ND14 Conference Report

EMPOWERING PEOPLE 9TH NATIONAL DIGITAL CONFERENCE 18 JUNE 2014, CONGRESS CENTRE, LONDON.

CONFERENCE REPORT

Supported by

14 Contents Chair’s Introduction and remarks – Dr. Mark Thompson _____________________________ Page 2 Welcome address – Rachel Neaman ____________________________________________ Page 2 Plenary Session 1: Digital Public Services ________________________________________ Page 4 Plenary Session 2: Digital Skills _________________________________________________ Page 12 Plenary Session 3: Assisted Digital and Digital Inclusion _____________________________ Page 18 Plenary Session 4: Digital Hustings ______________________________________________ Page 26 Concluding remarks from Chair Mark Thompson ___________________________________ Page 30

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14 Opening Session – Empowering people Chairs Introduction – Dr Mark Thompson, Judge Business School This year’s conference is particularly timely and exciting as the three main UK political parties are gearing up to publish their election manifestos early next year. At the same time, government and public sector organisations are attempting to balance essential and conflicting demands on scarce resources to deliver competitive public services.

The UK’s national global competitiveness is forecast to decline from just under 5% of world GDP in 2000 to 2.6% by 2028. In order to maintain our existing standards of public services against this backdrop of relative decline, we need to have a serious and open public debate about how to re-organise our models for public sector delivery. Alternatively, without radical and far reaching reform – we will simply need to accept lower public service standards.

New digital business models and platforms will continue to disrupt and challenge traditional approaches and antiquated delivery models, disintermediating traditional institutions that broker supply and demand and extract rents for doing so. Indeed there is an ever growing list of web-enabled platforms (e.g.

Amazon, Odesk, Skyscanner and Android) that effectively provide a direct clearing house between the supply and demand of digital services and customers. These new platforms enable innovation, cocreation, and evolution whilst simultaneously delivering better user experiences and cost savings. As the recent reconfiguration of the record industry demonstrates, legacy businesses ultimately cannot avoid engaging with this rapidly evolving digital landscape: if they are to remain relevant to their customers, they must be prepared to adapt and sometimes even renew their business models. For government, the challenge will be to ensure that digital public services are more like Spotify and less like EMI! So embracing ‘digital’ is maybe less about the new shiny technologies – and more about understanding and building the new business models that these new technologies bring about. We need to help senior policy-makers and decision-makers engage with the new opportunities and services made possible by emerging digital platforms – whilst embedding digital inclusion principles into future delivery frameworks. Finally, we also need to proactively involve our politicians. Our expanding digital economy will at some point mean a lot of new jobs – but this will not be achieved unless we positively support change and transformation by challenging and disintermediating traditional structures and hierarchies.

Welcome Address – Rachel Neaman, Deputy Director and Digital Lead at the Department of Health The great strength of the Digital Leaders network is our balance of stakeholders across sectors. Today we will be exploring the power of digital and its potential for driving transformation across three core areas: digital public services, digital skills and digital inclusion. I am a passionate believer in the power of digital to change lives. Digital by default is a good start – but this approach will only be truly effective if prospective service users (and prospective service managers) are equipped with the necessary skills. I believe that digital should be an equalizer – not a divider. People need access, skills and above all the right motivations and incentives to benefits from digital technologies. The Digital Leaders programme works across multiple sectors to address these challenges – and with 10,000 members we have the reach to capture a broad spectrum of knowledge and expertise.

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14 Empowerment is currently at the heart of public policy. For example, the NHS is currently working to empower patients and medical professionals by publishing open and transparent data to help patients make choices about their chosen care providers. We facilitate open debate through digital feedback mechanisms – and have also recently published a digital maturity index for NHS. Our partnership work with the Tinder Foundation on digital inclusion and health has demonstrated that often these services are not accessible to those who stand to benefit the most.

Back in December 2013 the last act of the UK Presidency of the G8 was the Global Dementia Summit which brought together G8 Ministers, researchers, pharmaceutical companies and charities from around the world. Dementia and digital are not words you normally hear together – but there is a passionate and committed community out there. So this wasn’t about digital coverage of a traditional set piece event – it was an example of real, sustained and end-to-end engagement between specialists and activists around dementia and policy. We used digital insights and mapping techniques to tap into those communities who were living with dementia which allowed us to engage and include those who would normally be excluded from this kind of high level policy debate. We also live streamed the Summit as it unfolded, and injected life into the event using video blogs from people we had engaged with online, who brought their direct personal experiences into the mix.

So what does this example tell us about digital services and inclusion? Ultimately this event allowed us to successfully engage with both specialist and grass roots communities to help shape future policy. If we can apply this model to dementia, then surely there is ample scope for applying this approach to other policy areas?

Touch screen images and audio and video clips have been shown to engage people with dementia –helping to break down the traditional barriers of isolation and stigmatization. By adopting these techniques based on listening to digital community channels we have improved our approach to this ongoing and significant challenge.

With a general election less than a year away, this conference offers a real opportunity to help shape the agenda and debate in the run up to the launch of the party manifestos in early 2015. However, ultimately we need more than just debate and strategies – we also need action. The true implications of digital will only become more apparent as time goes by. If we are truly serious about unlocking the full potential of digital technologies and services – we urgently need to ensure that digital opportunities have the profile they deserve within the minds of senior decision-makers and policy-makers.

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14 Plenary Session 1: Digital Public Services Keynote speech – Russell Davies, Creative Director GDS Previously I have worked in the private sector for Apple, Microsoft and Nike. GDS is currently working on a federated identity system, measurement and analytics services, and the application of technology across government departments. For example we have designated 25 exemplar services which will be prioritised for digital transformation by March 2015.

We normally confine our rhetoric to stickers and bang on about delivery. But recently we’ve started to talk about some bigger ideas. When we started a lot of the job was just fixing things – but now we’ve started to grasp the possibilities beyond that. There is more to digital public services than just digital public services! Government is perceived by the public as a collection of large dull buildings defined by acronyms! In reality actual policy is delivered on the ground. So this is about more than just new business models and saving money.

For example, securing Lasting Power of Attorney used to be a difficult and complex process – usually involving solicitors. The digital service resulted in a complete redesign – which has upset solicitors as people are now more confident and able to deal with this process themselves! In addition, the Office of the Public Guardian (who administers the Lasting Power of Attorney process) has discovered how their business model should work based on this digital transformation experience. For example, they asked us to add a positive feedback function to the online service because for the first time they started to receive positive feedback!

This case study illustrates that in many instances success is about small triumphs in specific delivery initiatives – as opposed to grand scale political announcements or overarching strategies. If we imagine the contrast between the lofty and inspiring ambitions of the Obama for America 2012 Presidential campaign and the rather more grounded challenges experienced by his subsequent Obamacare initiative – you get an idea of the point I am making here.

The bottom line is, if you want to engage people, you need to build something that is worth engaging with. Everyone is effected by government technology choices – whether you are online or offline – and we should aim to improve this experience for everyone. For example, a key challenge we have experienced in digitising the Carers Allowance online services is that in many cases an old mainframe still churns out automated letters telling people their claim has been refused!

Collectively we are starting to deliver government as a platform – but we are working on a very specific British version inspired by our long history of public service delivery. For example in the 18th century, British engineer James Brindley led the charge in connecting up our canal network during the industrial revolution. Brindley joined up smaller networks to create a large scale transportation network – in a similar way that the Internet was developed during the early days of the World Wide Web. Government often tends to oscillate between centralised and decentralised models – but with the web you can deliver something which is neither centralised nor localised – but a comprehensive network.

Similarly, in the 19th century, engineer Joseph Bazalgette pioneered the construction of the sewer network for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city from future cholera epidemics.

Indeed, Bazalgette succeeded in building a system with such huge capacity that it is only recently that we

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14 have had to supplement the infrastructure that he built over 150 years ago! Bazalgette also took the shrewd decision of building beautiful and ornate pumping stations which provided a public face (and political visibility) for this essential infrastructure. For example, the opening of the Crossness Pumping Station in 1865 was attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Mayor of London!

Moving back to the present, we are now entering a new era of software as a public service – and we need to create some new language for this. At GDS we currently use the term “Govstack” to refer to a composite of hardware, software and people. However, while Government as a platform is a fantastic idea in principle, we need to remember that without a dedicated and committed public service ethos to drive its implementation – it will remain just another Silicon Valley buzzword.

Kevin Seller, Head of Government Services, Post Office This morning I’m going to talk about engaging people in the design and delivery of digital public services.

