1. Introduction 

The countries of the Nordic-Baltic region are globally perceived as frontrunners in the field of digitalisation. Over the past decades, a range of notable tech companies from the northern part of Europe have revolutionised the way we listen to music, communicate digitally and back up government data. Alongside the innovation-driven private sector, the public sector of the Nordic and Baltic countries has also stood out. Extensive digitalisation efforts have resulted in leaner bureaucracies, characterised, for example, by comprehensive implementation of the Once-Only principle (OOP), meaning that citizens, institutions and companies using e-government services need to inform the authorities and administration only once, thereby streamlining the process. The success of such processes has been attested by favourable scores in various international rankings such as the European Union’s (EU) Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the UN’s E-Government Development Index (EGDI) and the digital toolkit of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 

Nevertheless, past studies have pointed to remaining shortcomings across the Nordic and Baltic region. Paradoxically, some of these shortcomings are especially present in the Nordic and Baltic region because the countries are highly digitally mature. As societies become more digitalised, marginalised population groups that are left out of the public discourse on digitalisation and lack representation are facing the consequences of limited involvement in the development, design, implementation and advocacy of new digital solutions in the private and public sphere. That makes it especially important to work towards digital inclusion in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Building on that understanding, a substantial political effort has been made in recent years in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Such political prioritisation is also reflected in the joint statement on the importance of promoting digital inclusion as a central aspect of the digital transformation in the Nordic-Baltic region, signed by all Nordic and Baltic governments on 26 November 2021 (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2021). 

 Experiences of exclusion and discrimination when using digital services undermine the socially sustainable and democratic development of the region and hence require further attention – both within research and policy making. In the context of the “Digital Inclusion in Action” project, special emphasis is placed on the experiences, needs and considerations of seven target groups: (1) older adults, (2) people with disabilities, (3) people with low income, (4) people with low or no education, (5) immigrants lacking language skills, (6) young adults lacking domain knowledge and (7) residents of rural areas. Building on previous research, these groups have been found to be at risk of digital exclusion for various reasons and are more likely to struggle to access and benefit from the opportunities brought about by digitalisation in an equal manner. Yet there are also several ongoing initiatives in the public sphere that aim to address these remaining shortcomings, which will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5. Such initiatives often focus on the national level and seldom reach regional uptake. An overview of existing strategies is provided in order to help understand where overlaps lie in framing digital inclusion and contribute to fostering a more harmonised Nordic-Baltic approach through shared learning processes. 

As one of the project’s first deliverables, this policy report intends to provide an overview of relevant policies aimed at addressing such inequalities in all the Nordic and Baltic countries, including the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. The policy review thereby builds on the pre-study of the “Digital Inclusion in Action” project titled “Monitoring Digital Inclusion in the Nordic-Baltic Region” (Nordic Council of Ministers & Digital Europe, 2022 – hereinafter referred to as the “pre-study”). The pre-study explored various dimensions of digital inclusion in the region by reviewing the countries’ digitalisation policies and other relevant strategies up until December 2021 in view of definitions of the concept of digital inclusion/exclusion. The report further investigated monitoring practices and the overall state of digital inclusion in the Nordic and Baltic countries. That comprehensive evaluation is supplemented by the present report, which includes recent policies that have been published since release of the pre-study. The emergence of new definitions is assessed in that context. This report further places a strong focus on evaluating the barriers and solutions to digital inclusion described by the various national policies. The aim is to better understand what hurdles are already being considered and used to frame the term in the respective policy debates on digitalisation – and which might not yet have been pinpointed – both on a national and cross-national level. The identification of overlaps and gaps is intended to further facilitate the exchange of relevant knowledge within the Nordic-Baltic region and beyond.

To that end, the document is structured as follows: the chapter following this introduction provides a brief overview of the status of the digital inclusion debate and landscape in the Nordic-Baltic region. The third chapter discusses various definitions of digital inclusion. The fourth chapter informs the reader about the chosen methodological framework. Chapter 5 provides a more detailed overview of the policies that have been reviewed for each country. Chapter 6 provides a summary and analysis of new developments in terms of (1) definitions of digital inclusion and (2) identified barriers that define each country’s concept of and approach to digital inclusion. Finally, the document concludes with a number of closing remarks alongside a list of key takeaways.