About Cambridgeshire
 Social media sites
 Working with communities to set up websites
 Developing skills and knowledge
 Providing a focus for community activities
 Generating activities
 Leading on to e-democracy
 Shape Your Place
 Interacting with service providers

13. A digital future
• Consolidating activities to
deliver the interconnected
elements for a digital future.
• Costs and benefits are over
a broad range of both public
and private organisations.
• Digital exclusion elsewhere
in county matters to
Cambridge’s economic
growth and social capital.

14. Interconnected elements
Infrastructure,
including data
Supply
Products &
content
Skills &
capability
Digital
Economy
Business
Demand
Households
Public service
• Increase the availability of fast
connectivity
• Encourage SMEs to optimise
their use of digital technologies
• Support those not (or rarely)
online & increase digital literacy
• Increase take-up of faster
connections
• Establish Cambridgeshire as a
place to test and innovate

17. • What digital opportunities
can enhance participation:
social media, future
Internet, mobile… ?
• What cross-sector
solutions – bridging the
built environment, ICT,
energy, transport &
mobility and big data – can
be created for sustainable,
digital places?

18. Thank You