A key question is – who needs digital public services? We’ve carried out some research on which groups can benefit the most. Before I go into that – I want to ask the audience to demonstrate by a show of hands how many of you have helped friends or family with support for online activity in the last year? [Nearly everyone in the audience raises their hand] Different people have very different needs in the digital world. Our analysis has identified that out of 51 million adults in the UK: • • • • • •

10% are actively disengaged from the online world 5% are reluctantly online 4% are willing to engage online – but lack the skills or opportunity to do so 12% are destination users (capable of specific tasks but lack wider skills) 9% are learning the ropes – positive about the Internet and committed to learning new skills 60% are confident explorers.

Excluding the confident explorers and the actively disengaged – we are focusing on the remaining 15.3 million adults who are likely to benefit the most of assisted digital services. We interviewed 4,000 people (including 350 micro businesses) and got some very interesting responses. We asked the question – how useful and how likely would you be to use an assisted digital service? While 24% of respondents claimed that they would find assisted digital services “very useful” (and 60% of that group reported they would be “very likely” to use such services) – more than 60% of all respondents (around 10 million adults) suggested that they would probably just rely on friends and family to help them.

So what have we learnt from this? It is clear that there is a danger of underestimating the role of informal networks (friends and family) in supporting people in accessing and using digital services. We have also established that the numbers of adults who are likely to take advantage of assisted digital services are likely to amount to between 2-5 million people. It is also apparent from this research that engaging people in the design of new services is more important than ever. People are not always going to use digital services in the ways we assume they will – and therefore we need to co-design new digital offerings with prospective users – rather than just design “for them” in isolation from their aspirations, attitudes and needs.

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14 So what is next for the Post Office in this space? We are swiftly moving from asking who will be using services – to concentrate on what they want to accomplish. We will be increasingly seeking to co-design new services. We have established the Post Office Design Lab at the Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation at South Bank University in London. We are working on designing a new agile retail environment which can deliver new services within days instead of months, whilst fostering continuous and iterative improvements to service design. Of these new innovations we will be focusing on keeping services cost effective by only keeping approaches which truly resonate with the needs of our users.

Tom McCann, Sopra – Digital: Delivering better outcomes for rural communities and government I’m going to talk about how digital can be used to transform local services. The agriculture sector is split into four jurisdictions – the Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), the Scottish Directorate for Food Agriculture and Rural Communities (DAFRC), the Welsh Department for Agricultural Affairs and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in England.

Each of these agencies is responsible for administering EU grants which are critical for agricultural communities (rural payments currently account for 40% of the EU budget). Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments are heavily regulated by the European Commission. In 2015 the rules regulating the CAP will be moving away from subsidies to focus on the provision of public good and wider environmental benefits. This will include direct payments to farmers via the Single Payment Scheme, as well as an emphasis on market management measures, rural development and environmental stewardship.

In England, DEFRA will be responsible for delivering £15 billion in CAP grants over the next 5 years. Major new CAP delivery programme is currently underway to improve systems and ensure compliance with the 2015 CAP priorities and requirements. The business case for this programme is built around improvement and disallowance mitigation. By way of clarification “disallowance” refers to fines imposed by the regulator (in this instance the European Commission) upon grantees for non-compliance or error.

According to figures released by the National Audit Office in 2013 the disallowance penalties imposed during the CAP cycle from 2008-2009 amounted to around £600m of UK funds which were reclaimed by the Commission.

A large portion of the grants are paid on land relating claims. In this context spatial data currency, accuracy, auditability and compliance are crucial elements for avoiding disallowance penalties.

SOPRA is responsible for delivering the Land and Inspections area of the CAP programme. We are accomplishing this using open source and open design standards, working closely with GDS. In this context, digital by default represents a major shift towards empowering land owners and agents. Key elements include self-serve map edits, a migration away from paper based processes. There is significant potential for reducing DEFRA’s administrative burden whilst simultaneously improving the accuracy and user friendliness of the service. For example, under the new system, farmers will no longer have to mark up paper maps.

The previous online system required the use of two simultaneous computer screens and featured lots of pop-up windows. There was limited space to display the area maps, and the user interface was cumbersome and slow to learn. The new online system offers a large map view, a de-clutter interface and intuitive buttons to support a faster learning curve. Furthermore, tools, dialogue boxes and panels only

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14 appear when you need them which help conserve screen space. The new system is based on GOV.UK design principles, harnesses modern HTML5 and CSS3 technologies, and has been subjected to continuous user testing and iteration.

Ultimately it is anticipated that this new approach will help deliver significantly better outcomes.

Government will benefit from a truly digital by default service which includes stronger validation controls, improved data and higher scope for disallowance mitigation. There will also be a more accessible data and control framework for European Commission auditors and greater usability for internal users. Finally, the fact that the system is built upon open source and open design standards means that its data structure is scheme agnostic which requires fewer revisions to the basic system code going forward.

Rural communities will benefit from greater individualised control. The self-serve map editor allows for real time changes with a reduced reliance on paper maps and red ink! Lower rates of disallowance penalty will also allow more money to go to those who need it – and there will be less risk of payment delays based on inaccurate or incorrect information being supplied to the European Commission.

Holly Ellis, TSO –Transforming the UK’s oldest public record The Gazette, the UK’s oldest public record has been published since 1665. It includes public, legal and financial notices, as well as honours, awards and military dispatches. The Gazette features over 200,000 notices each year and is used by businesses, banks, government and citizens.

As of December 2012 the Gazette had many positive features in its favour, including successful well known publications which were well regarded by industry across the board. However, it was felt that whilst the Gazette had served its previous mission well, it needed to change in order to grow and continue this success in a changing digital environment. As a result the decision was taken to restructure and reform the Gazette in order to sponsor its future growth and innovative development as a public resource.

Our vision was to create easy to use services based on simplified processes enabling more people and organisations to benefit from the accuracy, permanence and authority that recording and sharing information through the Gazette provides. To accomplish this vision we gathered in depth information on our users – based on a range of collection methods including face-to-face meetings, online surveys and phone interviews. We also held a series of panel session targeting general users and sector-based users – as well as brand workshops, content review workshops and face-to-face UX testing.

The entire process took 15 months and involved 40 developers and 100 customers. The results were a modernised image for the Gazette, an online first policy and an extensible platform built upon new market strategies and commercial models. At every stage of this development, customers, users and key stakeholders were engaged to inform and shape the changes we adopted.

The results of this transformation included high levels of customer satisfaction, new relationships, increased awareness and use of our services, as well as significant cost savings. In addition, 95% of advertisers said they were satisfied with our new services. What we learned from this process was that rather than imposing top-down change – the key to success is engaging your customers and making them part of your journey to service improvement and redesign. Taking bold steps based on a clearly communicated vision, whilst being prepared to fail quickly and make the necessary adjustments and

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14 adaptations were also key ingredients for success. In the case of the Gazette, we didn’t just change our public facing website – we transformed our underlying business processes.

Cait Hurley: Money Advice Service – Getting to grips with behavioural economics as part our service delivery Recent developments in behavioural economics show that changing contexts can be much more effective than attempting to change minds. This is because behavioural economics accepts that not all behaviour is a rational or reflective choice, but is more often the result of a person’s deep-seated attitudes or motivations as well as the opportunities available to them. Therefore, by making subtle changes to a person’s environment, its overall context can be changed and this “nudge” can lead to a change in behaviour.

It is for this reason that behavioural science is so beneficial – it helps us find strategies that help people develop automatic habits which are both to their advantage and fit in with their way of life and sense of self. In the 2014 Money Lives report, we used a model of behavioural change intervention that acts on several levels. Structural interventions were used to create physical and social opportunities, cognitive interventions were used to change beliefs and attitudes, and behavioural interventions were employed to create automatic habits and nudge impulsive motivations.

The Money Advice Service has embraced behavioural economics as part of our mission to drive change.

In particular, we have worked with the Fairbanking Foundation, increasing the granularity of our partnership over time.

So what is behavioural economics? In short, it is the junction where psychology starts to use economic structures to evaluate and assess how and why people behave in particular ways. The official version from Professor Ivo Vlaev is: “Economists use a classification (from Della Vigna, 2009) that is based on a very simple idea of how decisions are made. Behavioural biases and effects can affect each step. A desire to avoid unpleasant psychological experiences (e.g., regret) and urges (e.g., for immediate gratification) affect our preferences (‘wants’ and ‘needs’). Beliefs are often formed following our intuition that is incapable of assessing risk uncertainty. Different decision-making rules and shortcuts are adopted to simplify decisions.”

The Behavioural Insights team, otherwise known as the ‘Nudge Unit’ came up with a framework originally known as “Mindspace” to enable folk to develop behavioural hypotheses to test in order to understand how best to get people to commit to taking actions.

