Evaluating New Digital Technologies Through a Framework of Resilience

Abstract

This paper explores how an evaluative framework of resilience might be utilised to assess the impact of new digital technologies. This paper outlines key themes and indicators from recent literature on community-level and rural resilience and incorporates insights from work on digital inclusion and rural information and communication technologies to build a framework of rural community resilience. It then highlights a successful case study carried out by the Digital Engagement and Resilience project and describes some of the methodological challenges that can be encountered in cross-cutting evaluative work in a digital economy context. Finally, it contextualises this work in the current policy climate of rural digital agendas to stress the growing need for holistic and critical approaches to 'resilience'.

ICT development from the perspective of connectivity and inclusion – the operation of a local digital agenda in Sweden

“…In some cases, the financing was the subject of discussions, but according to the community group representatives, any problems that arose were minor. Similar tensions between what was defined as 'individual resilience' and what was defined as 'community resilience' occurred in a study of rural broadband development in Scotland (Roberts et al 2015). In Linköping Municipality some of the community groups were legally created especially for the broadband expansion, which also put some strain on how the boundaries were constructed:…”

“…An extensive study of the relationship between broadband expansion and economic growth in the USA supported this conclusion, and showed that availability was less important than adoption in terms of subscribing to broadband services (Whitacre et al 2014). Some recent studies have identified increased opportunities for creative rural businesses that have been opened up by ICT adoption (Roberts et al 2015;Anderson et al 2016).…”

“…The main effect of the expansion of broadband connections to the rural properties (households and businesses) was facilitation of both media consumption and the administrative tasks of running a business. Increased connectivity had only a minor impact on the qualitative aspects of rural development (Roberts et al 2015), and on how everyday life and running a business were organised. This finding resembles those found for infrastructure development among other European countries, such as in Scotland (Skerratt 2010) and in the Netherlands and Italy (Nucciarelli et al 2010).…”

“…Similarly, the demand from social actors and households influences the expansion of the digital infrastructure. The effects of connectivity depend on attitudes towards digital technology and the experiences of individuals, households and communities (Roberts et al 2015). Issues of connectivity (supply) and inclusion (demand) are thus intertwined and interdependent.…”

Supporting Digital Health and Digital Inclusion: An Occupational Therapy Perspective

“…supporting digital health and digital inclusion T he rural-urban divide is widely associated with lower health status, reduced access to health, transport, technology and education and stifled economic growth (Reed et al, 2014;E. Roberts et al, 2015).…”