Digital inclusion strategy canvas
What is the tool and what does it aim to do?
The digital inclusion strategy canvas sets out a high level guide for any digital inclusion work, using organisational strategy/policy and what you know about the people who access your services to frame the level of ambition for digital inclusion.
The “waterfall” starts broad and aspirational, and shifts to be more specific and tangible as you work through the activity.
What you’ll need to be able to complete the tool / preparation required
Gather any organisational strategy or policy documents that reference digital, or even inequality more broadly. These can be added to the canvas on the “mission” level ahead of time using post it notes or written directly into the section on the template. People taking part in the activity can then add to what has already been captured when you get to that level in the workshop session.
The main preparation for this activity is about ensuring you manage to secure participation from people who will be responsible for driving forward the digital inclusion agenda in the organisation/service. The group taking part in this activity is likely to skew towards senior management, to make sure there is agreement on the level of ambition the organisation/service wants to take.
The strategy canvas can be used on an interactive whiteboard (like Miro, Mural, Teams Whiteboard, etc) or printed out large scale A0, so participants can add post it notes if the activity is taking place in person.
How to use the tool
For each layer of the strategy canvas, share the questions and prompts so everyone can spend a few minutes discussing ideas and noting these down on post-it notes. Ideas can then be grouped.
Vision
How aspirational do you want to be with your digital inclusion work?
What should the future of digital inclusion support feel like for your organisation?
Example:
How you could get to a vision statement: Think about words and phrases that represent the value and the ambition behind digital inclusion work. Group these words and find some shared values that you can form a vision statement around. This statement can be worked on during this activity or created after.
Allow this statement to be your “north star” to guide the development and the rest of the strategy will go into detail about how to get there.
Mission
How can existing strategy and policy work help direct your digital inclusion work?
What impact are you trying to achieve? And through what types of work and actions?
What should the future of digital support look like for your organisation?
Example: “All public bodies must deliver on their responsibilities to ensure everyone can access the services they need. This includes the one in six Scottish adults who lack the digital skills needed for everyday life.” (Audit Scotland, 2024)
Principles
What do you know people need?
How can your service experience be improved through digital inclusion work?
Example: meeting people where they are – if you know the people that use your service have motivation as a barrier to accessing your service, how can you start with things in their life that would motivate them to engage and build from there.
Service goals
What measurable things are you hoping to achieve through digital inclusion work within the first year, so that you know you’re on the right track?
- what have we created?
- what have we improved?
- what do we understand?
- what do we document?
- what have we completed?
Example: awareness raising posters for digital support
Objectives and key results
What will help you achieve your digital inclusion service goals, and how do you measure them?
Example: partner engagement – poster downloads, referrals
Tips for using the tool
If you completed stage 1 of the co-design process, use the shared ‘definition’ and understanding of digital inclusion to help with setting the scene for this session.
You can also use the digital inclusion needs identified and opportunities for digital in stage 3 to help inform discussions about how you frame the level of ambition.