SIXTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME. PRIORITY 8.1.B.3.5

D3.4: Brief project presentation and fact sheet

Due date of deliverable: 31stMarch 2007

Actual submission date: 15thMay 2007

The project is financially supported by the European Commission

Document version: / final
Preparation date: / 5 January 2007
Author: / ASM
Classification: / PU
Contract Start date: / 1 October 2006
Duration: / 25 months
Project coordinator: / ASM (Poland)
Partners: / ICIE (Italy), EP (Greece), CORV (Hungary), INSO (UK)
Contract No. / 022436

D3.4. IST Project IST-022436 ICT FOR ALL

The social impact on ICT and their limited reach to potentially excluded communities.

Measuring the problem and undertaking initiatives for its effective mitigation.


ICT FOR ALL
“The social impact on ICT and their limited reach to potentially excluded communities.
Measuring the problem and undertaking initiatives for its effective mitigation”.

Contract number:022436

Project duration: 25months (01.10.2006 – 31.10.2008)

GENERAL ISSUES(as laid down in WP):

  • Having an inclusive society is one of the goals of Lisbon strategy. As the switch over between analogue and digital is now taking place and convergence is consolidating, new ways of interaction for users are created in the application domains. Ensuring accessibility in this process is essential in order to provide citizens with real equal rights and opportunities.
  • The main objective of the ICT FOR ALL project is to support the inclusion and the accessibility goal of the i2010 strategic framework. It strongly emphasizes the need for full participation and the necessity of providing people with basic digital competences, state that ICT vital contribution to quality of life often goes unrecognized and take up is limited. Specific attention should be given to those groups in society that are at risk of exclusion, due to a variety of reasons such as age, gender, disability, literacy and culture and due to a variety of circumstances like lack of financial resources, educational inadequacy, unemployment condition, geographical area or technical barriers.
  • Research should address these groups and cover social impact studies, related indicators and their analysis. It should also investigate the specific social impact of the use of new ICT applications based on broadband, mobile communications and TV area that should be designed for all.

List of participants:

1. ASM Market Research and Analysis Centre Ltd. (ASM)POLAND

2. The Cooperative Institute for Innovation (ICIE)ITALY

3. European Profiles (EP)GREECE

4. Budapest Corvinus University(CORV)HUNGARY

5. Insight Social Research Ltd. (INSO)UK

Total cost: 300000 €

Commission funding: 300000 €

Project main goals:

  • to gather information about EU and global good practices as regards policy and other measures applied for a non-discriminatory use of ICT by four exclusion prone social communities: disabled, unemployed, immigrants and older people,
  • to trace and analyse all types of indicators used in the literature for measuring the social impact of ICT; to develop a set of indicators capable of describing the degree to which the social impact of ICT reaches a number of exclusion prone social communities, in particular disabled, unemployed, immigrants and older people. The project relative indicator set will provide a direct and clear outlook as to the possible discrimination of the particular communities covered by the project with regard to ICT use,
  • to validate these indicators, primarily by means of interviews with expert stakeholders and community member surveys,
  • to develop clear guidelines and recommendations, as to measures that could bridge this gap and make ICT more accessible to all,
  • to disseminate knowledge to national and EU stakeholders on the ICT indicators for the exclusion prone communities and to propose policy instrument and technology amendments, so that any observed exclusion may be overcome leading to a gradual removal of the obstacles that the exclusion prone communities currently face in enjoying the social benefits of ICT.

Key issues:

  • awareness of the necessity of eInclusion,
  • impact of ICT on exclusion-prone communities (disabled, unemployed, immigrants and older people) in the nine aspects of social life: job creation/employment; tele-working possibilities;access to information; access to entertainment;access to education; access to e-commerce; socialization opportunities; civic participation opportunities; access to health, care and other support services,
  • set up and validate the indicators for the four communities addressed,
  • four aspects of emerging ICT: mobile technology, broadband Internet, TV (analog and primarily digital), ambient intelligence,
  • dissemination of ICT FOR ALL initiative and related results,
  • guidelines on what should be done to move towards a more inclusive ICT.