We have also embraced a level of Game-related design which helps people carry out actions and complete a task whist gaining a feeling of satisfaction. Many of the principles of game-related learning and game-related incentives intersect with the principles of behavioural economics (for example, focusing on goals and tasks, showing progress and rewards, and dispensing progressive levels of satisfaction and success throughout the experience.

A good game will start your commitment off with something small, that will take you moments to complete, give you positive feedback and reward immediately and then make the next task that little bit

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14 harder. Every time this process repeats the task becomes progressively more difficult. This is not just for players of massive multiplayer games. Think back to Tetris, a game so addictive you actively have to delete it from your phone to stop playing. A game designed not to celebrate winning, but not losing. By the time you do eventually lose (and you will), your mind is in such flow with the game that you are tackling complex decision making on a scale that seems impossible, compared to those initial brick laying tasks.

For the Money Lives Report published in 2014, the Money Advice Service undertook research with the help of the Fairbanking Foundation. While this was not digitally focussed research, it does help clearly highlight interventions that work - and why. Money Lives was a longitudinal study, videoing and returning to 72 families across the UK over a nine month period. The Fair Banking Foundation conducted 5 interventions after extensive analysis of the verbal responses people were making during the research.

For one of these interventions respondents were given simple substitution cards “I can save here” and “so I can spend there”. This was by far the most useful intervention, when it was used by people who were in a receptive frame of mind. The emphasis here is not on prescribed actions, but getting people to write down their own. Making a contract with your self – and using a pen, is a very powerful tool, yet this is a surprisingly small action, and evidence showed it working best when those being tested offset very doable actions. Instead of buying new clothes on a whim, there was the reward of searching out bargains on Ebay, or the very simple change from posh cat food to not quite so posh cat food. The important point being that there was reward involved. Actual denial is denied.

The important evidence here is that not only did this action work, but it increased the resilience of those being tested such that they actively expanded upon the action themselves. There was no need to nannylike, prescribe their actions and the next ones. Taken one brick off the floor, the world suddenly looked different, and changeable. This was by far the most impressive intervention in the Money Lives research, and it’s something that we’re testing to replicate for customers to take away from face-to-face money advice discussions.

If we apply this approach in an online context – we’ve launched a new mortgage calculator which is based on behavioural economics. It is simpler and easier to use than previous calculators – and includes clear sections on mortgage details, mortgage payment and what happens if interest rates rise. It is currently the number three calculator in UK search engine results. Average visitor dwell time on this tool is 1 minute and 10 seconds – which shows it is quick to use.

We’ve also worked on more experimental products that utilise many behavioural tick boxes. The Money Health check is a wide ranging demographics questionnaire related to your feelings about money and where you are in life. After completing the questionnaire Money Advice gives you a selection of advice plans based on your submitted information.

We believe that asking people to choose their own action plan offers a stronger incentive structure for follow-up – effectively people are contracting with themselves to pursue a chosen course of action. We also attempt to nudge people towards thinking about how they will achieve certain objectives in practical terms – along the lines of “when will you do this task”? A further key metric we employ is how many complete a particular tool – and how many of those completers are likely to be those that need this service the most. Ultimately it is hard to get something complex right – so better to stick to simple approaches and use behavioural economics as a standard tool in your development cycle. It is all about

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14 listening to your customers, identifying where they are getting the most from a particular service or tool – and above all getting better at helping them.

Buzz Session Feedback Q: Agree upon two inspiring examples of new business models in digital public services that empowering people and discuss why.

The Post Office example was highlighted during the Buzz Sessions – in relation to its commendable focus on agile and user-focused service design. However, concerns were also raised about any solutions which took the human element out of the service equation given the important role that Post Office staff play in local communities. There were also wider concerns expressed about how government can effectively target the 5% of adults who are currently actively disengaged from the online world.

In general the Money Advise service was considered to have demonstrated impressive behavioural insights whilst developing well-designed approaches and business models to maximise engagement with users by analysing their varying motivations and incentive structures. It was commented that it is often hard to nudge people to do new things without being paternalistic – so an approach which intelligently leverages people’s intrinsic attitudes and dispositions is very helpful in this context.

The SOPRA online mapping platform/interface for CAP claims was seen as a good example of improving people’s lives (e.g. farmers) using a technological solution. This case study was judged to be particularly inspiring as it addresses the needs of a group who are likely not to be highly digitally engaged to start with.

Furthermore, the accuracy of the new system and its capacity to immediately reduce disallowances (money reclaimed by the European Commission based on inaccurate information) will immediately benefit the farming community.

In the public sector the DVLA digital services for vehicle licences and tax disc renewal were seen as exemplars for digital transformation and empowerment. The GOV.UK /Ministry of Justice online service for applying for lasting power of attorney was also identified a significant improvement on the previous offline system. In local government, West Lindsey District Council’s approach of putting devices and internet connections into village halls to provide access to online services was commended – alongside Surrey County Council’s use of big data analytics to understand user demand for key transactions.

Wandsworth Council has also developed a user friendly approach to dealing with online planning applications In relation to the NHS, it was commented that the European Health Card has been well implemented and is easy to use. There are also good examples of parts of the NHS using social media analytics to identify the peak times at which people are likely to need certain services and to manage resources to meet these demands more effectively.

It was also highlighted that recent initiatives around open data are progressively being used by the public sector, businesses and individuals to make better decisions and improve productivity. Key examples included: • •

ONS: Data Mapping and Interactive Content Ordinance Survey: OS Open Data

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ONS: Neighbourhood Statistics ONS: Digital Publishing Home Office: Police UK UK Data Explorer Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion Community Insight

Other related discussion topics included: The challenges of using legacy technology which can often prevent delivering simple and • easy to use services Many housing association tenants are already in debt which makes it difficult for them to • get a contract with an Internet Service Provider – which restricts their capacity to access digital services The potential value of capturing real time feedback from users of online services to allow • rapid feedback to service designers to iteratively address user needs The valuable focus on open data and user friendly digital service needs to be balanced with • educating users on the benefits of these new services and how to use them safely and securely

Twit Vote Q: Has the transformation of Public Services gone: Way too far: 1 vote Too far: 5 votes Far enough: 4 votes Not far enough: 52 votes Nowhere near far enough: 33 votes

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14 Plenary Session 2: Digital Skills Keynote speech: Phil Fearnley, Director Homepage and MyBBC, BBC Two years ago the BBC covered the first digital Olympics which represented a watershed in digital broadcasting. Now I’m part of the team which is seeking to implement a similar approach in relation to digital skills, working across all parts of the BBC (TV, radio, online, the regions and learning) and the wider industry. This project will be centred on building digital creativity which is a key element for empowerment.

Digital technologies are playing an increasingly central role in our lives. From a BBC perspective, the digital Olympics and iPlayer projects created new opportunities for users to access content in new ways and from a new range of devices. Technology is also transforming our private lives, from sharing photos on Facebook, staying in touch with overseas relatives on Skype, or starting our own digital businesses.

This year the BBC is celebrating 20 years online – and has launched the BBC iWonder homepage as a focal point for this celebration. And yet it is important to remember that the BBC’s digital journey began even earlier than this – in the 1980s with the launch of the BBC Micro personal computer which sought to expand access to the power of computing for learning, information and entertainment beyond the minority. More recently the BBC has launched campaigns like First Click designed to help get millions of new users online. Next week we are proud to be hosting the launch of Go ON UK’s North West campaign at BBC Media City in Salford.

Today we are entering a new phase of digital transformation with a new and growing divide between digital consumers and digital creators. In this context the BBC will be seeking to leverage its national reach to ensure that everyone benefits from digital. We will be seeking to inspire a new generation of creators, coders and innovators.

Reading and writing and counting are valuable skills – but in the 21st century everyone needs digital skills to fully participate in our increasingly digital world. 30 years ago we brought the BBC micro in partnership with Acorn shipping over 1 million computers into schools and homes. According to Baroness Lane-Fox, Chair of Go ON UK, by 2020 there will be nearly one million technology sector jobs in the UK which may be unfilled if steps are not taken to address our digital skills gap. We need a new generation of geeks who teach!

At the BBC we want to harness the power of our brand to inspire new audiences to create and play in the digital world. We want inspire teenage audiences about possibilities of working in new areas of our digital world, from digital design and marketing to engineering, gaming, fashion and music. We also want to engage with pupils, parents and teachers to drive a new digital curriculum in schools. The current pace of change is extremely rapid. Almost every teenager now has a mobile and the evidence suggest that this is increasingly the device they value the most - before radio or even TV. 40% of requests to BBC iPlayer now come from mobiles – in comparison to only 6% just a few years ago. Last week we were in Gateshead for BBC Live – where 2,000 children tested our prototypes and loved them. In Gateshead there is 27% youth unemployment.

