The Digital Villages Research Network

Well if all has gone to plan the last sessions will result iin no less than 20 promises that will be yaken forward to Government and the Digital Taskforce which all here think will help digital Inclusion. No doubt by the end of the day these will end up on the confernece site.

Ok folks here we go for day two.

Yesterday saw Gordon Brown  do a recorded piece to the conference, today the other two main party leaders send us their bits.

Its interesting to hear people talking around the conference on how this is a ’strange’ year, with few people sure of the impact of the election, what a hung government will mean and just what position ICT has in either a continued recession or a recovery….or both!!

Some are   than others while some see the need to upskill UK Plc as crucial even of this means less ‘fluffy’ use of ICT and a reduction in some of the glossy uses, often citing the impending vast reduction in the BBC’s website as a case in point.

Maybe its just the way with MP’s but i’ve yet to hear one answer a question on ICTs impact on the social agenda fully, often just coming out with the same old line of  “the two are very much linked…” Well we know that but what are you guys doing to help it and us achieve it.??? (Early morning rant over!)

Ive got piccies but they are two big to upload right now and ive not got picassa on here so will have to wait till I get back. Sorry folks.

bye for now

Blimey…….what a day!!!

Really good and lots to go over, ill put together a precis as soon as possible. There is a great deal of high level interest but also, crucially i think, lots of comments about making ICT relevant and ‘for the people’. Martha Lane Fox commented about all the ICT schmes that having all these ideas is good but that the UK had “more pilots than BA” which I think is a brill way of summing up the constant drive for new ways of doing things. Often when its already been tried!!!

I’m enjoying the conference, particularly the networking sessions. I’ve met quite a few interesting and useful contacts.

On an afternoon coffee break, to restock on energy.

So many people and lots of views on ICT and its use. Not everyone is of even slightly the same opinion and there are some very strong views about where the UK is heading with its ICT use. Also who whould be leading on whether that should be groups, government, centers like Destinations or other learning providers, or individuals.

Central Government has come in for some persistant criticisms!!

Hi all from the 5th Natinal Digital Inclusion confernce from London. Roger, Nick, Sue and I are here listening to some of the latest issues and themes in Digital Inclusion. Already had a couple of MP’s talking as well as Helen Milner who I was able to have a brief chat to about the project and who I am meeting for a fuller talk later.

More details later as well as some piccies when Ive a little more time!!

On Wednesday and Thursday this week a group of us will be going to the National Digital Inclusion conference  .

Its now a pretty prestigious event and along with speakers from the ICT and social inclusion groups being there, all main political party leaders will be giving addresses.

The digital inclusion Taskforce head, Martha Land Fox will be a Keynote speaker as will members of Direct Gov and Nhs.uk

With the event being part sponsored by one of our dissemination groups, UK Online, this is a great opportunity for te project. Outside of the main event I will be meeting with the UK Online team as well as members of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, and DC10, highlighting our project and the DVN concept.

We hape to be posting direct from the event so watch this space…..

Hi all

A question for you all to think and comment on. What would lead to a new village website being set up easiest

1. A single person taking the lead and others collaborating almost on an ad-hoc basis

2. A group of people putting together a more detailed plan and each having a role on te sites development.

No right or wrong answers just me being interested.

According to the latest research from the Champion for Digital Inclusion, there are currently one in five adults who still don’t use computers and the internet. It’s often the people facing the toughest times who have the most to gain from what technology has to offer, and as the internet rapidly becomes a tool for everyday life, those without the access, skills or motivation to use it are increasingly left behind.

Government figures indicate there are six milion adults currently offline who are socially and digitally excluded. Today, the Prime Minister made it clear that digital inclusion had become both an issue of social equity and economic common sense.

In his speech at the Royal Society of the Arts on Wednesday, Gordon Brown launched ‘Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government’. He said: “Our aim is – within the next five years – to shift the great majority of our large transactional services to become online only – and this has the potential to save as a first step 400 million pounds but as transaction after transaction goes on line billions more….But in order to achieve our ambitions for this third generation of public services we must ensure that no one in Britain is left behind in this communications revolution. Through our programme for Digital Britain – high speed broadband will be extended to every home so that we can create genuinely interactive service… And today I can announce that we will invest a further £30 million with UK online centres, championed by Martha Lane Fox’s digital inclusion taskforce, to get at least another one million people online by 2012.”

In October 2009, a report published by Champion for Digital Inclusion Martha Lane Fox in conjunction with Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) showed the economic benefit of getting everyone online in the UK was £22 billion. As well as increasing employability and business performance, online citizens mean government can use more efficient online channels to deliver services, and conduct less face to face or paper-based transactions. PwC calculated that getting all digitally excluded people online and making just one transaction with government services each month would save £900 million annually.

The financial benefit of getting everyone in the UK online is clearly huge, but on a smaller scale the research found the benefits equally compelling. People save an average £560 a year by shopping and paying bills online, kids with internet access at home do better in their exams, and most jobs are now advertised and applied for online. What’s more, people with basic IT skills earn up to 10% more than their offline counterparts

Hi all, don’t forget to take part in the correspondence course that Steve initiated over the past weekend.

Hope to see most of you on Wednesday afternoon.

Paul