Technical approach:

ICT FOR ALL will observe four specific and exclusion prone communities: disabled, unemployed, immigrants and older people.

Steps of data collectionsmethodology:

Indicators design

ICT FOR ALL will compile the data baseline (society wide ICT use) and the essential good practice review. A major task of the project will be to reformulate this sort of information in directly relevant indicators and validate them by means of field survey work and expert interviews.

Fieldwork

ICT FOR ALL will assign values for the indicators designed in 5 participating countries through field surveys (an approximate size sample of 200-300 in each country). The survey will be a quantitative validation of proposed indicators.

Expert interviews in 20 European countries

After the analysis of the results gathered in 5 countries the Consortium will select one expert in each European country who will be asked for validation (through an in depth questionnaire) the results gathered in each country and to give their country prospective recommendations. It will be a qualitative test of the indicators which are aimed to support EU policy drawing.

On line EU survey

There will set up, as supporting tool, an on line survey and related organizations (disability, gerontology, employment) will be asked for their participation to this e-survey. The project will also contact organizations active in EU (NGOs, etc.) and seek their assistance in creating awareness about this EU wide survey.

Drawing results

ICT FOR ALL will process the results and compile a document of policy recommendations for removing the obstacles observed.

Awareness and policy oriented initiatives

Four workshops will be organized across the EU and one independent session at a EU IST related conference.

Expected impact:

  • To establish a communication interface with standard building organizations so that they can make practical use of the project results in the emerging standards,
  • To influence the policy making at the EU level because the proposals for a more inclusive technology cannot be taken into account in a national context as markets and technology development are becoming more and more global,
  • To influence the exclusion prone communities and society. The assignment of well defined, unambiguous and universal indicators and the potential of ICT for exclusive communities may help steer the penetration of ICT in these groups in a much more efficient way. Indication of accessibility and specific needs for thematic health orientated websites, ICT tools, software etc. may be used by disabled person families, associations, NGOs, institution fighting for better future of people with disabilities,
  • To raise the awareness about the project’s key issues what will be ensured by the dissemination project plan.

ICT FOR ALL will also create a non-profit organization, with a mission to carry on work and business activities in the area of ICT for all society segments and communities. In general terms the project has the ambitions to create systematic monitoring of policy development & impact scheme in the area of eInclusion in each member state; to develop permanent contacts with the National Statistic Offices (NSO) in order to cooperate with information gathering, methodology improvements, envisage extension, improvements in NSO surveys in eInclusion area; to develop a rating system as to the inclusiveness of ICT product and services.

Coordinator:

ASM Market Research and Analysis Centre Ltd.

ul. Grunwaldzka 5

99-301 Kutno, Poland

Phone: +48 24355 77 00

Fax: +48 24355 77 01

Izabela Kowalska-Żakieta
e-mail:
Phone: +48 24355 77 35 / Anna Bury
e-mail:
Phone: +48 24355 77 31

PARTNERS:

ICIE - Cooperative Institute for Innovation

Via Velletri, 35 – 00198 Rome, ITALY

Phone: +39 06 8411819; Fax: +39 06 8550250

e-mail:

INSO - Insight Social Research Ltd.

Venture House, NavigationPark, Abercynon,
Wales CF45 4SN, UNITED KINGDOM

Phone: +44 (0) 1443 742678; Fax: +44 (0) 1443 742647

e-mail:

European Profiles SA

Vatatzi 40, 11472 , Athens, GREECE

Phone: +30210 82 10 895; Fax: +30210 82 54 021

e-mail:

Budapest Corvinus University

Fővám tér 8, H-1093, Budapest, HUNGARY

Phone: +36 1 4825334; Fax: +36 1 4825226

e-mail: