Editorial: Smart cards will need to be very clever

The general consensus from most parts of the youth sector that have commented on the paper so far is that this is indeed an opportunity. But it's an opportunity that has to be taken - and much of the responsibility for making this happen will fall to local authorities. The opportunity card will not work if it doesn't capture the imagination of young people. It has to have enough perceived benefits and be sufficiently "cool" for them to want to engage with the concept.

The Connexions Card was launched in 2001 and 560,000 young people signed up. But according to the Department for Education and Skills' own research, only nine per cent of 16- to 19-year-olds used the card for rewards or discounts in 2004. That won't be good enough to deliver on the opportunity card vision.