The project

The overarching goal of DIGNITY, DIGital traNsport In and for socieTY, is to foster a sustainable, integrated and user-friendly digital travel eco-system that improves accessibility and social inclusion, along with the travel experience and daily life of all citizens. The project delves into the digital transport eco-system to grasp the full range of factors that might lead to disparities in the uptake of digitalised mobility solutions by different user groups in Europe. Analysing the digital transition from both a user and provider’s perspective, DIGNITY looks at the challenges brought about by digitalisation, to then design, test and validate the DIGNITY approach, a novel concept that seeks to become the ‘ABCs for a digital inclusive travel system’. The approach combines proven inclusive design methodologies with the principles of foresight analysis to examine how a structured involvement of all actors – local institutions, market players, interest groups and end users – can help bridge the digital gap by co-creating more inclusive mobility solutions and by formulating user-centred policy frameworks.

The objectives

The idea is to support public and private mobility providers in conceiving mainstream digital products or services that are accessible to and usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their income, social situation or age; and to help policy makers formulate long-term strategies that promote innovation in transport while responding to global social, demographic and economic changes, including the challenges of poverty and migration.

The mission

By focusing on and involving end-users throughout the process of designing policies, products, or services, it is possible to reduce social exclusion while boosting new business models and social innovation. The end result that DIGNITY is aiming for is an innovative decision support tool that can help local and regional decision-makers formulate digitally inclusive policies and strategies, and digital providers design more inclusive products and services.

The approach

The DIGNITY approach combines analysis with concrete actions to make digital mobility services inclusive over the long term. The approach connects users’ needs and requirements with the provision of mobility services, and at the same time connects those services to the institutional framework. It is a multi-phase process that first seeks to understand and bridge the digital gap, and then to test, evaluate and fine-tune the approach, so that it can be applied in other contexts even after the project’s end.

Discover the DIGNITY approach

Watch our video about the DIGNITY project:

Target groups: How they benefit and what they provide

POLICY MAKERS

What they get out of the project:

  • A better understanding of who is currently underserved by digital mobility services;
  • Guidelines, recommendations and tools to help them build policies that support underserved users.

What they give back to DIGNITY:

  • Useful feedback on these tools;
  • Spreading the word by sharing these tools with their colleagues;
  • Expanding the learning community by inviting their colleagues.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT OPERATORS

What they get out of the project:

  • Valuable knowledge regarding the challenges faced by vulnerable-to-exclusion citizens, thanks to the guidelines, educational toolkit, and inclusive design insights;
  • Practical knowledge on how these challenges can be addressed, and existing systems improved;
  • The opportunity to network and work with other stakeholders, such as representatives of user groups (along with end users), providers of products and services, and policy makers, via the learning community.

What they give back to DIGNITY:

  • Feedback on how to improve the feasibility and clarity of the insights and the toolkits;
  • Active participation on the learning community platform.

DIGITAL MOBILITY PROVIDERS

What they get out of the project:

  • Knowledge and insights on how existing gaps might be addressed, thanks to the guidelines, educational toolkit, and design insights;
  • Inspiration leading to new innovations and new, specialised products and services;
  • The opportunity to network and work with other stakeholders, such as representatives of user groups (along with end users), public transport operators, and policy makers.

What they give back to DIGNITY:

  • Feedback to improve the insights and the toolkits, ensuring they are feasible and clear;
  • Suggestions for new innovations;
  • New perspectives from which to look at these challenges;
  • Active participation on the learning community platform.

USER ASSOCIATIONS

What they get out of the project:

  • A say in how digital mobility products and services will be designed;
  • A chance to present the concerns of their members to policy makers, transport operators, and product and service providers via the learning community.

What they give back to DIGNITY:

  • Valuable input on what really matters to their members;
  • Ideas on what kind of improvements are needed, and which ones would be most effective.
  • Feedback on whether or not the recommendations and insights sufficiently provide for these users’ needs.

RESEARCHERS

What they get out of the project:

  • A systematic review of mobility gaps for disadvantaged communities;
  • New research that they can build on regarding how to fill these gaps.

What they give back to DIGNITY:

  • Active participation in the learning community;
  • Their insights and feedback;
  • Spreading the word by inviting other researchers to join the learning community;
  • New avenues of thinking and research on the digital mobility gap;
  • A positive influence on the development of new policies, products, systems and services.

CITIZENS

What they get out of the project:

  • More accessible digital mobility products and services;
  • Better interaction between public/private transport systems and digital mobility products and services (thanks to the design insights, policy recommendations, and increased cooperation via the learning community platform);
  • An increased awareness of inclusive design and how it benefits all users.

What they give back to DIGNITY:

  • Support for the implementation of inclusive policies, services, and products.