Envisioning digital inclusion for Regio Neteland
Regio Neteland is a collaborative partnership of five Flemish municipalities—Grobbendonk, Herentals, Herenthout, Olen, and Vorselaar. Together, they strive to develop sustainable initiatives that eliminate and prevent barriers to digital inclusion. Their goal is clear: to ensure everyone can fully participate in the digital society.
The challenge
Overcoming and preventing digital exclusion among vulnerable citizens
Tackling this long-term, complex challenge requires collaboration. That’s why the municipalities of Neteland have joined forces with Ligo, CVO Hik, Beego, and VDAB to create Digibank Neteland, an initiative tailored to the needs of vulnerable citizens.
Digibank Neteland focuses on supporting and motivating people who are unemployed, have limited education, or struggle with literacy to engage with the digital world. Special attention is given to NEET youth over 18 (those not in education, employment, or training).
Our challenge was to develop a sustainable and widely supported e-inclusion vision for Digibank Neteland, designed to serve as a framework for both existing and future digital inclusion initiatives.
Our role
Developing a comprehensive digital inclusion vision and securing government support
In 2022, we launched our digital inclusion project with Regio Neteland. Craftzing led the development of a shared vision that would become the foundation of the region’s digital inclusion policy. This vision also incorporated a collaboration strategy to strengthen partnerships between Digibank Neteland’s various stakeholders, both in terms of content and methodology. Additionally, we developed an action plan, budget, and grant application for the Government of Flanders' initiatives: "Iedereen Digitaal" & "Digibanken" .
Our approach
Understanding the needs of a diverse audience
We started by identifying the specific challenges faced by individuals in our target group regarding digital inclusion. These needs vary greatly depending on each person’s unique circumstances and cannot be easily categorized. Research on vulnerable groups has shown that the link between social and digital exclusion is more complex than previously thought (Mariën, I. & Baelden, D., 2015, 8 Profiles of Digital Inequality). We found that socio-economic factors alone are insufficient to fully understand or address the needs of our audience.
What if people can participate in digital society but don’t want to? Addressing motivational barriers was a crucial part of our digital inclusion vision.
Therefore, we didn’t just address the classic barriers to digital inclusion—access, skills, and the use of essential services. These traditional barriers focus only on whether people CAN participate. We went a step further by considering: What if they can, but don’t WANT to? By also identifying motivational barriers, we created a holistic framework to determine the target profiles for Digibank Neteland.
The 8 profiles of digital inequality
Using Ilse Mariën’s 8 profiles of digital inequality as a foundation, we explored both technical and motivational aspects. This approach allowed us to identify which people are already being served in the Neteland Region and which ones we need to target with Digibank Neteland.
We found that we are currently reaching those who are socially and personally motivated but encounter one or more barriers—the Digital Fighters. However, we face greater challenges in engaging those who lack personal or societal motivation to participate. As a result, we are focusing on the unexpected digital drop-outs, working to inspire and motivate them to join our initiatives. The hopelessly undigital face both social and digital exclusion, and their participation requires addressing more complex, underlying factors. For these individuals, a long-term, comprehensive strategy is essential. Digibank Neteland aims to contribute to this, although it will be part of a broader integration trajectory.
Fostering motivation
Next, we collaborated with internal teams and experts to map existing initiatives onto our framework. We discovered that the current initiatives primarily focused on providing access and building skills for those who were already motivated and sought out these resources. However, what was missing were programs designed to spark motivation among those who were disengaged.
The solution
Personalized digital development plans focusing on access, skills, and motivation
Digibank Neteland addresses both the ability (access and skills) and the willingness (motivation) to participate in the digital society. This comprehensive approach is crucial for sustainable engagement.
Each individual is provided with a personalized growth plan. This shifts the model from isolated access and learning opportunities to a fully integrated, guided digital development pathway, covering four key areas:
Programs designed to inspire motivation, encouraging our target audience to participate in digital inclusion initiatives.
Initiatives aimed at sustainably expanding access and skill-building to serve a larger audience.
Efforts to reduce barriers to digital services.
Support programs to ensure the effectiveness and impact of these initiatives.
Examples of initiatives
1) Awareness campaigns
Through targeted awareness campaigns, Digibank Neteland aims to motivate its hard-to-reach audience to engage with the digital world. Recognizing the difficulty in reaching this group directly, Digibank Neteland actively engages their support networks, such as social workers and volunteers from organizations they already trust. These key figures play a vital role in encouraging and motivating them to participate in the digital learning journey.
2) Establishing Digipoints
We are transforming a fragmented offering of public computer rooms into a cohesive network of eight large and small, easily recognizable Digipoints, spread across the municipalities. Visitors can borrow equipment and receive personalized support from Digihelpers.
The opening of "KomAf" in Vorselaar a key achievement and a living example of the e-inclusion policy in action. It serves as a welcoming community space and now features a dedicated Digipoint. Visitors can get assistance with digital challenges and seek support for other barriers they may face.
3) Digital development pathways as a guide
From a fragmented offering to a structured growth path
Facilitators and pathway guides are essential to reaching and motivating our target audience. Identifying the right digital needs and solutions is not always straightforward. That’s why we are developing step-by-step digital growth paths based on insights from our target group. These pathways will guide the support process and address the individual learning needs of each participant, providing access and learning opportunities across multiple organizations.
4) User-friendly web platform
A user-friendly web platform will be key in supporting these digital learning pathways. It will give facilitators, guides, and participants easy access to information while allowing for personalized tracking and guidance for each participant as they progress through their digital development journey.
Results & rollout
Project realization and success through government funding
In 2022, Digibank Neteland successfully secured the government funding. With the additional resources, the organization was able to launch the project in 2023, establishing the first Digipoints and bringing its vision of digital inclusion to life.
