England is the most-prepared home nation when it comes to digital readiness, according to FarrPoint's new benchmarking framework. England scored 86, followed by Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales with scores of 80, 79 and 77 respectively. The scores are based on a range of connectivity infrastructure and digital adoption indicators, further discussed in this new study.
Digital connectivity is increasingly important in enabling economic growth, aiding the journey towards Net Zero and improving social wellbeing. However, both good quality digital infrastructure as well as widespread digital adoption are required to maximise these benefits.
The new Digital Connectivity Readiness Index (DCRI) is a new framework, designed to support UK policy makers and digital leaders in enhancing their digital connectivity strategies by comparing a range of infrastructure and digital adoption metrics to identify gaps and opportunities.
Having already produced UK-wide indices, FarrPoint is currently working with several local authorities across the UK to define their DCRI scores, which will then be used to track and benchmark their progress over time.
The UK as a whole has an average DCRI score of 84 (out of 100), with an infrastructure sub-score of 87 showing the effectiveness of the UK Government’s prioritisation of investment in improving digital network infrastructure. On adoption, the UK scores 83 suggesting there is more to be done.
The scores contained within the DCRI are based on key indicators gathered from a series of data sources, including (this will open in a new window)Ofcom and the Office for National Statistics. A robust approach to weighting has been used to ensure that the indicators take into account the commercial, regulatory and policy prioritisation considerations*. This delivers a result that is not only accurate but also helps deliver real value when it comes to designing digital connectivity infrastructure, adoption and inclusion projects.
Looking beyond the headline scores, there are a range of differences in performance between the four nations on infrastructure and adoption.
Matthew Izatt-Lowry, Senior Economist at FarrPoint, said: “Digital connectivity is increasingly important in enabling economic, social and environmental change. We understand how vital it is for local decision makers to take an evidence-based approach to understand their key challenges and opportunities. That’s why we have created the Digital Connectivity Readiness Index as a tool to enable the sector to make the best possible decisions. It’s important for decision makers to have this kind of information when developing digital strategies and prioritising projects to maximise impact and benefits for their region.
“As can be seen from the results of this initial DCRI analysis, the UK and its constituent nations perform well on many of the infrastructure indicators. However, infrastructure alone, without adoption, will not produce any benefits for households, communities or businesses meaning there is still a lot of opportunity to improve the country-wide adoption of the technology. The next stage for local decision makers is to find out how their region scores, which will allow them to better understand where the key opportunities are for harnessing the full potential of digital.“
The next FarrPoint Digital Connectivity Readiness Index results will be released in early 2024. Sign up to FarrPoint alerts to be the first to hear about the new issue.
Undertaking the Digital Connectivity Readiness Assessment and defining the DCRI score is the first stage in (this will open in a new window)a 5-step plan that public bodies can take to understand the strengths and challenges within their region and to enable them to create a digital strategy and implementation plan.
We invite the public sector to get in touch with us and have a conversation about their DCRI scores.
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