Inclusivity: Closing The Gap
Report from CSES Spotlight Event, 15 September 2021
In October 2020, CSES convened a roundtable discussion between a wide variety of local and national stakeholders to share responses to, and lessons learned from, the Covid-19 pandemic. This revealed that in addition to the short-term "must do" activities there was also an emerging appetite for accelerating developments and embracing innovative change.
Following on from this, CSES is holding a series of "spotlight" events with the same group of diverse stakeholders and additional contributors. These events are on the themes of Trust (held on 15 April 2021), Inclusivity (the subject of this report), Resilience & Adaptability, and Sustainability.
This event aimed to answer the following question: "How can we tackle economic, health and education inequality within Essex using science and technology?" Specifically:
- How can science and technology businesses in Essex best create social value in a targeted and strategic manner?
- What applications of science and technology can allow us to deliver integrated and inclusive health and social care – and cater for differing needs and disabilities – efficiently, effectively and compassionately?
- How can we harness technology to deliver an integrated scientific, digital and creative education fit for today’s economy without the downsides of digital inequality?
- How can the different stakeholders work together to collectively tackle these issues?
From the themes raised during discussion of the above questions, a set of recommendations has been made. These include:
- Items for CSES, its partners and similar community groups to take forward, for example through the STEAM Commission.
- Items for Essex County Council and its partners to take forward, including by feeding into ECC's Digital Exclusion Working Group and/or Corporate Strategy team.
The next step is for CSES and Essex County Council to incorporate these recommendations into their planning for 2022 and beyond.
