Competitive Digital Equity Projects Recommended for Funding Include Multi-State Effort to Expand Local Government Capacity
Earlier this week, NTIA released a list of 24 projects they have recommended for funding under the Digital Equity Competitive Grant initiative. The selected projects support programs designed to make available digital skills training, expand access to technology and/or augment technical support resources in 39 states. In total, the projects constitute a federal investment of more than $250 million.
Last year, I published a post highlighting the important work of Lead for America’s American Connection Corps (ACC) — an AmeriCorps program that recruits and places Corps members in digitally disconnected communities. Indeed, since NTIA released guidance about the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Initiative, I have been making the case that the local governments and their partners should apply for the funding and use it to expand their capacity to leverage new technologies and applications to improve the quality of life for residents in their communities. I argued that applications supported by local governments would be particularly compelling to NTIA because local governments are able to sustain effective programs after the Federal Digital Equity funding is expended.
For this reason, it is super exciting to see that NTIA is recommending for funding a project that would expand the American Connection Corps in thirteen states — KS, AK, AL, AR, ID, MO, MT, OH, PA, VA, VT, WA, WV. With the Digital Equity Act (DEA) funding, Lead for America will recruit and place with a nonprofit or local government more American Connection Corp (ACC) members in each state. Once placed, the ACC members are charged with advancing digital equity efforts tailored to the needs of the communities in which they live. Congratulations to Lead for America and to all the communities that are contributors to the American Connection Corps project!
Other Reactions to the Selected Projects
Six Multi-State Projects. In addition to recommending Lead for America’s multi-state project, NTIA recommended multi-state projects lead by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the International Rescue Committee, Black Tech Futures Research Association and Goodwill. I can appreciate the merits of selecting multi-state projects that target distinct underserved populations and are administered by organizations with experience working with disconnected communities. The best practices and lessons learned related to these initial 24 projects will help guide national efforts to bridge the digital divide and ensure that everyone can participate in our increasingly digital world. Organizations like NDIA, IRC and NBTEA are very well-placed to capture, document and disseminate key lessons learned and best practices.
Nine Government-led Applications. Five projects submitted by cities, two submitted by K-12 school districts, one project submitted by a state board of education and one project submitted by a county were also recommended for funding. To me, these projects reflect an appreciation among the applicant organizations and NTIA reviewers that broadband networks will be an increasingly important avenue for delivering government services and K-12 education. Forward-looking local governments and K-12 schools need to build capacity in their organizations, so they have the necessary resources and know-how to deliver services via broadband networks. Good on the NTIA reviewers that they — too — recognize the need for organization capacity in this area.
Five University-led Projects. Universities serving Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota and New York were also recommended for funding. With these projects, I am excited to see that NTIA has selected initiatives that will advance the Digital Equity field by developing and implementing new approaches. The Arkansas project will focus on providing telehealth at community anchor institutions including senior centers. The Idaho project will staff 12 Digital Opportunity Program Coordinators in rural communities with high poverty levels. The Delaware project will equip an educational vehicle with technological equipment needed to train individuals where they are. All the university-led projects will seek to enhance Digital literacy curriculum, expand train-the-trainer materials and develop online training models for topics including workforce development, cybersecurity and data security.
Unsurprisingly, the selected projects reflect the broad range of geographies, topographies and demographics of our large country. Also unsurprisingly, the projects highlight different outcomes of digital engagement — ranging from economic opportunity, community building, access to health services and more. While many of the recommended projects focus on digital training, access to technology programs and/or digital navigator initiatives, the recommended projects also reflect that residents of different communities face different obstacles to participating fully in digital society. I’d proffer that a common thread among the most effective efforts to advance digital engagement is to avoid technology training for technology training’s sake. By my read of the projects recommended for funding, each project seeks to unlock meaningful, new possibilities for the previously disconnected in our communities.
Of course, we cannot yet know whether the remainder of the Digital Equity Act (DEA) funding will be distributed by the incoming Trump Administration. If this is the only tranche of DEA funding distributed, I am confident that these projects will build capacity in government organizations, establish and disseminate best practices and lessons learned and advance the field of digital equity. Congratulations to all involved in the projects recommended for DEA funding — your projects will help us all work toward #Internetforall.
About this Medium Site
On this Medium site, I explore an array of topics related to the transformative power of smart and connected communities. A central question for this observer of the so-called smart community movement: how will municipalities, real estate developers, universities and other leading organizations develop, deploy and support smart and connected community projects at scale?
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