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The Digital Challenge
The Digital Challenge
Creating a digitally enabled society
The Digital Challenge is about setting the vision for and taking the next bold and radical steps in creating a digitally enabled society.The Digital Challenge provides a unique incentive for a region, city or similar sized area to drive forward the use of technologies to better meet the needs of its local community and individual citizens.
Any local authority, in partnership with other authorities, public sector organisations, industry, intermediaries and the third sector, can take part in the Digital Challenge competition.
"To create a country at ease in the digital world. Where all have the confidence to access the new services that are emerging, whether delivered by computer, mobile phone, digital television or any other device. To work towards achieving equitable access and remove the barriers to take up…"
- Connecting the UK: Digital Strategy, published April 2005 (PMSU)
Information and communication technology has become all pervasive in our working lives and increasingly in our homes as well. How we adopt and use this technology will be crucial for our future prosperity. But there is evidence of a digital divide with some groups largely excluded from benefiting from access to electronic services for differing reasons.
Government has a clear role in helping to promote and increase public awareness about the internet and harness the economic and social returns in a way that benefits all society.
The Digital Challenge is one of the eight actions contained in the Digital Strategy.
The Digital Challenge forms part of the core Manifesto and has widespread support across central government. The project is already high profile within the local and central government community and partners with and suppliers to the Digital Challenge team will need to be highly cognisant of this profile.
Success of the Digital Challenge top ten finalists and the ultimate national winner will be how on how effective they can demonstrate meeting the key themes of:
Empowerment - The winning bid will be able to show how they will use ICT to give new choice, voice and empowerment to citizens; it should be about enabling citizens to create not just consume services.
Service Transformation - This must demonstrate radical innovation in service re-engineering, not just applying ICT to current provision but using ICT to transform the whole way a service is provided; used and experienced.
Efficiency - Local Authorities must show that after year one their initiatives are sustainable and cost effective and be prepared to showcase these to other local authorities in years two and three, acting as the UK exemplar.
www.digitalchallenge.gov.uk
Pages in The Digital Challenge
- 1. Creating a digitally enabled society « You are here
- 2. Who are the Top Ten Finalists