“INclusive Services through Emerging Computer Technologies”


The Committee has participated in the beginnings of 2015 in the proposal of the European Project “INclusive Services through Emerging Computer Technologies”.

New technologies are appearing fast, with the potential to bring great benefits to the public sector and to society as a whole. The quality of public services could be greatly improved by tailoring them more closely to the needs of individual citizens, while simultaneously becoming more efficient. However, governments must ensure that the benefits of new technologies reach all citizens. In addition to efficiency and effectiveness, inclusiveness is an important criterion by which to judge the performance of new technologies. In showing the benefits of new technologies in the public sector and the key to their successful implementation, the INSECT project will pay specific attention to the issue of diversity and inclusiveness.

Accordingly, its objectives will be:

  • To map the needs and expectations of stakeholders related to the introduction of new technologies in the public sector, with specific attention to the issue of inclusiveness.
  • To evaluate their implementation.
  • To identify barriers and enabling factors for their implementation.
  • To translate the findings into realistic public service improvements, which will make sure that the benefits reach everyone.

To achieve this effectively, the project makes two key choices. First, it focuses on cities as the principal level of analysis. It is especially at the local level that issues of inclusion and exclusion become most immediately apparent and where they can be most effectively addressed. Second, it analyses technological innovation as a phenomenon strongly intertwined with social and cultural changes.

INSECT will unravel exactly why technologies in local public services work or fail, pinpoint the weak link in the design, then re-design and test improvements that can be replicated for wider use. It will result in, among other things, a service blueprint app, a web-based evaluation monitor and a roadmap for future research. This gives the project a high added value, both practically and academically.

To properly understand the needs of these groups, we will single out areas of the public sector that are most immediately relevant to them: transport, social care and accessibility to basic public services.

The Project includes 13 partners, mainly Universities and Research Centers.

 

In October 2015 we were informed that the project was NOT selected.