The capacity of countries and their institutions, public services, and corporate and business communities to successfully absorb new initiatives and integrate the changes needed for digital transformation will depend on their level of digital maturity. Targeted models or ‘readiness’ tools and rubrics support governments and organizations in assessing their digital maturity level according to pre-defined parameters, dimensions or indicators.

1. Connecting
Learning Spaces:
Possibilities for Hybrid Learning
September 2021
Working Group Report on Digital Learning

2. Working Group Report on Digital Learning
Connecting
Learning Spaces:
Possibilities for Hybrid Learning

3. Connecting Learning Spaces
15
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2.1.2 Assessing digital maturity
The capacity of countries and their institutions,
public services, and corporate and business
communities to successfully absorb new
initiatives and integrate the changes needed
for digital transformation will depend on their
level of digital maturity. Targeted models
or ‘readiness’ tools and rubrics support
governments and organizations in assessing
their digital maturity level according to pre-
defined parameters, dimensions or indicators.
These models can also assist in bringing
about a more systematic understanding
of the current state and the capabilities of
an organization to effectively manage and
guide digital transformation efforts. In short,
digital maturity models look at dimensions
and criteria to describe measures or areas of
action which indicate an evolutionary path
towards digital or AI maturity (Teichert, 2019).
Several rubrics or frameworks have been
developed by think tanks and the foresight and
intelligence units of international corporations,
intergovernmental organizations and private
sector actors (see Table 2). They often gather
and analyse countries’ governance capabilities
at a large scale, using a combination of hard
data with survey-based information.
There are nonetheless differences in focus
among the various models or indices. For
example, KPMG’s Change Readiness Index
measures a country’s overall preparedness
for any type of transformation. It splits the
measurement into three dimensions –
enterprise; government; and people and
civil society – emphasizing the critical role of
human capacity and processes to support
and sustain systemic changes, regardless of
their nature.
The general AI Automation Readiness Index
developed by The Economist, and the Oxford
Insights Government AI Readiness Index,
focus more on countries’ digital readiness
rather than usage or impact maturity. They
both highlight the institutional frameworks
capable of change and innovation, as well as
legal and ethical frameworks.
An example that focuses directly on the
distribution of internet access is the Inclusive
Internet Index. It looks at affordability,
relevance and skills readiness alongside
access, to help us better understand how
inclusively the internet is being distributed
and used. Other indices might home in on the
development of human capital, including 21st
century and digital skills.
In general, they all lead to the production
of aggregates that allow for international
comparison, enabling analyses of progress at
the individual country level and confirmation
of the existence of digital divides between
countries depending on per-capita income
levels. Chapter
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4. 16
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Table 2. A sample of rubrics and assessments of digital maturity
Roadmaps
Roadmap
for Digital
Cooperation
This roadmap was presented by UN Secretary-General António Guterres
during a high-level virtual event on 13 June 2021. It follows the work from the
High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation established in 2018 and has eight
areas of focus: connectivity, digital public goods, digital inclusion, digital
capacity building, digital human rights, digital trust and security, critical
infrastructure, and global digital cooperation.
Maturity models, rubrics and indices
Automation
Readiness
Index
Developed by ABB and The Economist, the Automation Readiness Index
surveyed and ranked 25 countries on their automation readiness, meaning
their ability to integrate AI and robotics-based automation into their
economies, businesses and workforces.
Digital Planet’s
Digital
Evolution Index
(DEI)
This is a data-driven study of the pace of digital growth across four key
drivers that govern a country’s evolution into a digital economy: demand
conditions, supply conditions, institutional environment, and innovation and
change.
KPMG Change
Readiness
Index
This index measures a country’s overall readiness for any type of
transformation.
Government
Artificial
Intelligence
(AI) Readiness
Index
Oxford Insights and the International Research Development Centre publish
the AI Readiness Index which measures governments’ preparedness to
implement AI in the delivery of public services to their citizens.
The Inclusive
Internet Index
Commissioned by Facebook and developed by The Economist’s Intelligence
Unit, the Index seeks to measure the extent to which the internet is not
only accessible and affordable, but also relevant to all, allowing usage that
enables positive social and economic outcomes at the individual and group
level.
Reports on digital readiness
Global
Information
Technology
Report
This report was produced as a collaboration between INSEAD, the World
Economic Forum, and the World Bank. It ranked the world’s economies
in terms of networked readiness and effects on economic growth and
productivity.5
ITU Digital
Development
Dashboard
The Digital Development Dashboard provides an overview of the state of
digital development around the world based on ITU data. The information
is collected annually and viewable by country under the categories of
‘Infrastructure and Access’, ‘Internet Use’, and ‘Enablers and Barriers’.
5 Please note that the 2016 Global Information Technology Report is the last edition of the series. No further updates are available at the
time of writing.

5. Connecting Learning Spaces
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Measuring
Digital
Development
(MDD) series
(replaces the
Measuring the
Information
Society Report)
The MDD series includes Measuring Digital Development: Facts and
Figures and Measuring Digital Development: ICT Price Trends (and also
Telecommunication/ICT Indicators). It replaces the MISR, an annual
report published by the ITU starting in 2009 which featured key ICT data
and benchmarking tools to measure the information society, presenting
a quantitative analysis and highlighting new and emerging trends and
measurement issues.
n What do they show?
Many of the current indices looking at digital
readiness are dominated by countries with
already strong economies, good governance,
and innovative private sectors. They suggest
that digital maturity is highly correlated with
per-capita income, and the more mature
and diversified an economy is, the likelier it
is to have suitable infrastructure, institutions,
regulations and human capital. This creates a
virtuous cycle of digital development.
The digital divide becomes apparent from
several reviews and reports, including The
Economist’s Automation Readiness Index
and the Oxford Insights Government AI
Readiness Index, as well as those covering
digital technologies more broadly such as
the ITU’s Measuring the Information Society
report, the Digital Planet’s Digital Evolution
Index (DEI), the World Economic Forum’s
Global Information Technology report, and the
Cambrian Group’s AI Readiness Index.
Low- and lower-middle-income countries
in general face a greater challenge than
upper-middle and high-income countries,
and will need adequate support from the
international community. Here, progress in
digital skills development has been uneven —
whether concerning the basic skills required
to participate in an increasingly digital society
or advanced skills that can equip workers to
compete for high-tech jobs.
Even in middle- to higher-income countries,
for example the 27 countries of the European
Union, digital maturity and the digital skills
challenge is not evenly spread. There are
regional and socio-demographic differences
in digital infrastructure, literacy, and skills.
While some Member States, primarily in
western and northern Europe, are saturated
with internet access and have higher rates of
basic digital skills, the rest of the EU, including
Bulgaria and Romania, still have significant
ground to cover.
In relation to the impact of digital
transformation on income inequality, the
2020 Network Readiness Index, which ranks
countries on various digital transformation
metrics, revealed that while most countries
with greater access to the internet have
relatively more income equality, there
are some outliers — mostly among large
emerging market economies. Brazil is an
example: it is far ahead of the developing
world in terms of internet penetration, but
this progress has not narrowed the income
gap (perhaps due to vast ICT skills disparities
within the general population).
Chapter
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Box 3. Spotlight on digital policies in Egypt, India, Nigeria and Vietnam
In Egypt, authorities have prioritized digital skills policies and development since the
early 2000s, when it was seen as a way to reduce joblessness by providing young people
with skills for employability. Digital skills development now forms a key pillar in Egypt’s
Vision 2030 strategy, launched in early 2016, with the government relying on technology
and digital transformation to meet two of eight objectives: a competitive and diversified
economy; and knowledge, innovation, and scientific research.
Digital Egypt was launched in 2019 with the goal of transforming the country into a digital
society, with three major focus areas: digital transformation, digital skills, and digital jobs.
Basic digital skills development programmes were launched in April 2020 to empower
citizens by increasing their digital capabilities. The government has also partnered
with international tech companies such as IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft through its Digital
Egypt Builders Initiative to deploy the country’s top engineering and computer science
graduates. Other examples of public-private collaboration are the alliance between
telecom provider Orange Egypt and Germany’s international development agency GIZ
to establish a digital training centre in late 2021. In February 2021, officials announced
plans to establish an additional six technological universities throughout Egypt, adding to
those already operating in New Cairo, Quesna, and Beni Suef.
Given the state of play, there is a growing
concern about digital divides within and
across countries and the lack of attention
to holistic, comprehensive and sustainable
strategies that go a step further than simply
increasing access to digital infrastructure
and services. There are increasing calls for
countries to situate their digital transformation
ambitions within broader national
development and education sector goals
and ecosystems, and prioritize strategies
that accelerate progress towards poverty
reduction, economic mobility, social equity
and digital inclusion.
2.1.3 Investing in human capital
through digital skills policies
Research and analysis suggest that a rising
number of governments recognize the
significance of investing in digital skills and
inclusion to support societal transformation
– specifically to support the uptake of digital
services, R&D investment, new job creation,
and economic growth. As indicated above,
national authorities have invested significant
sums in improving digital infrastructure,
as well as digital literacy training policies
and campaigns. Countries such as Egypt,
India, Nigeria and Vietnam (see Box 3)
adopted overarching strategies and flagship
programmes covering investment in human
capital. To accomplish digital goals, officials
in these countries and others have sought
to leverage partnerships with telecoms and
private sector technology companies as
well as international technical and financial
partners. In most cases, however, these
are top-down programmes decided and
governed centrally and then implemented at
local levels including within companies for
workforce development.