The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently published guides aimed at helping community organizations create or expand programs to help close the digital divide. The guides provide an overview of the community model that has proven to be successful, the model’s key elements, and the challenges organizations may face in establishing or growing a digital inclusion program.
Nonprofits are generally funded by governments, private foundations, the public, and to some extent, their customers. Yet, despite the fact that they are trying to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, just about any nonprofit executive director will tell you that one of their biggest challenges is the expectation that they should do "more with less." This mantra is understandable in any sector at times, particularly lean economic times. But while the approach tends to ebb and flow with the Dow in the for-profit sector, nonprofits have made "more with less" a lifelong operating philosophy.
I recently attended a workshop in Sacramento with several colleagues who manage digital divide and broadband adoption programs throughout California. During an open discussion session, one of the attendees stood up and exclaimed to the audience of at least 100 people that her County was "invisible." The County she was referring to is Imperial County. I’ve done a fair amount of work there myself, especially recently, and have heard similar sentiment from others.
The term "digital divide" was coined in the mid-90s to describe the group of people with limited means to access the Internet via broadband at home. After all, access to technology means so much today, whether it’s enabling a young person to do homework, helping an unemployed person to find a job or allowing people to keep up with all that is happening in the world. Like many, I always thought of the "digital divide" as a group of people. In fact, there is more to the divide than that. Much more. So I decided to investigate the definition of the term and found the following at from the NTIA, via Wikipedia (emphasis in bold is mine):
At a community event in Los Angeles this week, Connect2Compete launched two initiatives aimed at encouraging Californians to adopt broadband in the home and access free digital literacy training in their communities and online. The initiatives announced include the "EveryoneOn" broadband awareness campaign and an offer for free and low-cost broadband Internet access. The event was sponsored and attended by Connect2Compete, the California Emerging Technology Fund and Youth Policy Institute (YPI), and was held at YPIs Hollywood FamilySource Center.
