How Prime 8’s “Digital Skills” Framework Shapes Workforce Innovation
The philanthropic department of a leading global tech firm needed an internationally relevant framework upon which a digital skills initiative could be built. They needed help from a learning team with expertise in the technology industry, but also one with the ability to provide strategic support and impeccable data-based research. They reached out to Prime 8 Consulting with their challenge.
The concept of “digital skills,” as it turned out was a broad and surprisingly nebulous concept that encompassed far more than expected. As a part of their discovery work, Prime 8 interviewed scholars and conducted extensive literature reviews. Through this, they discovered that no one agreed on a single definition of the term.
However, within three months, through rigorous collaboration and attention to detail, Prime 8 delivered a complete framework (both a written report and visual representation) that succinctly and clearly defined digital skills. This would become the basis for the client’s corporate social responsibility efforts and would ultimately fuel their noble mission to empower underserved communities to use technology to learn and drive change.
A rigorous research process
The engagement began and Prime 8 was faced with a steep challenge: there was no industry-wide consensus on the definition of digital skills.
As a first step, Prime 8 scheduled and conducted over two dozen interviews in a tight timeframe of just a few weeks. These were interviews with both internal subject-matter experts at the client’s company and external industry experts.
The research team at Prime 8 also conducted a literature review of scholarly articles and books to determine what definitions of digital skills existed, if any.
The Prime 8 team was uniquely equipped to research and define a question of this magnitude. “We took our strong skills around research and our understanding of the tech world to approach what seemed like an unanswerable question,” the lead researcher recalled. The Prime 8 team comprised members with graduate degrees who all had backgrounds in formal research. “It was our ability to bring a ready-made ‘research engine’ to the client that set us apart,” the lead researcher added.
The team uncovered a wide range of items that encompassed the idea of “digital skills”, ranging from the simple (computer use) to the complex (data science and innovation). Here are just a few of the components they discovered that would be leveraged into the creation of a meaningful globally meaningful framework:
Device, internet, and information literacy
Ethical participation in the digital community
Use of digital content, networks, and systems
Development of digital content
Digital design
Data analysis and visualization
Programming
Technology innovation
A new framework within weeks
Using their findings, the Prime 8 team developed a comprehensive framework for defining digital skills. It categorized those who use technology into four digital personas, pictured Digital Citizen, Digital Collaborator, Digital Creator, and Digital Innovator.
Prime 8 delivered the first iteration of a written report and some accompanying visual models, just weeks after their initial engagement. The final version was approved less than four months after the project began.
A timely project with tangible ROI
The client was very pleased with the framework, which would now allow them to conduct productive conversations with stakeholders about how they could invest in people using digital skills on a global scale. “The framework helped bring credibility to these conversations, because this was backed by research,” stated the project leader. The organization was one large step closer to fulfilling their mission to empower people and communities to innovate with technology and achieve more.
The result was especially pronounced in a post-COVID world now that digital skills are more essential than ever. The president of the global company recently announced the launch of a global digital skills initiative to expand access for people impacted by job losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the framework provided by Prime 8, the company was empowered to deliver a consistent and aspirational message across this initiative and others.
Project Snapshot
Industry: Global technology company
Location: US
Company Size: Over 100k employees
Critical Business Issues: The philanthropic department of a multinational technology company sought out Prime 8’s assistance in defining “digital skills” to guide their outreach efforts.
Solution: Prime 8 completed a rigorous research process to succinctly define a nebulous and complex concept.
The Method: Through both primary and secondary research, Prime 8 delivered a comprehensive written report and developed four key digital personas to bring life to the concept of “digital skills.”
The Outcome: A global digital skills initiative based on the Prime 8 framework is launched to expand access for people impacted by Covid-19 job loss.
