Municipalities and internet providers are joining forces for digital inclusion

In a society in which more and more is being done digitally, the divide between people who have access to digital technologies and those who do not is getting bigger. The Alliantie Digitaal Samenleven, NLdigital, municipalities, the province of Groningen, KPN, VodafoneZiggo and Freedom Internet are launching a pilot today that they hope will narrow this growing digital divide. They will use the Digitaal Meedoen Pakket (a digital literacy and access package) to provide financially-vulnerable households with internet access, a device and support. The pilot will start in Utrecht and the Westerkwartier, and the possibility of taking it to Amsterdam is being explored as well.

In the Netherlands, 3% of Dutch households do not have a fixed internet connection, 11% do not have a device that works well and almost 23% struggle to take part in the digital world. Research has revealed that the difference between people who are connected through digital technology and people who aren’t is growing: the digital divide. To bridge this divide, the goal of the pilot is to gain a better insight into underlying problems and solutions. It will focus specifically on households that are financially vulnerable and - in the case of the municipality of Utrecht - do not have a fixed internet subscription. The Digitaal Meedoen Pakket will provide participants with a laptop or tablet, an internet connection (for a discounted price) and community-based support to ensure they gain the skills they need.

“Internet access, devices and support are vital to connecting people and giving them the ability to take part in today's society”, says Wietske Kamsma, program manager for the Alliantie Digitaal Samenleven. “Reducing the digital divide and making sure that everyone has access to technology is a shared responsibility. We can all contribute. We are launching this pilot to see how the Digitaal Meedoen Pakket impacts people’s lives and also if it makes them feel they can keep up better with the growing use of digital technologies.”

The approach of the pilot will vary from one municipality to another. In the Westerkwartier, the package will be tested at neighborhood level, while Utrecht is opting for broader participant recruitment via various social organizations. The Center for Digital Inclusion at the University of Twente will monitor and interpret the effects and results of the various approaches. The participating municipalities will invite a total of 250 households to take part on the basis of their own local social-assistance schemes.

Elske Lagard (75) is taking part in the pilot in the municipality of Utrecht. “I’ve always been afraid of making mistakes online and I often don’t know what to do with the messages I receive. I rely on my daughter at the moment, especially with things like online banking and using gift vouchers online. But I also believe that you're never too old to learn. I hope that in a year from now, the Digitaal Meedoen Pakket will have made me a more confident and skilled person, so that I can take part in the digital society independently.”

After the pilot starts, other municipalities and companies from the telecom sector will be invited to take part in this project as well. The pilot will run for one year. After this, all the participating parties will evaluate the pilot, see whether the Digitaal Meedoen Pakket actually does improve access to the digital world and also identify what needs to be done to be able to extend it to include other municipalities.