The Blueprint sets out 4 roles for government in building a digitally included New Zealand: lead, connect, support and deliver. The focus for 2019 is to build a strong foundation for long-term, sustainable action. This includes finalising an outcomes framework and advice on evaluating initiatives, as well as identifying priority areas for focus and any areas of need not currently being served.

Government’s vision for digital inclusion in New Zealand

The government’s work programme for digital inclusion begins with a vision. A vision that all of us have what we need to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the digital world. This defines digital inclusion as a desired end state, one in which everyone is included.

Achieving this vision therefore requires setting out what it means to be digitally included.

The Blueprint defines being included as having convenient access to, and the ability to confidently use, the internet in the immediate term. This focus reflects the way most people currently interact with the digital world, and that more and more services and day-to-day activities are going online.

In recognition of the continuously changing role digital technology plays in the lives of individuals and society as a whole, the vision leaves open what it means to be digitally included in the future.