About
Introducing the DVN project
The Digital Villages Network (DVN) is a Big Lottery Funded action research project which runs from November 2008 until April 2011. The project is led by the East Cleveland Development Group in partnership with the Centre for Social and Policy Research at the University of Teesside and local voluntary and community sector organisations.
A DVN is a virtual and real-world network of community members, practitioners and researchers working together to identify community needs and develop appropriate community-based solutions. The DVN meshes internet connectivity and on the ground community networking to facilitate social inclusion and information sharing in rural and urban communities.
Background
New information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having profound and far-reaching effects on the social world, shaping our work and home lives, our communities and our personal relationships. Within the UK today, more than two thirds of the population have the internet at home, and over three quarters use mobile phones. However, for some individuals and communities, ICT access remains difficult or limited. Many rural communities, for example, have faced additional barriers to accessing the internet and Broadband services, due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and distance from ICT access points and learning centres.
The UK government actively promotes the role of ICTs in facilitating social inclusion. This is particularly the case for deprived, rural and/or remote communities in terms of reducing ‘distance’ and enhancing local economies and civil society. This project will explore whether the development of a Digital Villages Network can facilitate new types of ICT-based service provision and learning. There is great potential for innovative and socially inclusive ICT-based services to support local communities in accessing services, shops and learning spaces and the DVN aims to address these key issues.
Project aims
Our main aim is to investigate the effectiveness of a Digital Villages Network (DVN) as a model for providing access to services and virtual learning for rural communities in East Cleveland.
Within this we aim to:
- Build capacity across rural and urban communities through the development of a community research network
- Map access to and use of ICTs, broadband and community media across Redcar & Cleveland
- Explore the role of a DVN in facilitating community participation and social connectivity
Research questions
Our research aims to answer the following questions:
1) What types of community ICT activity are taking place across the region and what influences levels of participation in these?
2) What different levels of ICT access might there be within and across households in communities in Redcar and Cleveland and what might the barriers be to home ICT use?
3) What are people’s perceptions of the usefulness of a Digital Villages Network and what service-based and learning opportunities can the network offer to local communities?
Research methods
This action research project will adopt a mixed method approach including:
- A region-wide mapping exercise to document ICT services and training
- A survey on home ICT access and use to over 500 households
- 70 interviews with local residents to explore ICT use
- Digital postcards to generate community stories
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