Governance and Monitoring System for the Spanish Plan of Digital Skills

Since 2021 I have been coworking under this European Technical Support Instrument, entitled “Governance and Monitoring System for the National Plan of Digital Skills”.

Today I would like to quickly give you an overall picture of what it consists of and what benefits it has brought to the Subdirectorate General of Digital Talent, where I am currently coordinating the National Plan of Digital Skills.

Through DG Reform, the EU Commission is assisting in designing, developing and implementing a common governance system, adapted monitoring and evaluation tools for the Spanish Plan for Digital Skills.

The journey started in October, back in 2021, when we requested the current Technical Support Instrument. The goals of the project were to gain a more effective, streamlined and collaborative governance and monitoring system in Spain, fostering the coordination of the involved stakeholders as well as promoting the certification of digital skills of Spanish citizens.

The TSI is currently underway and being handed through various deliverables and distinct stages, which I will be later detailing: an assessment of the current situation; a comparative analysis of international best practices; a detailed concept for an overarching IT-Tool; a targeted stakeholder consultation; workshops with key stakeholders; an action plan detailing concrete policy reforms;  a pilot action and final balance.

At the time of asking for the TSI, Spain did not have a common governance system, and/or adapted monitoring and evaluation tools to follow-up on and assess the effectiveness and impact of the National Plan for Digital Skills. This was particularly urgent given the country’s highly decentralised administrative structure, and the multiplicity of agents involved in the implementation of the Plan (i.e. national, regional and local authorities, as well as third sector and private organisations delivering trainings on digital skills). 

The Technical Support Instrument (TSI) was requested from the Commission to obtain tailored technical advice to support the implementation of the plan and to ensure the effectiveness and impact of the digital skills initiatives.

The key stages, activities outputs and deliverables are unfolded as follows:

Stage 0. Beginning of the project

A0.1. Identification of the main stakeholders of the project

A0.2. Kick-off meeting

A0.3. Inception report

Stage 1: Analysis of the current situation:

A1.1. Analysis of the Government Model of Digital Skills in Spain: Identification of key agents of the National Plan for Digital Skills. Analysis of the ecosystem of key agents in the field of digital skills. Diagnosis of the governance model of the Plan and digital skills in Spain. Analysis of experiences from other member States.

A1.2. Mid-term evaluation of the National Plan for Digital Skills: Analysis of the progress of the Plan and intermediate results. Analysis of good practices and analysis of international experiences promoting digital skills. Public consultations about the views on the scope, priorities and added value for new initiatives, or evaluations of existing actions. Interim qualitative evaluation and analysis of areas for improvement

A1.3. Elaboration of the current situation analysis: Workshops to discuss the draft deliverable. Presentation of the final deliverable. 

A1. 4. Update of the National Plan for Digital Skills according to the diagnosis: Presentation and validation of intermediate evaluation with key agents. Proposal for updating measures in the Plan. Validation of measures and incorporation of monitoring and control.

Main tools to be used during Stage 1 have been: Workshops & meetings with General Subdirectorate of Talent and Digital Entrepreneurship; the Secretariat of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and main stakeholders. 

Main deliverables to be developed in Stage 1: 1. Minutes and presentation from the kick-off meeting; 2. Inception report; 3. Benchmarking of best practices and public consultations; 4. Digital skills benchmarking report; 5. Analysis of the current situation regarding the Government Model of Digital Skills in Spain and the National Plan for Digital Skills.

Stage 2: Design and development of a business case for the Governance Model of Digital Skills for Spain

A2.1. Define alternatives or scenarios based on the update of the National Plan for Digital Skills
A2.2. Carry out an analysis of each alternative.
A2.3. Choose the preferred alternative.

Main tools to be used during Stage 2: Business cases.

Main deliverables to be developed in Stage 2: 1. Analysis report of different scenarios; 2. Draft for business cases model.

Stage 3: Design and implementation of the desired Governance Model of Digital Skills for Spain

A3.1. Design of a governance model for the coordinated deployment of digital skills in the autonomous communities: Define operational, organisational, and legal implications for the implementation of the Governance Model of Digital Skills for Spain. Define processes and KPIs according to the objectives and available information to measure and control the model and updated Plan. Review and validate draft model and draft deliverables with key agents.

A3.2. Implementation of the governance model for the coordinated deployment of digital skills in the autonomous communities: Implementation of a pilot. Review and validation of the model based on the pilot. Implementation of the final Governance Model of Digital Skills for Spain.

Main tools to be used during Stage 3: Workshops and meeting to validate the processes, KPIs, objectives, pilot and final Governance Model with the different stakeholders.

Main deliverables to be developed in Stage 3: 1. To-be situation analysis; 2. To-be Governance Model, with its requirements, processes, and mechanisms.

Stage 4: Change management Plan and Communication Plan

A4.1. Define a Change management Plan and Communication Plan for the implementation of the new Governance Model.

A4.2. Review and validate the Change management Plan and Communication Plan.

A4.3. Implement the Change management Plan and Communication Plan.

Main tools to be used during Stage 4: Communication materials (videos, newsletters, infographics, etc.) 

Main deliverables to be developed in Stage 4: 1. Communication Plan and materials; 2. Change management Plan with its activities.

 

Up to now, maybe the most outstanding deliverables have been: 

• Conceptualizing the ecosystem of self-diagnosis (this self-diagnosis was agreed with the regions, who, learning, assessment and improvement of digital skills (since it has helped envisage and intertwine our participation in the EDSC). 

• Dissemination Strategy for the D Generation Portal. 

• Action plan for the governance and monitoring system (work in progress). 

Besides, the chance to get in touch with other member states has been appreciated: 

• Gaining knowledge and networking internationally through workshops on digital skills learning ecosystems and initiatives + assessment and accreditation of Digital Skills. 

• Contact with DigSkills Belgium, Fit4Internet Austria, Portugal Digital and Pix. 

• Study Visit by the Polish Chancellery of the Prime Minister so as to exchange knowledge about the digital strategies in both countries.

It is very important to highlight the flexibility of DG Reform so as to adapt to the real needs of the Subdirectorate once the project was granted, taking into account the time lapsed that had taken place between the application and the granting, and understanding the needs might have changed through that time and so, the need to adjust the project so as it definitely has real impact.

Here you are some of the outcomes we have already developed thanks to the TSI. The D Generation Alliance and its Generation D Portal. This portal has recently included a dashboard for the organizations adhered to the Pact to be able to report their trainings, as that indicator is one of the KPI envisaged in the TSI.

Besides, and in order to orient instructional design of trainings within the Spanish Plan for Digital Skills, as well as to guide learning outcomes gained by citizenship through those trainings, thanks to the TSI we have already enriched the Spanish model of digital skills for citizens, including a set of over 1000 use cases of DigComp, unfolded into 3 main proficiency levels, and contextualised to daily life, employability, learning and public service.

On the other hand, and thanks to the Generation D Alliance, one of the TSI outcomes, 73 private and public entities from that Pact, have joined this EDSC Pilot in Spain. And that is only one of the many alignments between our EDSC and our TSI.

The TSI has been a really important instrument, crucial I dare say, for driving a breakthrough in digital skills governance and monitoring in Spain.