Speaker Douglas White, Carnegie UK Trust - Digital Dunfermline

The club meeting on Tuesday featured a talk by Douglas White - Head of Advocacy (Carnegie UK Trust) on Digital Inclusion.

Douglas joined the Trust in 2011 as a senior policy officer and has a decade of experience in policy and research.

Over the past four years Douglas has led the Trust's work across a range of issues, including digital access and inclusion, news media, global regulation and quality of public space.

Douglas gave a very interesting talk on 'Digital Inclusion', and spoke about his research into the use of the internet, highlighting the percentage of people who do not have, or know how to use the internet.  The particular focus of the research was in the towns of Dumfries and Kirkcaldy.  Douglas provided members present with a copy of the research publication 'Digital Participation in Dumfries and Kirkcaldy'  The research covered a number of relevant questions by the Carnegie UK Trust in partnership with Ipos MORI through their face to face research. The research publication covers the background, the research, research objectives and methodology, and sample profiles. The research information to provide - understanding the barriers to digital participation, as well as understanding the drivers for digital participation, and its conclusions. 

The research showed that in areas of Dumfries and Kirkcaldy it is estimated that at least 33% of households have no internet access. However the level of digital exclusion is not the same across the entire country.

The research and its findings in the publication, are to share and engage with the Scottish Government, Councils, Businesses, and Charities etc.

Douglas gave an excellent talk on the subject - the research booklet he provided too has a huge amount of detail to read together with many graphs.

Next meeting Tuesday 7th July - A visit to the Lime Centre Charlestown Workshops (Speaker Roz Artis.)

Details as circulated by Greig, please respond directly to Greig regarding your attendance per his request.

N.B. We will not be meeting at the Keavil House Hotel on the 7th July - please go directly to Charlestown Workshops for 6.00pm.

(Charlestown Workshops 2 Rocks Road Charlestown KY11 3EN - Charlestown Workshops are on the right of the shop & post office)

No reception duty required at the Charlestown Workshops

VOT  Ian Borland

This is my final blog as club president - I hope you have found these of interest and a help to you, and my best wishes to you all.

Good luck to President Alex and wishing him and the club a very successful year 2015 - 2016.

Ewan