Across the UK digital jobs are growing in their tens of thousands. In London the burgeoning technology sector is scheduled to create an additional £12 billion of economic value alongside 46,000 new digital 12

14 jobs within the next decade. So we need a new generation of digital entrepreneurs to help drive our future potential for growth, create new and innovative ways of overcoming community challenges and delivering new private and public services. We want to amplify and scale up the work of our partners and stimulate innovation across small businesses – working with government, industry and local communities. We want people to understand the digital world and their role and opportunities within it.

We want to help provide everyone with the tools they need to take control of their future and exploit new opportunities. Ultimately we want to leverage digital technologies to build a deeper relationship with our audiences, and empower those audiences to engage more closely with us. As our Director Tony Hall recently said: “Not the BBC, but my BBC - our BBC”.

Brian Gannon, Head of Corporate Development, Kainos – Bringing coding back to school Kainos has been in business for about 28 years. We fundamentally rely on young bright talent for the future success of our business. We are facing a skill shortage just like every organisation in the digital sector. In 2013 E-Skills published a report on “Technology and Skills in the Digital Industries” which contended that 300,000 new recruits will be needed to fill IT employment gaps by 2023. The report warned that a lack of specialist technical skills is hampering the sectors capacity for growth with nearly 20% of vacancies proving difficult to fill. This makes it harder for digital companies to keep pace with technological change.

Coding in schools is a key component for identifying and nurturing the young talent of the future. Indeed there is a wider macroeconomic point here – the greatest competition the UK will face in the future will be from emerging economies which are currently leading the way in delivering programming skills to their young generation.

Programming is hard, creative – and not for everybody – but everybody should have early exposure to programming. One difficulty on the delivery side is that even though lots of teachers would applaud beefing up the ICT syllabus and teaching coding to their pupils – there still remain many significant challenges. While many teachers realise and accept the current problem – not many teachers have the skills or capacity to deliver this part of the digital skills agenda.

Coder Dojo started in Ireland in 2011 and is now present 45 countries (440 Coder Dojos attracting 6,500 people). The demand here is clearly huge (and this is open source tech and volunteer led). It is about encouraging enthusiastic young people to code using modern technologies. It is also about allowing mums and dads to come along with their kids to share in this experience.

Kainos itself is running a number of important initiatives in this space. Last year we ran a week long Code Camp session over the summer inviting 16-17 year old school leavers to participate. We had 300 applications for 17 places! Our interest was in encouraging these young people into the industry. This year we will be running Code Camp again with nearly twice the number of applicants.

We have also organised Code Show – a day showing young people what it is like to be a software developer. Our younger engineers spend a day in schools with pupils to show them what this career is like.

Demand for this is completely outstripping our abilities to supply this opportunity.

A further initiative - AppCamp – is now in its 4th year. It takes bright first year engineering and design students, and asks them to come up with an App idea. We then help them build it, and participants are

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14 allowed to keep the final product. At the end we run a dragons den process to help give them some of the commercial models they need to take it to market. This year we had 200 applicants from universities across the UK. From my experience of teaching at university level – the top students in my class are almost always women – but sadly this is not translated into industry at large. We are currently working on developing a programming badge and programming camp in the south of England this year with an emphasis of attracting a broad range of participants including young women.

There is also an issue here with exclusion – most of our participants at all ages are middle class. This means there are lots of talented kids out there from other backgrounds who will find it extremely challenging to pursue a career in IT. We are trying to reach out into new areas/communities which are less well served with these opportunities. Skill and talent is everywhere and this should not be ignored.

Finally, there are lots of well-intentioned initiatives which are not well funded. You can’t learn code in an afternoon, or a day or a week. There is a necessary degree of rigour which needs to be put into how a syllabus delivers these skills. One of the things we have found – coding is hard, it is tricky – but this doesn’t really matter for those that are really interested and motivated. The industry is about design and coming up with elegant solutions – and some people have a natural aptitude for this – and we need to seek them out, engage and empower them.

Kate Norman, Cumbria Partnership, NHS Foundation Trust – A Network of Digital Neighbours In 2012 I was asked to write a paper – a network of digital neighbours – about engaging people.

Most of Cumbria’s population live in rural communities, and over 25% are over 65 years old. The number of people aged 85 years and older is set to double in the next 20 years. In 2012 I wrote a paper entitled “A Network of Digital Neighbours” which focused on how to digitally engage communities. Subsequently I set up the University of the 3rd Age – a computer club with 45 local people participating in computer sessions at my house. In return for their participation, I would often get them to help me by testing some of the websites I was working on.

Ultimately, digital inclusion is essentially about being a good digital neighbour. It’s about developing the digital skills to connect with others, and sharing your skills with others so they can connect with you.

Confidence is often the key barrier in this context. People need to be enabled to come to terms with their misgivings and not be afraid of trying. From my experience in Cumbria, many of my learners had taken early retirement or left their jobs to avoid computers – and now they were being forced to engage with it anyway! If we take the example of my grandmother Olive – at 93 she retired as a Royal Mail Post Mistress because they asked her to go on a computer course!

When Martha Lane-Fox launched Race Online 2012 – I suppose I became a digital champion – but I didn’t think I was doing anything special. I think most of us are digital champions by being good digital neighbours and offering ad hoc support and help to others.

When I first started with the NHS it took me two years to absorb all the existing acronyms and processes.

Many people asked me - how have you got time to learn all this? The answer is that I enjoy it. The wider

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14 point here is that, if we know that the importance of acquiring digital skills and engaging with the digital world is not going away – how can we make this transition as painless as possible? I think much of the onus is on those that design the systems to make them more simple and straightforward – whilst also working and engaging with those who need it the most.

Over the last year I have learnt how culture can drive learning and define how learning happens. I thought I had been teaching – but actually I had been acting more as a coach and a mentor. Giving people the confidence to explore new experiences and take them further down the road of digital learning and empowerment will remain an essential cornerstone of bringing the benefits of the online world to everyone.

Tim Lloyd, Department for Business, Skills & Innovation - Digital by Stealth Today I want to share with you our practical attempt to help policy makers who are often surprisingly fearful of digital. Part of the solution is identifying and leveraging the right balance of incentives and motivating factors – which I refer to as carrots and sticks. People tend to be engaged by a mixture of the projected benefits of change, combined with an understanding of the risks they may encounter by ignoring the case for change.

Embracing digital technologies and skills in government can unlock a series of positive outcomes, including better data, better feedback from audiences as well as increased skills and job security in a changing public service environment. It should also be remembered that digital is embedded into current approaches to civil service reform.

In support of this agenda we carried out 340 hours of training, as well as targeted surgeries, overview dashboards, and one-to-one meetings with key stakeholders. At the end of last year – I must admit that I got a bit fed up! Some policy teams will still say – “I don’t have time” or “the IT doesn’t work” (legacy systems preventing them from accessing new tools and resources) or they say their “audience isn’t online”.

Countering and surmounting these objections and barriers is hard work. Finally, we adopted a new approach that I like to refer to as “Digital By Stealth”! The week before Christmas I dropped off pilot policy packs with five key senior BIS civil servants. They were selected either because they had an established interest or commitment to this agenda – or because they represented the gatekeepers to particularly important segments of our departmental audience.

Each pilot policy pack included a tablet, a book and a coffee voucher. The coffee vouchers were designed to encourage recipients to make time for digital. The book was selected to help them learn a bit more about the scope for digital improvement and transformation rather than just relying on their corporate Twitter feed. The tablet was to enable them to experience direct use of new technology. The final ask was for these selected officials to feedback to me on the three items (in person and via a blog) and to share them with their respective teams.

Essentially this strategy sought to capitalise on three key human characteristics and motivations – ego, fear and greed – in order to drive digital engagement and adoption. The results of this pilot approach were encouraging. We had five new teams, listening, analysing and talking to their audience. Another 30 or so team leaders signed up to participate in this pilot offering to share these materials and approach with those they manage. We also got digital adoption and engagement back on the departmental agenda at board level – and benefited from a re-energised digital team.

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14 Ultimately I think this experience shows that building digital skills within organisations requires people to try different things. It is not always about securing a big budget or crafting a big overarching strategy – but about driving small-scale but effective innovation and adoption.

Buzz session Feedback Question: Discuss two inspiring and empowering UK Digital Skills Initiatives you are aware of – why are they so good?

The audience highlighted several of the Kainos training initiatives outlined during the previous session which are designed to reach out to a new generation of learners. In particular App Camp received praise for not just focusing on technical skills and allowing participants to realise their own ideas and build something of value. Kainos was also applauded for working to engage young girls and women with programming – and its efforts to develop a coding badge for Girl Guides.

