Evaluating digital skills policies: Assessing the potential impact of outreach programs in Italy

Scholars and policymakers have long identified stakeholders whose activities should help reduce digital inequalities; these include “outreach initiatives,” where entities proactively go beyond their traditional boundaries to reach marginalized citizens. However, few studies have attempted to evaluate the potential impact of this approach quantitatively. Our research fills this gap, employing a static and dynamic analysis of a pseudo-panel dataset relating to Italy. We aggregate data from a representative national survey for the years 2014–2020, and we proxy outreach through the number of public events promoted to spread digital literacy. The static model highlights the role of systemic variables: education, employment, broadband coverage, and social connectedness. The dynamic model shows that outreach and library activism create positive fluctuations around the trend but reach a plateau. We conclude that a policy mix is needed: outreach is a helpful tool to stimulate communities in the short term, but other, more structural interventions are required to close the digital skills gap. These results are relevant especially for countries, like Italy and the US, that are now experimenting with outreach-oriented policies to boost basic digital skills.