Building public sector trust across the digital divide

As part of this year’s BIG Social, our Head of Marketing and Communications Helena Hornby hosted a panel discussion exploring the “digital divide”, and the potential for technology to forge stronger, more resilient communities.

The panel included: Paul Butler (Comms Lead for National Digital Channels, NHS England); Darren Caveney (Founder of comms2point0); Chris Davidson (Deputy Head of Digital at Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs – DEFRA), and Emma Harding (Head of Communications, Network Rail).

While digital innovation offers huge opportunities for improving communication, engagement, and service delivery, it also risks alienating the public and deepening inequalities if we fail to address issues such as access, confidence, and misinformation. Our panel discussed this digital divide, which we’ve broken down below.

The panel agreed that the “digital divide” is a multifaceted and complex issue. Currently, 2.8 million UK households have no broadband access at home. Economic factors and social factors such as poverty, neurodiversity, physical impairments (e.g. sight or hearing loss), and housing (e.g. homelessness or people in transient accommodation) also play an important role. In addition, the population varies in terms of digital confidence levels.

The panel also stressed that we must change our perceptions of the “digital divide”, and move beyond the assumption that older people are less digitally savvy. In fact, many of our panellists spoke about their challenges in engaging young people with important digital services. And an Ofcom survey echoes this notion, stating that “The households that were most likely to have affordability issues were younger households (adults aged between 18 and 24), those in receipt of benefits, those with children, and those with a resident with an impacting/limiting condition”.

Network Rail faces challenges engaging people in short-term accommodation with its “Lineside updates” – digital notifications of planned works for residents living close to train lines. Emma Harding explained that it’s an essential comms channel for Network Rail, however students or young people living in houses affected tend to feel disinclined to sign up for the service.

Chris Davidson (DEFRA) described a similar issue, with people in transient accommodation (e.g. students, contractors and other short-term renters) typically not opting in for local Flood Warning services. 

And Paul Butler (NHS) surprised the audience with the insight that the NHS App is generally used by older people. As Paul explained, older people tend to have more health concerns and may have a greater need for this service – despite it being a digital-first initiative. 

It’s important to keep an open mind, and lean on the data for real insights about your audience. 

The panel shared a number of innovative ways in which public sector organisations are using technology to connect with citizens in meaningful, inclusive ways:

• Alternative routes for cancelled trains
  Network Rail offers support for passengers when their train is cancelled in the form of “alternative route” maps to show ways to complete their journey. The service also shows whether their original ticket will be accepted on this new route. The panel agreed that accessible initiatives like this are ideal for supporting people managing neurodiversities, other conditions and – indeed – most people with access to the internet. 

• Open source data
  Chris Davidson (DEFRA) explained how, by making its data (e.g. river levels, pollution incidents, air and water quality) open source, people can see for themselves what’s happening within their environment. Rather than DEFRA issuing static reports, they’re able to analyse and scrutinise the data themselves, which empowers people and increases trust. 

While sharing data online can be useful, it can also lead to false information spreading. When people without the skills to understand or interpret data get hold of it, they can make mistakes. Those misunderstandings can then spread quickly on social media.

A recent LGA survey found that 52% of elected councillors have been victims of online misinformation. The panel agreed that it’s crucial for comms leaders to monitor the online noise around your organisation and stakeholders, and to correct incorrect messages that could be harmful. But we shouldn’t get overly distracted by loud individuals on the internet.

In order to strike this balance, Darren Caveney suggested referring to resources already available to public sector comms teams, many of which include practical tips such as how to hide comments. For example, Birmingham City Council recently launched work specifically aimed at tackling online and community misinformation, framed under the message “Truth Matters” and the importance of countering misinformation with facts. 

The panel explored how AI is currently affecting the digital divide, and whether it’s widening the gap or helping to close it. The participants agreed that AI holds potential for making repetitive tasks more efficient, for example, St Helens Borough Council recently used AI to help social workers become more efficient by automating note-taking and filling out forms, allowing more time for home visits. 

The panel also stressed that we must establish clear AI guidelines to make sure we use it safely and protect sensitive data. Emma Harding recommends that all public sector comms professionals take time to read their organisations’ AI policies, if they haven’t already. 

As one of the BIG Social audience members commented, “we need to drive AI – not be driven by it.” Ultimately, nothing beats the human mind and authentic, face-to-face interaction.

Members of the panel stressed that, although operating in a digital world provides us with a wealth of data – we should pause before we act on it. Rather than focus on short-term spikes and knee-jerk reactions, we should track outcomes over time. Chris Davidson explained how, using Power BI dashboards, DEFRA has been able to combine Excel data sets to show long-term trends to its senior leaders. 

Data holds the power to show us what our audiences most care about, as well as what comms and marketing activities are currently most effective in delivering on our objectives.

Ultimately, the panel agreed that digital comms programmes can help us to connect more meaningfully with our communities and build trust; however, our audiences may never be 100% online. And that’s ok. In fact, by leaning on digital tactics and AI for relevant tasks, organisations can release more time for human interaction for the people who need it most.

The public sector has a duty to cater to all needs, empowering people with the confidence to use digital services where possible, and providing non-digital access routes for those who need this option. We must listen to our audience’s feedback and act accordingly. That’s how we build trust.