It was also felt that the grass roots level approach of the Digital Neighbours scheme in Cumbria was extremely valuable and demonstrated that even a small investment in time can make a huge difference to the lives of older people. The scope for local initiatives like Digital Neighbours to stimulate micro volunteering at scale was also discussed. In addition, table discussion also identified the Helping U Get Online (HUGO) initiative which takes buses with free training, devices and Wi-Fi out to local communities.

The BIS example of digital by stealth received positive audience reactions – specifically in relation to its approach to tackling key barriers around organisational culture, funding and institutional hierarchies.

The range of BBC initiatives outlined in the previous session was also well received. It was suggested that the Raspberry Pi (which costs around £20 and is already being used in several other countries in addition to the UK) could be the “next BBC Micro” given its capacity to offer a fun and accessible route to low cost computing/programming. Could this approach be used to deliver new opportunities for digital creation and creativity to the next generation?

At local government level it was noted that Surrey County Council has been aggregating learning material for staff, in collaboration with a local university, on using the web for research, social media and benchmarking. They are also investigating ways of embedding the capacity for staff to share their learning and skills with others across the Council.

It was noted that there are lots of free learning resources available from DigitalSkills.com, Learning Pool, BBC, Open University, Tinder Foundation and Digital Unite – but more needs to be done to raise awareness of these resources and share good ideas.

More generally it was commented that schools and programming/coding clubs need to engage young people while their minds are still open to new ideas and thinking. Current ICT learning can sometimes be equated to knowing how to cook a microwave meal. Advanced coding may not be for everyone, but everyone should be able to peel a potato! They then have the choice and opportunity whether they want to progress to being merely a competent cook – or a Michelin starred chef! It was also suggested that alongside coding, soft skills such as team building, leadership, problem solving and communicating are all essential ingredients for a successful career in the technology sector.

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14 A range of additional initiatives/projects were cited during the table discussions: Hopscotch coding App – helps young people learn by stealth through a fun and visually • based user interface • Microsoft / UK Youth – IT Youth Hubs: a network of 35 Youth ICT hubs across the UK offering over 2,500 young people direct access to IT resources and knowledge to help them develop work and life skills • Young Rewired State – an independent global network which introduces kids aged 18 and under who have taught themselves coding to like-minded peers to work together in building websites, apps and algorithms to solve real world problems • Free:Formers – a company which offers hands-on workshops for businesses seeking to expand their digital skills and drive digital growth within their organisation. For every business person they train – they offer free basic digital skills training for a young unemployed person

Twit Vote Q: Are the current UK Digital Skills initiatives: Totally inadequate: 7 votes Inadequate: 23 votes OK: 8 votes Good: 3 votes Very Good: 0 votes

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14 Plenary Session 3: Assisted Digital and Digital Inclusion Keynote Speech: Tristan Wilkinson, interim CEO, Go ON UK Our mission is to make the UK the world’s most digitally skilled nation. If we don’t continue to make progress on this – all the aspirational objectives and discussion which emerge from today will be impossible to deliver.

During a recent ASDA project with the Tinder Foundation, a woman came into an ASDA store who had never used the internet. During the course of this initiative she was introduced to the digital world – and ultimately ended up successfully applying online for a job in that very same ASDA store! The point is – this is now daily life – and that not having access to digital skills is no longer a niche problem. Indeed, if you don’t have digital skills it becomes progressively harder to do everything we now increasingly take for granted In 2013 there were 11 million unemployed in the United States – at the same time as 4 million job vacancies – which is clear evidence of a growing skills gap. Europe is of course facing similar challenges with the European Commission estimating that in 2015 there will be 900,000 technology job vacancies while 26 million Europeans remain unemployed.

The pace of change unleashed by new digital innovations and business models is absolutely phenomenal.

We all know about the recent arrivals (Facebook, Google, Amazon) which are driving change across the digital market place. But even in the case of companies such as the Intel Corporation, which was founded in the late 1960s – 90% of its current revenue comes from products invented in the last 10 years. This process of accelerated change is also massively disruptive. Spotify has completely changed how people consume media. Consumers are increasingly opting for licensed access to media and content on any device from any location – as opposed to physical ownership.

In relation to digital skills and inclusion, we need to ensure that we keep pace with how the world is changing. We need to understand what really matters to individuals, organisations and businesses, and make sure we continue to innovate in terms of our overarching objectives, our messaging and our delivery. We need to think about more than just what digital skills mean today – but what they are likely to mean in 10 years’ time.

If we take the example of Argos – they have recently launched a new digital format store. Their experience shows us how digital has changed both the underlying culture and every single aspect of their business processes. In the new digital retail outlets catalogues have been replaced by tablets – but the whole customer interaction process has also been completely redesigned.

On the domestic front, collaborative games such as Minecraft (which effectively is the online equivalent of collaborative digital Lego) have been incredibly effective in engaging young people to take part in virtual team exercises. A typical online Minecraft session can involve multiple children identifying and achieving common goals whilst building team working and other core skills.

We are certainly at an interesting time in the long term narrative for digital inclusion. In May GDS published their Digital Inclusion Strategy. Government continues to push through public sector reforms, but we need to ensure that alongside the benefits and cost savings, digital by default doesn’t risk dividing communities and excluding citizens.

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14 Accessing the job market is now an activity which takes place almost exclusively online, with many companies such as NEXT only offering vacancies through digital channels. Our environment is also becoming increasingly defined by smart technology. If we imagine a world where a keyboard and a mouse are still frightening devices to many individuals – and then put those people in a hyper-connected smart city complete with driverless cars and smart infrastructure – it isn’t hard to see that their world is about to get a lot more frightening! To address this we need a build a conversation about how new technologies can be properly metabolized at an inclusive societal level.

We are all increasingly social using online communication and collaboration mechanisms. However, during a shared language workshop supported by the BBC, one participant made it abundantly clear that he thought social media was the same as online dating! His response was “I won’t touch that my wife would kill me!” This example shows that we still have plenty of myths to explode around many people’s inaccurate perceptions of the online world.

Government is increasingly in love with high-tech manufacturing and coding – and yet this represents a narrow focus on a small subset of technology – which can be at the detriment to inclusion issues.

Ultimately the Government’s preoccupation with coding and programming skills should not obscure the fact that inclusive access to basic online skills remains the essential foundation for digital empowerment on a national scale. We need to ensure a balance between building this essential foundation, and focusing on specific skills sets which not everyone will be able to achieve. The key point here is there should not be an either/or choice between universal access to basic online skills and support for specific technical skills – we need to deliver both.

We are also going to have £15 million of Big Lottery Funding made available during the coming year to support digital inclusion. I am very keen to see that these resources support innovative projects and new ideas. I’m also keen to review all the project bids to see how we can work with all parties involved, particularly unsuccessful bids which still have innovative elements which might be up scaled or built upon though other potential partnerships and initiatives.

Research suggests that over 75 year olds estimate that they visit on average seven websites per day – and narrow users only six. In designing digital public services aimed at this demographic – managers will need to ask themselves the question - is your site good enough to be one of those seven sites? Your age also affects how you will be most likely to access websites. Smartphone use is currently around 2% for the over 75s – versus 54% for all adults. In addition, 74% of those over 75 will tend to visit a physical bank branch to deal with their finances – as opposed to only 42% of all adults. Of those that are online – the over 75s tend to use the internet for an average of 7 hours per week, whereas the average adult will clock up 16.8 hours of internet use over the same period.

Recent reports suggest that London’s technology industry will at £12 billion to the capital’s economy whilst creating 30% new technology sector jobs (an estimated 46,000 new positions).

Finally, we are now in an election year. It is time to think carefully about the question – what do we want from a government? In the next few months there may be a few opportunities to influence the agenda – and in order to properly capitalise on those we urgently need to be able to answer that question. How can we cooperate better to achieve common digital inclusion objectives? When have we won? Is it a question of resources, attitudes or both? What would we do with £100 million to support this agenda?

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14 Jeh Kazimi, CEO, Breezie – Making the internet personal – at scale In making the digital world accessible for older users, we need to be able to successfully respond to statements like: “I have lived without the internet for 70 years, thank you very much but I don’t need it.”

As a company, the journey for Breezie began three years ago when we began to investigate the different common phases of older people to the internet. In the beginning they tend to be curious, shortly after they become frustrated, and eventually after several unsuccessful attempts to engage they then become indifferent!

Two years later we are now working closely with AgeUK – and we have been identified as one of the top 15 most innovative products in the senior space by the American Association of Retired Persons. At its core, Breezie is a personalised tablet interface which incorporates both a remote help facility and a service delivery platform. The personalised interface makes using the tablet simple and relevant for older users. The remote help facility makes it easier to support users and personalise their interface environment according to their needs. The service delivery platform supports the effective delivery of digital services to older users.

