Research summary - The E‑Vulnerability Index

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Official title: The E-Vulnerability Index

Author of report: Firouz Fallahi and Stéphane Gascon

Why this study

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is committed to service excellence for Canadians through modern service delivery. As part of this, we have greatly improved online/digital services over the past years. Yet, some people may face barriers to online services. We call them e-vulnerable. They could struggle to get services if other delivery channels adapted to their needs did not exist. To help serve all Canadians, we should know:

• who is most likely to be e-vulnerable, and
• where they live in Canada

What we did

The E‑vulnerability Index (EVI) seeks to measure the extent of e‑vulnerability in the country. This tool sums up in a single score 3 key dimensions of what e-vulnerability is. These 3 dimensions reflect the extent to which individuals have:

• the means (for example, affordability) to be able to access the Internet and the required technologies (computers, cell phones, and so on)
• the willingness to use these technologies and the Internet, and
• the abilities or skills to use these technologies

To develop the EVI, researchers from ESDC relied on best practices from other countries around the world. Researchers used Statistics Canada’s data from the:

• Census of Population (2016)
• Canadian Internet Use Survey (2018), and
• Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (2012),

and calculated the EVI score for each Canadian aged 16 and over.

The EVI scores range from 0 to 100, where 0 means no vulnerability and 100 means extreme vulnerability. In other words, the higher the score is the greater the e-vulnerability is. We combined the individual EVI scores and analysed that for:

• diverse sub-groups of the Canadian population (for example: youth, seniors, Indigenous people, recent immigrants and people with activity limitations)
• and chosen level of geographies (for example, Canada, provinces, territories)

It is also possible to examine how the degree of e-vulnerability varies across urban and rural areas, provinces and other standard geographic areas such as Census sub-divisions. Finally, we calculated the EVI score for persons living within 50 km driving distance of each Service Canada points of service. We created different geographic maps to show the findings.

This helps to explain the results in support of meaningful and relevant policy analyses.

What we found

This research shows that:

• overall in Canada, the EVI score stands at 37 (out of 100). This score is a benchmark to compare the EVI scores of subgroups of the Canadian population. When we compare these EVI scores against the benchmark score, we can see which subgroups are more e-vulnerable than the average. Selected findings show that e-vulnerability varies greatly across sub-groups of the population as well as geographic areas considered in this study:
  • seniors have the highest (55) and youth have the lowest (25) levels of e-vulnerability among all sub-groups of the Canadian population looked at in the study
  • e-vulnerability is higher in the Atlantic Provinces (41) and in Québec (39). It is lowest in the western provinces (36). Ontario has an EVI score that is in line with the Canadian average (37). The score for the 3 territories, while high, should be taken with caution given severe data limitations in their case
  • the average EVI for the points of service stands at 36 but there are important differences across the country:
    • 10% of all Service Canada points of service have a very high EVI score
    • 38% have very low or low scores
• factors such as age, education, income level, or employment status, also affect one’s degree of e-vulnerability
  • for instance, seniors with a low level of education or in low-income are more at risk to face challenges in using online services

What it means

The findings of this research will strengthen service delivery and digital policies through:

• supporting informed design and delivery of services and programs, mainly those that target specific groups of the Canadian population
• showing where and for whom, non-digital channels of service delivery or information sharing is needed
• assisting in developing digital services to lessen potential drawbacks that might arise from putting digital services in place
• helping in designing urgent services for e-vulnerable during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the findings show that a uniform strategy will not work in digital service delivery.

Contact us

Strategic and Service Policy Branch, Service Policy and Strategy Directorate, Service Research Division

Email: ESDC.NC.SSPB.RESEARCH-RECHERCHE.DGPSS.CN.EDSC@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca