Community Benefits

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Community Benefits Digital inclusion Efforts
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What Is Digital Inclusion?
Every Minneapolis resident deserves access to
the social, civic, educational and economic
opportunities the Internet provides.
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Digital Inclusion Asks

• What social and political barriers to technology
  access and literacy exist?
• How does (ICT) technology affect human rights,
  civic participation, and social inclusion?
• How does technology impact economic development?

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A Nation Online?
68 of Americans use the Internet

• 70 of Whites
• 57 of African-Americans
• 38 of Americans with disabilities
• 37 of Hispanics
• 29 who have not graduated from High School
• 26 age 60 or older

Digital Divisions, Report of the Pew Internet
American Life Project, October 2005
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Persistent Barriers Include

• Limited technology literacy skills
• Anxiety, fear of technology tools
• Limited education, literacy levels
• Language, accessibility barriers
• Irrelevant content
• Availability of affordable broadband service
  (rural and low-income communities)
• Cost of entry (hardware)

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Technology Literacy Is

• The ability to responsibly, creatively, and
  effectively use appropriate technology to
• communicate
• access, collect, manage, integrate, and evaluate
  information
• solve problems and create solutions
• build and share knowledge and
• improve and enhance learning in all subject
  areas and experiences.

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Is Internet Access Critical?

• Job listings applications
• E-Government services
• FAFSA- Student Aid applications
• Filing taxes,
• Vehicle, building business licenses
• Access county and municipal services

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• Register /choose schools
• Communicate with K-12 teachers
• Online learning
• Communicate with elected officials
• Loans and banking services
• Health care information
• (Medicare Part D)
• Social inclusion civic engagement

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The Digital Divide A Minneapolis Snapshot
Kim Havey, the former director of the Minneapolis
Empowerment Zone, estimated that less than 20 of
households in the Empowerment Zones neighborhoods
have home computers.
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Phillips/ Ventura Neighborhoods
Using this estimate, there are 690 potential
computer users for each public-access computer
available in the neighborhood. This includes
public libraries, open labs at schools, and CTCs.
Research by Community Technology Empowerment
Project AmeriCorps
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Digital Inclusion Requires

• Training

• Access

• Hardware

• Content

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• Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) A CBA is
  required as part of any final contract with
  broadband/IP vendor(s).
• The CBA will focus on how to best address
  technology needs in underserved communities.

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By providing high speed, ubiquitous, low-cost,
Internet service
will help bridge the ACCESS gap.
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The CBA can help address the TECHNOLOGY LITERACY
gap...
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through support for local, relevant accessible
CONTENT (a walled garden?)
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and/or support for technology VOLUNTEER
MENTORING programs
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and/or support for HARDWARE refurbishing
programs discounts
Wireless router
Wireless card
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.and/or affordable SOFTWARE, including security,
accessibility open source tools
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The Digital Access Equity Campaign
Residents and non-profit representatives have
been meeting

• A grassroots effort to inform, educate and
  organize Minneapolis residents around Digital
  Inclusion efforts, and discuss CBA issues
• Community meetings began in November 2005
• Sponsored by C-CAN The Alliance for
  Metropolitan Stability, with support from the
  MSNet Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation

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What should the CBA include? --Assessing
prioritizing community needs and
recommendations

• Online Survey

www.DIGITALACCESS.ORG
Community Recommendations
Task Force Recommendations

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CBA Recommendations

• A vendor supported Digital Inclusion Fund
• Discounted (or free) accounts for low-income
  residents
• Free or discount services to some Non-Profits,
  CTCs, Schools and Libraries
• Low cost hardware, wireless cards, routers, etc.
  
• A Walled Garden" including select websites,
  accessible to all

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Community input helps the Task Force, city
staff, vendors, and elected officials

• Understand existing technology needs

• Examine community-based strategies
• that meet these needs

• Negotiate benefits that help bring more
• Minneapolis residents online

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How will community-generated ideas
recommendations impact the Citys formal
contract negotiation process?

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Residents and stakeholders contribute CBA ideas
via community surveys, meetings, events and emails

Taskforce reviews, prioritizes makes CBA
recommendations to negotiators
City negotiates CBA with Vendor (as part of
overall service contract)
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Community benefits agreement
ideas
data
recommendations
CommunityBenefits agreement
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Community-based decision making
Corporate Gifts Individual Gifts Corporate tech
grants
Independent Grant decision making structure
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Task Force CBA Process

This task force will coordinate (and receive)
all of the community input that the City receives
through its own and other agencies meetings,
surveys and forums.
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Next

The task force will review and prioritize
community input, then craft Community Benefits
recommendations to be used during the contract
negotiation process.
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Who serves on this Task Force?

• Community Leaders Representing
• K-12 Public Schools
• Minneapolis Libraries
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Higher Education
• Greater Twin Cities United Way
• Corporate Foundations
• Local Employers, Businesses
• Minority, Senior and Disability Communities
• Students, Young People
• Community Institutional Stakeholders

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Task Force Objectives

• Articulate a Community Technology Agenda for the
  City of Minneapolis
• Review community input oversee CBA
  recommendations

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Access to technology is the civil rights issue
of the 21st century.
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Thank you for your time, your interest, and
your expertise.
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http//www.digitalaccess.org/taskforce.htm