Ultimately, the internet has the power to transform older people’s lives – but they often find it complex and unnecessary and therefore don’t use it. Persuading hard to reach groups often requires a personal approach. Often it is important to spell out the benefits of the digital world in a specific as opposed to generic way. For example – video call your son John in Australia; save £56 on your utility bills; use an online app to track your blood pressure; or watch old episodes of your favourite TV programme.

A key challenge for us was – how can we achieve this personalised approach at scale? We quickly learnt that skills building and institutional support were not sufficient. Even a product as simple as the iPad needs a service element to engage older users. To address this problem we developed a simplified user interface which integrates Facebook, video messaging and email into one easy to use application. As setting up a device with all the relevant accounts and passwords can be a significant barrier to older people – we built a layer into our platform where all aspects of account set up, maintenance and support can be accomplished remotely.

Breezie allows relatives to use its platform remotely via smartphone or tablet to add content, passwords, contacts, bookmarks, apps to an older users’ tablet interface. In this context having the help of someone who really understands the user is an essential part of our approach. In helping people to personalise devices for their relatives we have begun to focus on solutions as opposed to features – for example uploading relevant contact photos for users with dementia. We are also continuously gaining further insight into the key trigger points which engage older users – e.g. needlework, fishing rod licences, clay pigeon shooting….etc – which allow the technology to be successfully personalised according to the specific interests of the user.

But we didn’t stop there. We realised that late adopters often need cutting edge technologies to make their lives simpler. Older people will often say “my house” or “my car”….but always still say “that computer”! We have developed an intelligence interface linked to motivation and abilities which offers different levels of simplicity or sophistication depending on the aspirations and aptitudes of specific users.

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14 At the same time, we have also responded to the need to some traditional printed materials to help people switch on their Breezie or connect to the internet – which are two essential preconditions before the user interface can start doing its job.

So is this working? The results so far indicate that our average user age is between 63 and 97 years old. Of these users, 20% are ex-iPad owners, 20% ex-PC users, and 60% are complete beginners. Average daily use is around 4 hours (8 hours for some users).

I will leave you with a final quote from one of our users who recently said: “I don’t mind going to prison, as long as I can take my Breezie with me!”

Chris Yiu, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations – Time to lead: Participation and inclusion in a world-class digital Scotland The Digital Scotland Strategy has four pillars – digital government, the digital economy (including a focus on high-tech skills, technology incubators and closing the skills gap), infrastructure (including super-fast broadband provision) and participation.

In 2014 you cannot fully participate in society unless you have decent digital skills. Go ON UK is doing good work in this area. In Scotland 3 in 10 people do not have basic digital skills – that’s 1.3 million individuals. You can provide the digital infrastructure, offer people digital devices and develop digital services – but none of this will ultimately be effective unless you have an inclusive approach to digital skills.

We want to create an environment where people have access to the best of digital technology and are capable and confident in its use at home, at work and on the move; where businesses have the skills and confidence to exploit digital technologies. We want to see an economic environment which encourages digital innovation and supports the creation, growth and development of businesses; and where Scotland is seen as an attractive location for inward investment in digital technologies.

The SCVO is the membership organisation for Scottish charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. We have over 1,500 members ranging from individuals and grassroots groups, to Scotlandwide organisations and intermediary bodies.

It is important to remember in this context that digital inclusion is currently inseparable from social inclusion. It is really about helping people, and helping those people to help other people. Access to digital skills and digital services empower people to deal with the objectives and goals which matter to them. We are currently working on a National Framework for Digital Participation which is designed to support local action and initiatives at scale. This is based on our analysis that the bulk of the work around digital inclusion is carried out in communities by groups and organisations which have trusted relationships with local citizens. We need to forge effective partnerships between the public sector, businesses and civil society.

When it comes to the wider question of what do we need from government? My answer would be that we need to change business as usual. We are arriving at a point where governments should put resources of the same magnitude into solving digital inclusion as well as rolling out broadband infrastructure and building high level skills.

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14 Finally, to find out more about the Digital Scotland initiative, please visit www.digitalscotland.org where you can find a list of our supporters and a copy of the Scottish Digital Participation Charter.

Charles Sellers, Innovation and Technology Group, Vantage Point Technologies They say that the first sign of madness is repeating the same exercise time and time again and expecting a different result. And yet in many ways this is exactly what has been happening in the digital inclusion space.

Innovation is about new ideas – and as such it is neither “the same as” or “similar to” - otherwise it is not innovative. Asking individuals what they want is problematic because they don’t know what they don’t know – which hampers their capacity to accurately diagnose their needs.

As Henry Ford once said – “If we always do what we’ve always done we’ll always get what we’ve always got.” We are well-accustomed to working in silos and delivering more of the same. Change used to be delivered through top-down initiatives. Now we seek to promote bottom up initiatives, whilst putting as many obstacles in their way as possible.

This begs the question, why don’t we create an environment in which we have a more accurate understanding of people’s needs? This is not just a question of funding; this is about political and economic leadership. Many would say that we are just behind the EU as the world leaders in ticking boxes – without looking at sustainability and delivery. We need to start looking at best practice. There is a tremendous amount of good work going on – but much of this is never incorporated into an overall strategy.

We need to coordinate an awareness programme for SMEs. I have been talking to the DWP in Newcastle to investigate opportunities for mapping out what provision is available across the North East. We also need to be realistic about what different courses and curricula can achieve. People expect a three hour intensive digital skills session to a make a long term difference. The answer is - it won’t! Building skills and capacity in this area needs on-going engagement and commitment – not just quick fixes and sticking plasters.

On the plus side there are a range of potential platforms out there. Escher Group is working on specific platform for SMEs – which I am looking to apply to address the needs of NEETs. A further challenge is posed by the 21 million pieces of obsolete IT equipment lying about the UK. One route to mitigating this can be through adopting new compact technologies such as Android Stick PCs. These weigh less than two ounces and can turn any HDTV or HDMI compatible monitor into a fully featured computer capable of viewing HD video or making Skype calls. We also need to take steps to engage college graduates and expand the number of technology related work placements. We are currently working on a digital economy strategy for Northumberland designed to target 18-80 year olds.

Finally, we need to ask ourselves, how long will we keep throwing money at the same initiatives, delivering the same provision by the same providers and achieving the same poor results? I am expecting Digital Leaders to make a difference……and bring some sanity to this.

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14 Marion McKenna, vInspired – Can online platforms fuel youth employment? vIinspired is a charity which works to create opportunities for young people. We produced a survey of 1,000 young people aged 18-24. One in four in that age group are unemployed, and 50% of graduates are facing a long hunt for work. Vinspired calls this group the beta generation – because of its interesting and specific characteristics. The name Beta Generation comes from the concept of beta testing technology – in which products are repeatedly launched, improved, re-launched, tested and improved. Young people of this generation display an entrepreneurial resilience and openness to risk that has been amplified by the youth employment crisis (lack of jobs mean many have less to lose) and by technological advances (giving them low cost, low risk opportunities to try out their ideas). Therefore this Beta Generation are more open to risk, more entrepreneurial, and as early adopters of new tech are constantly learning. The Beta Generation are more likely to consider unconventional careers and entrepreneurial opportunities.

This is illustrated by the example of Jamal Edwards who set up his own YouTube channel and is now worth £6 million at the age of 22!

In January vInspired carried out new research focused on the attitudes and values of the Beta Generation.

This resulted in a number of interesting findings including: • • • • • • •

One in five are unemployed – but they haven’t lost hope 81% won’t sit back and wait for things to happen to them 76% want to prove something to themselves 70% are motivated 23% see the recession as a chance to make their living in new ways 75% are passionate 85% take sole responsibility for their career

The research also demonstrated that young people increasingly reject traditional 9-5 careers. Just 52% of young people want a traditional job working for an employer. Jobs for life and careers for life are increasingly becoming things of the past. Furthermore, 27% would rather set up their own business, and 17% want to develop a portfolio career (working across multiple disciplines and areas).

Part of the reasons for these emerging attitudes is that young people are already making money online!

59% have already made money outside the context of a traditional job. 38% have done so by selling goods using online sales platforms like eBay or Etsy. Others are making money from online blogs or YouTube channels.

And yet employers are finding it challenging to engage with the Beta Generation. Young people have increasingly stopped using traditional temping agencies (just 21%), and only 5% of 1,000 young people we interviewed said they would use job centre plus! Young people are tired of endless application forms with little response in return. Employers are understandably keen to access this talent pool – and yet traditional recruitment mechanisms are failing to engage the Beta Generation.

In response to this situation, vInspired has introduced the Task Squad initiative. Task Squad connects employers looking to get stuff done with our community of young people who are eager to get into the paid job market. It is connected to vinspired.com – where we have a community of over 100,000 young volunteers who are high quality, trusted and incredibly motivated.

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14 Why does this approach work for the Beta Generation? Primarily because it leverages key skills gained through volunteering and it’s flexible, fast and all accessible using mobile/online channels. It also gives young people a choice over the work they choose to do – and crucially, it’s all paid work!

The same approach works for employers because it gives businesses access to a pool of proven motivated workers. The system is flexible, fast, cost effective and integrates payroll management. It also allows businesses to hire staff quickly in periods of growth.

The vInspired experience shows that online platforms can be leveraged to fuel youth employment. We’ve delivered 2,000 hours of work to young people during our pre-launch phase, paying out over £8,000.

Young people are gaining opportunities for permanent work – and employers seem eager to come back for more!

Buzz session Feedback Question: What are two of the most inspiring and impactful examples of digital inclusion you know that are empowering people? What is their secret?

There was a strong positive reaction from the audience to the presentation by Breezie in the last session.

Breezie’s approach of working to motivate older people to take proper ownership of their technology, instead of seeing it as a threatening device sitting in the corner, garnered widespread support. Deploying a personalised and simplified tablet user interface which allows the elderly to make video calls and send emails to keep connected to relatives and friends was seen as both valuable and effective. vInspired’s work to create work opportunities for young people was also very well received – in particular its approach of diagnosing the habits, aspirations and life style choices of the upcoming Beta Generation and using online channels to engage and harness their socio-economic capital.

Delegates also highlighted the value of Go ON UK’s partnership approach across different regions in the UK to empower and energise digital champions to share their digital skills with others – alongside Go ON UK’s focus on expanding access to basic online skills across the SME and charity sector. An often repeated example was the scope for local businesses such as hairdressers to drive additional business through digital channels – e.g. using social media to advertise and rapidly fill missed or cancelled appoints to mitigate lost revenue.

Table discussions also covered a range of other digital inclusion initiatives and projects: • • •

•

Abilitynet – changing the lives of disabled people by helping them to use digital technology at work, at home or in education.

Public libraries in Northern Ireland working with local companies to deliver digital kit and infrastructure to communities EE is working with Age UK and Go ON UK to deliver “Techy Tea Parties” across the UK – offering two hour drop in sessions where EE digital champions help visitors with technology related questions and challenges.

Mosside & Hulme Community Development Centre is using technology and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses to teach English and computing skills at the same time.

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14 •

•

•

•

Angus Silver Surfers initiative – originally set up by B&B owner Mamie Bruce-Gardyne in her kitchen has now been helping older residents expand their digital skills for over a decade with support from the School of Computing at Dundee University.

Kent public libraries are purchasing iPads and then training housebound residents how to use them to choose books for deliver whilst learning about internet safety and improving their digital skills at the same time.

Digital Unite – Digital Champions for Housing initiative: an online platform where volunteers, staff and residents can train as digital champions and be supported and encouraged to help others to get online.

Digital Outreach – harnesses trusted voices within communities to drive engagement, primarily through face-to-face communication – and reaching people in an environment they are comfortable in via peer-to-peer communication.

More generally, it was suggested there is no “one size fits all” solution for digital inclusion – and that all good programmes need a flexible mix of several key ingredients, including relevancy to the learner, a face-to-face component, local reach, an inclusive approach and on-going support. It was also commented that future campaigns should also place more emphasis on the capacity of family or friends helping to deliver digital skills in addition to traditional learning methods.

One delegate argued that there had thus far been very few examples of digital being used to change the business model of public service delivery. Currently government has mainly focused on reducing costs by digitising existing services – but without enough additional thought being put into how the public sector can use technology to create new collaborative ways of working that fundamentally transform services for the better. A suggested solution was to create and embed new innovation teams across government, manned by central and local government representatives, as well as third sector and health service stakeholders.

A final cautionary example was given of a Glasgow Housing Association which received funding from the Scottish Government to offer free devices, install free broadband and provide free digital champion training. Despite significant outreach efforts to residents (knocking on doors..etc) only 50% have accepted this offer so far. Some won’t even open the door. This illustrates a key challenge around digital inclusion in terms of successfully generating demand for digital opportunities and effectively articulating the benefits of engaging with technology and the online world.

Twit Vote Q: How digitally inclusive are our public services?

Totally inclusive: 7 votes Uninclusive: 43 votes Inclusive: 17 votes Very inclusive: 1 vote Incredibly inclusive: 0 votes

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14 Plenary Session 4: Digital Hustings Chi Onwurah MP – Member of Parliament for Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and Shadow Cabinet Office Minister for Digital Government It is a real pleasure to see 200 Digital Leaders in one room – and such a great gender mix. This is the first all-female panel I have participated in for a discussion on digital issues. I used to be an electrical engineer working in telecommunications all over the world.

I believe that we have yet to see all the positive benefits of technological change, as well as the challenges which we will need to overcome. The Labour party recognises the power of digital for transforming society as well as benefiting society. I currently am chairing a Labour Digital Review – we are engaging with citizens, businesses, third sector and experts across a number of digital policy areas. Our Digital Government review is led by me with the support of an advisory board, but we have also launched a Digital Skills Review led by Maggie Philbin, and a Creative Industries review led by John Woodward.

All the changes we have seen in the private sector – in relation to book sales, media and retail business models – have all involved significant transformations in the value chain. However, I would argue that in the case of government the value chain has yet to be fully transformed.

Many of my constituents are going through digital discomfort! Whether it is the security services monitoring our communications and online activity, amazon tracking our purchasing choices, Google recording our every move, or our children being exposed to internet pornography - in many instances fear of digital overshadows the positive benefits and opportunities on offer.

The current government has presided over a mishandling of the broadband roll out programme, and the imposition of digital by default as a cost cutting as opposed to a service improvement programme. The truth is that the digital divide, economic inequality and the cost of living are all growing. Combine this with delays in broadband roll out and the rise of Big Data and the Cloud – and there is a real risk of a large disenfranchised and disempowered underclass developing whilst the privileged enjoy greater freedom and transparency.

To be a citizen in the 21st century means being a digital citizen. The Government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy, published in April, is based on an approach which excludes 7 million people as its starting point.

The key thing to remember is that we cannot continue to address these concerns and challenges ad hoc and reactively – we need a broad debate about the role of technology in society, and a debate about who owns data and the appropriate balance between security, freedom and privacy.

Digital government without inclusion risks a return to an 18th century model of democracy. We must ensure that technology drives power and data out to the frontline with the service user, not just to be conserved in vast data stores. If government and industry do not work together to drive the positive power of technology then it will transform the relationship with government for the few – whilst entrenching disadvantage for the many. Used properly, with proper concern for privacy, transparency and service design, technology can be a powerful tool and reshape how government and citizens interact with each other.

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14 Ultimately we need to build on Ed Miliband’s vision of people power services – built on information provided by individuals – and supported by public sector stakeholders who have the skills and capacity to share in the design of the new services people need.

Claire Perry MP – Member of Parliament for Devizes and Assistant Whip (HM Treasury) My experience with technology dates back to the 1990s when I was head of e-commerce for Credit Suisse. More recently as a Parliamentarian I have been focusing on a range of key issues including online safety and security for children.

In many instances, what I would term “muscular geek speak” responses can cloud this important area of policy debate. A further challenge is when party politics leads debate around technology into a political cul de sac which limits scope for sensible exchanges or decision-making.

We can fight like rats in sack about other policy issues – but actually we agree on many areas. Building a digital backbone in this country is seen as essential by all sides.

If I were being uncharitable I could criticise the 2009 Digital Britain report for being unambitious. I could criticise the investment of £1.6 billion of public money to achieve universal broadband speeds of only 24mbs.

The issue of rural broadband access is crucial – there are millions of people in the countryside who would prefer to work where they live rather than commute to urban areas and tread a higher carbon foot print in the process of doing so.

We are putting £150 million into tackling mobile not spots. I know about this problem first hand. Until recently I had better reception in Kabul than I did in Marlborough.

I was astonished to learn 50% of UK SMEs still don’t have a website. I believe a much broader conversation needs to happen around inclusion for individuals and crucially for small businesses.

We should of course remember that the UK isn’t doing too badly here – but we need to become a global leader in this space.

I also want to point out that digital by default is not a coercive model. We recognise that 83% of people with internet access at home will happily use digital channels – which allows us to focus our resources on serving the remainder with assisted digital services.

In the old fledgling days of e-commerce when Burton’s announced it had launched a website its share price jumped by 10% as it had now become an “online retailer”!

On cyber technology we have invested £1 billion in this area, both to safeguard our national security as well with the objective of stimulating skills and innovation. In relation to digital procurement – I think the G-cloud is brilliant in the way that it is allowing small businesses to get involved in previously impenetrable and inaccessible government contracts.

