Connecting communities to the Internet: evaluation of the Wired Up Communities programme

In March 2000 funding was allocated to develop a series of pilot projects for the Wired Up Communities (WuC) program, testing approaches to social inclusion and connecting communities by providing them with appropriate technology. This evaluation of WuC was commissioned in October 2000 and this final report summarises the evaluation process, reviews the nature and context of the program and reports the findings from the primary research undertaken in the communities. The evaluation found that, in common with other policy interventions aimed at reducing the problem that has become known as the ‘digital divide’ and emphasising the use of information and communications technology (ICT), the program has been subject to implementation slippage, with problems of equipment delivery and installation in some areas, illustrating the difficulty of wiring up a whole community. However, where the equipment had been delivered and installed the majority of respondents to the surveys had used the technology to access the Internet. Almost half the participants received some training to develop skills and knowledge to use the Internet.

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