About Us
Significant progress has been made in tackling social exclusion in the last eight years with 700,000 fewer children living in relative low income, two million more people in work and 700,000 fewer pensions in relative poverty. But much remains to be done. Pockets of worklessness, children in homeless households, health inequalities and multiple disadvantage remain challenges.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offer considerable potential to support solutions to exclusion problems. Examples of innovative use of technology – information sharing, community support websites, alerts and advice sent by mobile phone – already exist in some places. For example, some schools text parents when their children are missing from school, and online benefits calculators enable people to find out what they are entitled to across all welfare benefits in one hit. But there is little evidence of serious evaluation, roll out, or awareness of successful trials. And we need to explore and understand the generic motivations, aspirations and experiences of socially excluded people in relation to ICT so that e-services and support can be more appropriately tailored to their needs.
These actions, alongside the Digital Strategy and Transformational Government programme, will increase the likelihood that excluded groups will benefit equally from technological improvements in service delivery as well as bringing a renewed focus on the use of e-inclusion as a route to social inclusion.
Background on the Digital Inclusion Unit
ICT exclusion is an increasingly important element of broader social exclusion problems. On the one hand, social exclusion is significantly overcome through using the new digital technologies. On the other hand, it is those who are socially excluded who are least likely to be able to access new digital technologies. This might be because of age, disability, income or many other factors.
The council's interest in breaking this vicious circle is twofold. The first interest is about improved wellbeing for North Lincolnshire residents. This involves tackling inequalities and supporting the most vulnerable.
Secondly, ICT inclusion is a big factor in central government's performance framework for enabling e-services. The council continues to improve its performance on enabling services for electronic delivery. Enabling processes for e-delivery is one thing. Enabling people to use them is another.
There are three tests for the e-government agenda. These are take-up, satisfaction levels, and cost-effectiveness. Yet it is the potentially excluded groups who most need central and local government services. And it is those groups who are less able to take part.
This limits the council's scope for making efficiency savings. Electronic delivery is the cheapest of all of the customer contact channels once it has been mainstreamed. Yet the business case for e-services only pays off if excluded groups are able to use them. The council must ensure that they can if it is to realise the potential benefits.
A strategic approach is needed for these issues. Former NorthLincsNet staff have expertise in adapting technologies for wider community use. They also manage projects to bring excluded groups to the technologies. It is the intention that the NorthLincsNet brand will no longer be used for this work. The proposal is for a Digital Inclusion Unit (DIU) to lead for the council on a strategic commitment to ICT inclusion in North Lincolnshire.
Key Objectives
1. Establish a Digital Exclusion profile for North Lincolnshire: Working with the NLC Marketing team in the development of ward profiles
2. Develop and Diffuse Digital Inclusion Skills: promote digital inclusion training in service design and local practitioner communities to achieve a more widespread and effective use of technologies in tackling social exclusion
Includes: Internet Rangers, post-Internet Rangers course/education programme, internet training for local care homes, delivery of internet training for NLC local links, libraries and contract centre staff, assisting NLC in the take-up of eProcurement within the “non-adopter of digital technology” secton
3. Stimulate Inclusion through Innovation: bringing together local policy, service and technology communities to stimulate, promote and implement cross-sector innovation on digital inclusion
Includes: Support of the eVOICE local web platform for North Lincs communities, provision of web solutions and hosting services to customers within the local public service arena where there is no conflict with the service delivered by the NLC website, upgrading of ICT equipment in homes of NL foster carers and subsequent family-oriented projects, North Lincolnshire Wireless Cloud – provision of wireless broadband over the more deprived areas of Scunthorpe, Every North Lincs Child Matters - we have helped the childrens trust build a site that all
4. Implement Successful Pilots : Increase efficiency, value & effectiveness of NLC investment. Provide resources and expertise to assist performance evaluation, next stage business case development and product development & implementation
Includes: eClinics innovation - supporting N Lincs Mental Health and in cooperation with NLC HR Service, programme of business proposal development for Looked After Children – in partnership with the CLG’s Digital Inclusion Team and local N Lincs interested parties
5. General Capacity Building & Support: Knowledge transfer through good practice information exchange and networking to support NLC and local organisations to use digital technology more effectively and to help achieve meet LAA objectives
Includes: Working with NLC Adult Services in the investigation of potential telehealth solutions for local residents, working with the CLG to look at embedding digital & social inclusion criteria in the 2009 Comprehensive Area Assessment
6. e-Service challenge and promotion: Do NLC e-services meet the diverse needs of individuals and communities? If so, are these services being taken up & used? Assist in both the design challenge and the take-up.
Other Skills Provision
As an integral part of the Inclusion work, the Unit will continue to provide web solutions and hosting services to customers within the local public service arena and where this complements the core work of the DIU.
We always looking for potential partners, local and further afield, where we can secure funding and work together on projects to improve the ICT inclusion of the residents of North Lincolnshire.
