The round table «Evaluation of digital readiness of the population for the implementation of digital technology in Russia»

On April 27, 2021 the International Laboratory for Digital Transformation in Public Administration of the IPAG held the round table "Evaluation of digital readiness of the population for the implementation of digital technologies in Russia" within the framework of the XXII April International Scientific Conference of the Higher School of Economics.

The round table was attended by:

–  Alina Postovalova, head of development of the independent assessment area of the Center of competencies for human resources for the digital economy at the University 2035;

–  Lyudmila Spiridonova, Executive Director of NAFI analytical center;

–  Elena Makarova, head of the reference educational center University Innopolis;

–  Svetlana Mikhailovna Avdeeva, Deputy Head of the Laboratory for Measuring New Constructs and Test Design at the Institute of Education;

–  Vitaly Anatolyevich Kurnoy, Director of the Institute for Cultural Research.

Within the framework of the round table there was a presentation of the report of the Higher School of Economics "Assessment of Digital Readiness of the Russian Population", authors: N.E. Dmitrieva, A.B. Zhulin, R.E. Artamonov, E.A. Titov.

Report «Assessment of Digital Readiness of the Russian Population» (PDF, 1.88 Мб) 

Further, key issues of digital readiness were discussed:

1.  How to effectively measure digital literacy of various socio-professional groups?

A.A. Postovalova presented the main elements of the system of independent assessment of digital economy competencies, which should provide a reliable assessment of the level of digital economy competencies. The goals and objectives of the project include:

–  providing citizens with access to valid and reliable procedures for assessing digital economy competencies with preservation of assessment results data in a personal competency profile;

–  involvement of employers and market leaders in the development of test and measurement materials;

–  involvement of various systems and assessment centers, including corporate ones, in the exchange of data on assessment results with personal competency profiles;

–  development and implementation of procedures to improve reliability and validity of assessment - proctoring, simulation types of assessment, etc.;

–  integration of IT assessment platform with services and systems that increase the efficiency of assessment results in data use - USIA, UISPM, job portals, services of the Rostrud Service, educational portals, etc;

–  opportunity to build a personal development trajectory.

L. Spiridonova presented the latest results of the digital literacy assessment conducted by NAFI. According to NAFI, 27% of Russians have a high level of digital literacy. By individual competencies, the results are as follows:

- information literacy - 89% advanced level,

- Digital content creation - 62% basic;

- digital security 80% advanced;

- problem solving skills in the digital environment 93% advanced;

- communicative literacy 87% advanced.

 2.  What measures are needed to increase the digital readiness of the various populations?

S.M. Avdeeva reported the results of two studies on the digital readiness of high school graduates. The results are not entirely satisfactory: a third of the students have a level below the basic one. The difference between the regions is about 10% in the competence to work in a digital environment. The content analysis showed that the level of competence of students is quite low, especially in terms of cognitively loaded skills. At the same time, technical literacy is a predictor for this category. The main hypothesis that was confirmed: the higher the social capital in the family, the higher the level of ICT competencies.

 3.  How to increase the level of digital trust of the population?

V.A. Kurnoy dwelled on the problem of trust, which also appears during the introduction of digital competencies. The generalized level of trust in our society is low.

The topic of trust is constantly discussed, there are many foreign and Russian studies. Modern societies have developed a certain policy, which allows coping with a high level of distrust. This is transparency and clarity. As studies show, the higher the level of transparency, the higher the level of trust. This means that the level of trust is seriously influenced by openness, which allows societies to cope with the factors of uncertainty, unpredictability, incomprehensibility, including in relation to technology. Therefore, the task of politicians is to ensure how to make the implemented mechanisms transparent and accessible in the public sphere. The issue of trust is also related to the problem of predictability. The high level of techno-optimism of Russians points to some problems in society, including distrust of other institutions. Consequently, it is necessary to look for solutions, how can we deal with the problems of opacity and unpredictability of the functioning of other institutions. The sphere of technology is the sphere of innovation. There is a paradox here: the faster we get involved in these technologies, which change very quickly, the faster competencies become obsolete and the faster we become disillusioned. This creates additional risks. So the challenge is to create more sustainable technologies in certain areas where there is more opportunity to build more sustainable trust, which allows you to see a predictable result of the interaction. Thus, the problem of trust is a problem of predictability and foreseeability.