Digital Inclusion – the ability to gain access to online information as services – is now a basic building block to economic regeneration and growth. And conversely, digital exclusion is increasingly seen as a major barrier to personal, community and regional economic well-being. Research has shown this impact is a reality from which additional per capita GDP can be generated.

Access to on-line services is transforming the way many of us live, learn, work and create. Hence access to digital on-line services has become a key factor in both economic productivity and economic engagement – at an organisational, individual and social level.

For business; digital inclusion is clearly a key driver for increased competitiveness and access to new markets

For individuals; digital inclusion and on-line access is invaluable in locating employment, purchasing goods and service cheaply, and participating in broader social and economic activity.

For society; digital inclusion has a vital role on economic competitiveness, educational performance, health, employment and economic engagement.

In a number of regions across the UK the level of digital exclusion is significantly below that of the average for the country as a whole. These levels of digital inclusion are a handicap to regional growth and development – and are unlikely to be addressed by the market alone. Hence, within the UK, there are a number of central and local government initiatives intended to improve the overall levels of digital inclusion and to overcome the digital divide evident in many communities.

The Community Grid Project in Merseyside

OciusB2 involved in the digital inclusion sector in partnership with Aimes (part of the University of Liverpool) to design, build and operate a managed service for digital inclusion within Liverpool and Greater Merseyside. This service a called the Community Grid which offers a sustainable solution by providing easy-to-use, low-cost, low-energy home access to the internet and other computing resources. The service is scalable and can reach digitally excluded citizens within their own homes and communities.

Users are provided with all the necessary peripherals (screen, keyboard, mouse) and a small, lightweight computing device called a ‘thin client’ which allows them to connect to a managed computing platform. This is hosted at a central data centre. This centrally located data centre hosts software applications and allows access to the internet. The connection to users’ homes is provided via a WiMax point-to-point wireless solution and data is aggregated at local points where it is carried onto the fixed, wired network to the data centre where connection to the internet is aggregated.

Low-cost, low-energy

The initial investment is required to establish a robust infrastructure for the service, which allows for low, ongoing running costs. Costs are kept low because:

• No existing connectivity to the home is required so there is no individual rental to the traditional telecoms providers or ISPs as this service is aggregated
• Thin clients can be used instead of the usual PCs - they are cheaper to buy, more robust and also last longer (in technology terms) than PCs
• Running costs and in particular energy costs are a fraction of the traditional home PC
• Existing network infrastructure can be used, for example local authority operated Metropolitan Area Networks

Ease of Use

A managed service is provided, which means that the user just has to switch on and log in. The service offered by Community Grid takes care of all connectivity, hardware, software, licensing and maintenance overheads, which for a home user, can combine to present a major barrier to use.

A simple interface, (created with input from the local community) is tailored to those it is to serve - involvement of the community is of key importance in the project.

User support is provided by a Help Desk within the community, (hosted by a partner organisation such as a school or community centre) with a user guide supplied to each user. The project is also supported by appropriate training, utilising a range of existing online learning material.

OciusB2’s Digital Inclusion Solution

OciusB2 see the Community Grid approach as an ideal solution for digital inclusion projects and has a number of key advantages over providing a straight WiFi or WiMax wireless access network.

• Managed Service; users have secure, easy to use access to the internet and standard PC applications
• Content control; the access to the internet is controlled centrally so that access to unsuitable sites and content can be restricted
• Thin Client; the device in users homes is based on low cost thin client terminals which have little/or resale value. The thin client device has significantly lower energy use over laptop and personal computers
• No user maintenance; as all applications are managed centrally users do no need to undertake any maintenance on their personal terminals
• Central internet security; anti-virus and anti-spam security is done centrally as an integral parts of the overall service.

We see this solution being relevant to a number of agencies developing digital inclusion strategies and solutions within their own communities, for example local authorities, registered social landlord (RSL’s), regional development agencies and neighbourhood regeneration organisations.

OciusB2 and its partners can provide an end-to-end solution for organisations wishing to develop digital inclusion strategies and programmes including;

• Digital inclusion strategy and evaluation
• Developing sourcing and securing project funding
• Programme design and tendering
• Community engagement
• Application development
• Application hosting
• Network design and build
• Home client terminals supply and installation
• Service operation and maintenance

Digital Inclusion Impact - Changing Lives

The most powerful recommendations are from the users themselves. Here are some examples;

• We have one lady who said 'it had changed her life - she is now able to pay her bills online instead of standing in a queue having caught the bus to town'
• Another lady sadly lost her husband fairly recently and has been scribbling down their life story to pass on to her children and grandchildren. She has now been taught by her grandchildren how to use the computer and will be typing up the story to pass on to them.
• Another customer is now able to contact and speak to her grandchildren daily by email who live abroad.
• We currently have four customers who are in supported tenancies as they have long term mental illnesses. They are living independently with support and the hope is that long term they will go back into employment. Having the computer and access to the internet is giving them skills which can be used when they go back to the workplace. Also having email and MSN will allow them eventually to regain contact with their friends and family who may not have had regular contact as the customers may have spent a long time in hospital or other institutions. The hope is that with support the tenants will develop a newsletter to be circulated to other people in their position, currently there is one user writing poetry on his computer which may be included in that newsletter. The long term idea is that the tenants live and work independently and having a computer, access to the internet and those associated skills will greatly enhance this.