On the skills agenda – we are working hard to investigate ways of putting programming and coding into the curriculum. Other approaches to online learning, such as MOOCs are also important here.

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14 In addition, offering individuals and businesses the opportunity to access and use government data will play a vital role in sponsoring additional waves of innovation and the rise of new business models, services and products.

But above all, we must remember that all these exciting new opportunities will remain pie in the sky – unless we deliver a fast and reliable connectivity backbone for the UK – not just in big cities but in rural areas as well.

Panel Discussion: Digital Inclusion Mark Thompson – in the context of developing digital public services, supply chain redesign needs a national debate about retraining and reskilling the workforce to address the consequences of traditional delivery models being disintermediated. Where do you think political leadership should be invested across this?

Claire Perry MP – in many instances the cost of a digital transaction ends up being one fiftieth the cost of an offline transaction. While this certainly offers significant opportunities for the public sector to achieve more at lower cost – I suspect the Labour party is uncomfortable with the concept of public sector job losses. Ultimately, Francis Maude and the Government Digital Service have been delivering cost savings whilst re-engineering and delivering better and more accessible services.

Chi Onwurah MP – I would like to stress that I am great admirer of Claire for her work on child safety. But in relation to digital public services I want to be clear – they are going to happen – and they have to happen – in order for government to deliver more for less.

I would like to make two further points – the disintermediation of the government value chain is not the same as disintermediation of the private sector value chain. We need to encourage and stimulate the coproduction of services by civil servants and service users – which needs more interaction and more highly skilled service deliverers and designers.

On the topic of job losses – this government has already introduced high numbers of public sector job cuts. We don’t want to find ourselves in a position where we have to import our digital skills – we want to encourage our civil service to grow its own digital skills.

I believe that GDS has done a fantastic job and has some great people working there – but we also need to remember that they have chosen the easier transactions to digitize. In contrast, there are many other delivery areas which will be far more challenging and resistant to digital transformation.

Claire Perry MP – I completely agree, there just isn’t a scenario where one can imagine that services like care for the elderly can become digital by default.

Chi Onwurah MP – I would say that the automation of signing on (Universal Credit) is an example of cost savings being prioritised over delivery and user experience. Users who can’t fill out forms online end up being sanctioned and then have to rely on food banks when they can’t collect their benefits.

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14 Claire Perry MP – people who find themselves in that situation just need to go to Job Centre who can help them fill out those forms. There are people for whom this will always to be too difficult – but there are plenty of other services which can benefit from digitization without significant challenges.

If we take the example of open data – the reason why Google maps ultimately triumphed over our own Ordnance Survey data and mapping was because we operated in vertical silos without scope for strategic innovation.

Mark Thompson – a further question, the most important digital transactions tend to cut across traditional government departments. At the moment government is optimizing its digital performance focusing on separate departmental pots – but ultimately isn’t it true that this process of transformation needs to take place across government?

Chi Onwurah MP – The challenge you refer to is not just a technological issue – this is a people, culture and processes issue. I’m also not sure government is a network – but we do need to work more efficiently across departments. We are currently looking at how we can improve service delivery across central government departments, local government and third sector delivery partners. Generally speaking, we need a more flexible and effective government platform architecture.

Claire Perry MP – I agree, the individual doesn’t see government as multiple parts – they just see one government delivering good or bad services. People rightly say “why am I having to do all the work filling in all these forms and jumping through these hoops” – when the private sector doesn’t require this for accessing services?

Digital Skills Claire Perry MP – This problem will not simply address itself over time. We need to be better at building cross-party consensus – we need to not be arrogant.

Chi Onwurah MP – I agree, we don’t want a government entirely made up of engineers. The Chinese Politburo is entirely made up of engineers – and that may not be the model we want to follow! But I do think we should be trying to digitally up-skill everyone. We need people to write to their MPs and ask them technical questions!

Claire Perry MP – What most people in this country need is a basic portfolio of digital skills – but services also need to be easier and simpler to use.

Audience Question – there is substantial evidence that technology is displacing medium skilled jobs – which means that many people are finding themselves forced into or trapped within lower skilled jobs.

What are your thoughts on that?

Chi Onwurah MP – Over the last two decades we have witnessed a widening of social inequality. This is partly due to technology, but also caused by other factors. To correct this we need to invest in skills and digital literacy – along with opportunities for reskilling and up-skilling those in government. We also need to remember that many jobs will also be created by emerging technologies and new business models, even while some other jobs disappear.

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14 Claire Perry MP – Schools teaching pupils how to use Excel aren’t teaching skills - they are teaching how to use a product. We should also avoid underestimating the importance of soft skills – much of IT is often about marketing, sales and good project management – not just technical IT skills.

Digital Inclusion Mark Thompson – what does the panel make of recent news stories that Francis Maude is offering everyone one shot at IT training and then after that they’ll be on their own?

Claire Perry MP – I believe Francis’ point is that there are some people for whom engaging with digital public services will never be an option. However, I also agree that it is in nobody’s interest to abandon the most complicated challenges.

Chi Onwurah MP – to say there are some people who will never get digital – is like saying there are some people who will never walk up stairs – yes they will just put something at the top they want – motivate them and take steps to make it more accessible! Skill studies show that when you properly engage someone’s interest they will make more effort to overcome barriers. I believe a strong focus on digital inclusion is absolutely critical.

Claire Perry MP – digital inclusion is important – but we shouldn’t get to the point where any attempts to engage people cross over into digital coercion.

Audience Question – in Scotland there are initiatives offering people a free device and free broadband in housing estates, and yet many people won’t even open the door to hear more about how this offer can help them. We don’t know why they aren’t opening the door in Scotland – so we need to work out what is going to motivate them. For example - the old lady who used to pay someone £80 a month to take them to a super market – now she shops online! Are you going to put investment in digital inclusion into your manifestos?

Chi Onwurah MP– we will announce our manifesto next year – but we are closely studying the Tinder report and looking at the long term returns of making digital government more accessible (so it can pay for itself).

Claire Perry MP – I totally agree – my point is not that we shouldn’t try to engage everyone we can – but just that we might not always succeed in doing so.

Chair’s concluding comments Digital skills encompass a broad spectrum ranging from basic skills to coding.

From today’s discussion I think it is clear that as the transversal role of digital increases to penetrate all aspects of our culture and socio-economic activity, we are likely to see more engagement, participation and debate in this area between citizens and our political leaders.

I also think that I have detected a subtle shift since last year. Perhaps we now need to ask ourselves, how useful and effective is the word “digital” in describe the broad spectrum of objectives and activities we

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14 are trying to undertake in this space? From my perspective I think digital as a discipline is becoming progressively more mature and self-aware – but we may need to think whether we can find new ways to more accurately describe it.

This morning was very interesting with some really great examples of empowerment from a broad spectrum of areas. There is also growing acceptance that disruptive innovation is more than just repainting what already exists. In particular, I think the vInspired example of engaging with the Beta Generation through online channels aptly demonstrates how traditional structures (e.g. recruitment agents and agencies) are being disintermediated by new innovative models.

Today we’ve seen a wide range of approaches for increasing our digital skills base – including promoting digital adoption by stealth! From our discussion it is clear that the term digital skills encompasses a wide spectrum which ranges from very basic digital skillsets to advanced programming and coding. It is also apparent to me that the topic of inclusion and digital skills has further risen up the agenda. There seems to be a tremendous amount of informal activity going on – and we need to ask ourselves how to proceed in order to scale up, improve the visibility and learn from these valuable initiatives. It is clear that right now much of this important activity is not being picked up at national level.

Tristan emphasised the importance of asking directly for what we want – and knowing what that is. I think having clarity in both our objectives and the likely resourcing needs to achieve them will be increasingly essential to future efforts to secure support from Government and private sector alike.

I was very interested to hear that there are 1.3 million people in Scotland without digital skills. Figures like this begs the question – is it time to reposition the concept of digital inclusion more firmly within a social inclusion context? Successfully doing so may enable us to raise this important issue further up the political agenda in future.

We’ve also heard about the importance of best practice and political and economic leadership. What we currently lack is a common approach to thinking about the challenges we face in building inclusive digital platforms and services – underpinned by infrastructure which is fit for purpose.

Ultimately, my sense for Digital Leaders is that we are becoming a more digitally mature organisation.

Moving forward we will need to focus on effectively articulating our values, our approach and key messages to external audiences as our profile and visibility increases.

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Telephone:+44 (0) 20 7129 1176. Fax: +44 (0) 20 7357 8015 Supported 21 Garden Walk, London, by EC2A 3EQ Website: www.digitalleaders.co.uk Email: laura.saunders@civicagenda.com.