Scottish Minimum Digital Living Standard: interim report

7 Implementing a Scottish MDLS: Build on best practice and push for a joined-up, holistic approach

We discussed the implementation of MDLS as part of Scottish Government policy with stakeholders. Organisations were overwhelmingly positive about implementing a Scottish MDLS and were keen to showcase the aspects of their work that align with this objective. Participants discussed many examples of best practices during the stakeholder interviews. Representatives of organisations felt they were best placed to speak about best practices regarding what would benefit their communities. Key examples revolved around the importance of working directly with communities, including strategies such as “co-production” of interventions and resources (P7, working with young people across Scotland), tailor-made approaches that “meet the needs of where people are coming from” (P17), a combination of formal and informal approaches that allow organisations to “build rapport” with and confidence in their service users (P17), and the deployment of digital champions (i.e., members from communities who are trained in digital literacy to help others), “which has been so successful” (P31). Meanwhile, an example of good practice discussed at the local government level included the importance of having “key individuals that are driving the digital strategy”, especially amidst a general feeling that the government “are not making that connection between cost-of-living crisis and the digital” (P19). Indeed, there is a growing interest in linking broader issues such as the climate and other crises with digital inclusion, with several participants speaking about the success of “IT recycling scheme[s]” where local governments donate devices to those in need in their communities (P28).

Building on such examples of best practices will be key but insufficient for implementing a Scottish MDLS. Participants suggested various approaches, actions, and strategies that would need to be undertaken to implement the MDLS effectively. A Scottish MDLS would require a clear plan and vision, with a joined-up approach where digital inclusion is consistently embedded across different sectors, policy agendas and government departments, with everyone taking responsibility and a clear push from government. As P11 described:

“From that … policy perspective, I think if we had something that ran all the way through and that we could go to for support… The SCVO have done really good work in that area… You know [organisations are] doing really good stuff and supporting. But… it's not across the piece… So, it's back to consistency.”

Several participants suggested that a convenient way to ensure the MDLS could be implemented across these spaces was to utilise standards that are already in place, updating these to embed actions supporting digital inclusion or linking current standards with digital standards. P10, working with an organisation that takes a human-rights approach to digital inclusion, spoke about “making sure that digital inclusion is fitted into standards [like] The Promise [a Scottish government standard aimed at supporting young people with experience of care] … [and] looking at our political commitment to refugees and asylum seekers”.

Similarly, P22 suggested the utility of writing digital standards into those for housing, which could be beneficial in maximising digital access provision and targeting those most in need:

“There needs to be a really joined up approach... Housing needs to be involved… Housing associations need to make sure that every property … is equipped to … have broadband. I think they should be offering that … if you get a home through a housing association, you … should be offered broadband.”

Participants also reflected on the importance of creating permanent roles and appointing the right people, which could alleviate precarious staff conditions. As remarked by P13: “at the moment we run almost entirely on volunteers… What we need more than anything else is to have that paid person who could be in the hub”. Furthermore, permanent professional staff is also needed at local government level, with P23 speaking about the importance of such staff for taking a joined-up approach to digital inclusion:

“If any government is serious about this, they have to employ … digital officers, MDLS officers… They [would] go out to the schools … do outreach, go out to colleges, universities, go out to industry… Everybody who's in the game has to be pulled together.”

In order for this to happen, participants were adamant that more funding would be paramount. Several participants raised the concern that, if digital inclusion standards were simply written into existing standards (as suggested above) without further funding allocation, this would only increase the burden on already stretched services. This is why there was a clear consensus that more long-term and less prescriptive funding schemes are essential. For example, some participants described the Connecting Scotland programme as “not a sustainable financial model” (P10), with others emphasising they may have “sort of short-term solutions …, but what happens after six months?”. Equally, as remarked by P12, working at an organisation supporting young people with experience of care:

“Often there's funding out there, but the criteria are so strict that it's like you have to hit every marker, and you could hit, you know, nine out of the 10… Then you don't get it, and it can be really quite frustrating.”

The issue of limited funding does not only apply to organisations that need financial support to conduct digital inclusion work but also to local councils who, as explained by P31, work “with a very tight financial envelope” and need funding from the Scottish Government to support organisations working on the ground.

Meanwhile, another issue discussed consistently by participants relates to the expectation that digital inclusion and access should be seen as a universal human right. As emphasised by P15: “digital is like water… We need to be thinking about digital as a basic human right”. In line with this expectation, participants remarked that, if we are to implement a Scottish MDLS, it would be beneficial to provide free Wi-Fi in public places. As P28 put it: “all local authorities must have in place … easy-to-access free public Wi-Fi in all places... And that would be housing associations, offices, libraries, community centres, etcetera”. It follows that, as discussed by P7, digital inclusion should be seen as a basic human need, with free public Wi-Fi available and affordable broadband for every individual and household. Indeed, connectivity in terms of digital access was discussed by many participants as an essential requirement for allowing people to have a meaningful and decent life in the digital age. This means that, besides lowering costs for people to afford broadband, it is paramount that people can access the internet outside the home whenever it is physically possible to have the infrastructure in place. As emphasised by participants, coordinated efforts are equally essential to provide both opportunities for digital skills development and the provision of devices to those in need, with the scaling up of successful IT recycling schemes constituting an avenue to consider.