A man and woman look together at a computer screen
We support digitally-excluded people to develop the skills they need to access online information safely ©

British Council

Skills for Inclusive Digital Participation (SIDP) creates opportunities for digitally excluded individuals to develop the skills they need to participate fully in the digital economy and in wider society. 

Digital technology has an ever increasing role in all our lives. Not having the skills or facilities to access online information safely causes real hardship, especially for people who may already be at risk of being excluded, such as people with disabilities, women and young people. 

Skills for Inclusive Digital Participation works with people who are missing out on the opportunities to access jobs and services that digital brings, enabling them to take part in digital activities safely, to access new resources and to improve their livelihoods.

Skills for Inclusive Digital Participation is part of the Digital Access Programme, which is led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on behalf of the UK Government. 

Activities

Skills for Inclusive Digital Participation is currently running in Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria. It focuses on meeting the digital literacy needs of people who face obstacles to their economic and social participation. The project provides skills training and information on relevant opportunities.

The main activities include: 

  • the development of new training manuals: train-the-trainer guide, basic digital skills, intermediate digital skills, e-commerce skills
  • 300 community-level trainers recruited for local training delivery, supported by an online community of practice
  • 12,000 participants in digital literacy skills training
  • 30,000 people accessing online information on opportunities for learning and work
  • 90 education institutions and civil society bodies receiving copies of manuals for further training in their communities.

A later stage of the project will bring together policy makers and researchers to consider the findings from training delivery and identify what works in inclusive digital literacy.

More information about our events, and how the project is working locally, is available on our IndonesiaKenya and Nigeria websites. 

Resources

Theory of change - details the basis for the Skills for Inclusive Digital Participation project and how people can benefit from access to the digital skills training.

Baseline evaluation – assesses progress (as at May 2022) towards achieving the project’s planned results.

The project has also created four training manuals that can be freely downloaded, copied and adapted – though the British Council should be acknowledged as their source:

  • Trainer Training Manual
  • Basic Digital Skills Training Manual 
  • Intermediate General Digital Skills Training Manual 
  • Intermediate Digital Skills for Economic Opportunity Training Manual.

External resources

Digital Access Programme - this UK Government programme promotes inclusive, affordable, safe and secure digital access for excluded and under-served communities in Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.