PwC Australia’s Cyber team breaking down barriers to digital upskilling in the not-for-profit sector

Situation

Limited access, affordability, and digital literacy hinder equal participation of Australians in their digital future

We know digital skills are necessary to navigate, access and be an active participant in the modern world. According to the Australian Digital Inclusion Index¹ (ADII), access to digital skills remains substantial despite a decrease in 2022. However, 9.4% of the population are highly excluded from digital society (most notably older people, those who did not complete secondary school, and people with a disability or who live in public housing).

Affordable access remains a significant barrier. A substantial number of Australians continue to experience affordability stress, meaning they would need to pay more than 5% of household income to maintain quality and reliable connectivity, an important step in bridging the divide.

Identifying skills and keeping pace is not easy and requires many parts of society to convene and work together to address the barriers. For example, government and corporate leaders need to come together to identify the skills opportunity gaps.

Aligned to our Resilient Community focus area, New world. New skills. PwC Australia has identified the for-purpose sector* as a key player in catalysing the change and support needed to address digital inclusion. In particular, they are working with not-for-profits (NFPs) who play a vital role in the digital ecosystem, working frontline in the community to support those who are most vulnerable. As a sector they too are not immune from the digital exclusion challenges - some will have greater access to skills and resources than others. To strengthen their digital capabilities so that they are better able to execute on their mission, PwC Australia has an aim to focus on building capacity with NFPs across three areas:

1. Skills - support the development of key digital skills that NFPs need to drive social change.
2. Assets - leverage technology, tools and learning and development assets to improve the digital capability of NFPs.
3. Collaboration - convene and support partnerships across the sector to address digital upskilling.

_{*For purpose sector is a commonly used alternative to describe the not-for-profit sector in Australia.}

Impact

By being better prepared for disruption and digital transformation, more time can be spent delivering front line services to their communities

PwC Australia’s volunteers developed specific tools and resources for not-for-profits to support their digital and cybersecurity journey, including:

• Privacy Guidelines for NFPs
• End User Security Template
• Privacy Policy Template
• Information Security Policy Template
• IT Security Register Template

Visit PwC Australia cybersecurity for Not-for-profits (NFPs)Opens in a new window to view all the above resources and webinars available. The intent is that further resources will be developed consistent with the themes of cyber security risk management, cyber safe awareness and personal cyber security.

Staff from PwC Australia’s Cyber practice facilitated a masterclass and breakout sessions at the Infoxchange 2023 Connecting Up conference², the largest annual APAC conference for those working, or interested, in technology and innovation in the NFP sector. The sessions provided insights into current cyber threats facing the NFP sector; the current and proposed regulatory landscape; and resources available to NFPs to uplift their cybersecurity and prepare for an incident.

The collaboration with Infoxchange supports PwC Australia’s aim of building the digital capacity of the NFP sector in Australia. The team knows there is a lot more work to be done to support the sector to develop the digital skills and assets they need. Although this collaboration is a step forward in addressing digital inclusion in Australia.

_{¹ Thomas, J., McCosker, A., Parkinson, S., Hegarty, K., Featherstone, D., Kennedy, J., Holcombe-James, I., Ormond-Parker, L., & Ganley, L. (2023). Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: Australian Digital Inclusion Index: 2023. Key Findings (PDF)Opens in a new window. Melbourne: ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, and Telstra.
² Thomas, J., McCosker, A., Parkinson, S., Hegarty, K., Featherstone, D., Kennedy, J., Holcombe-James, I., Ormond-Parker, L., & Ganley, L. (2023). Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: Australian Digital Inclusion Index: 2023. Key Findings (PDF)Opens in a new window. Melbourne: ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, and Telstra.}