Tackling digital exclusion

Despite a variety of educational and other initiatives, some 8.7 million people in the UK are still digitally excluded. More than half of those are individuals aged over 65, who have never used the internet. Now a new project is looking to evaluate the impact of initiatives to get people online – and how that ultimate goal might be best achieved.

The project is being run by the International Longevity Centre - UK (ILC-UK), an independent research-led think tank that is dedicated to addressing issues of longevity, ageing and demographic change.

Technology in an ageing society

Established in 2000, the ILC-UK has published a number of reports on the role of technology in an ageing society.

This new project, supported by Nominet Trust, will form an integral part of the think tank’s ongoing work on behavioural economics and further raise the profile of its expertise in digital exclusion.

Future recommendations

Intended to be both a research and an influencing project, it is seeking to understand the extent to which behavioural economics has influenced policy and services aimed at tackling digital exclusion – and its continuing role in doing so.

ILC-UK will also evaluate the impact of the variety of initiatives put in place to encourage people of all ages across the UK to get online. One of the project’s key objectives is to consider whether, as a society, we need to go one step further and find ways of compelling people to engage with the online world.

As well as identifying new and innovative policy recommendations to motivate and enable digital excluded citizens to get online, the project hopes to provide a strong platform for debate and dissemination of essential information.