In UK, the Smarter Government report announced, last december, a £30m investment in digital inclusion for UK online centres to get one million people online for the end of 2012. The majority of that funding will go directly to grassroots providers in the form of grants, according to eGovernment Bulletin. The report recognised the potential to reduce the cost of public services and improve customer experience by moving the majority of provision online. It also acknowledged 100% online government had to mean 100% online citizens, and the money was pledged to UK online centres to help get one million people online over the next three years.
The cash is being allocated as a grant scheme by UK online centres, a network of more than 6,000 locations providing computer and internet access and support. Helen Milner, managing director of UK online centres, told E-Government Bulletin the projects should look beyond giving people internet access: “Getting online is not an end in itself – you get online in order to do things, and we need to make sure that people are supported, inspired and motivated to benefit from the flexibility and convenience of online government services.”
Helen Milner, explains: "It is at grassroots level where digital inclusion happens, and where it is made to reach the most deeply excluded - and it is at grassroots level where the credit crunch has bitten the hardest. It was therefore obvious to us that the majority of the £30m announced by Gordon Brown should go to grassroots providers in the form of grants in order to extend their work, and support even more people to get online. I'm delighted we've been able to get that first round of grant funding off the ground so quickly.
Helen Milner said the response to the first grant funding round had been "phenomenal", adding: "Local authorities play a key role in the grant funding process. At least 40 per cent of bids have come from libraries and adult education centres, many of which are managed centrally by council teams who put together applications and coordinate activity. "I'd like to see more local authorities developing relationships with smaller community organisations too. By doing so they can help support the long term sustainability of centres which support marginalised or excluded groups, ensuring the best possible digital inclusion service for their areas."
