Evaluation of the accessibility of rural and remote areas to services provided digitally: rationale and analytical implications

Abstract

This work starts from the expectation that demographic decline will continue to affect rural areas of Europe, particularly the most remote ones. To mitigate its effects on the provision of services in a context of decreasing resources, digital delivery methods could be generalised. This is based on the belief that, in addition to improving the population's access to a greater variety of services, it would also help to enhance the attractiveness of rural areas. Reflecting on how to evaluate new accessibility in a digital context, we review the factors that should be taken into consideration, among which the factor of "distance" is no longer relevant. We propose variables for assessing digital accessibility. However, we acknowledge that its applicability is severely compromised by the lack of data at the local level. We conclude by urging the continuation of research and recommending that advances in digital service provision go hand in hand with the generation of data that allows for the evaluation of the quality of the population's access to digital services in rural areas, to verify that the assumptions regarding improved service provision and increased attractiveness of the beneficiary areas are met.