Building Technology Healthy Communities A Community Discussion

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BuildingTechnology Healthy CommunitiesA
Community Discussion

• David Keyes
• MATC
• Nov. 24, 2003

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ACCESSAre we hardware enabled?

• Computer at home
• Email address?
• Broadband DSL, cable modem
• Cable TV
• Cell phone
• Wireless Internet

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Outline

• Experience and trends
• What is the digital divide
• Programs to address issues
• Where is Milwaukee
• Where should it be

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Information Technology Indicators for a Healthy
Community
City of Seattle Department of Information
Technology
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Why IT Signposts

• Whole system look, geared to sustainability
• Understand needs and impact over time
• Bring people to the table to solve problems
• Focus programs and resources
• Provide supportive local data
• Created community goals
• International model

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How

• Public defines values
• Expert team to identify indicators
• Check-in with public
• Data gathering analysis
• Use the data
• Refine the indicators
• Recollect over time

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Goals for a Technology Healthy Community

• Enhance our local economy
• Ensure equitable and affordable access
• Solve social issues
• Promote relationship building and community
  development
• Promote civic engagement
• Support sustainability of our quality of life

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Areas of Indicators

• Access
• Literacy
• Business and Economic Development
• Community Building
• Civic Participation
• Human Relationships to Technology
• Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

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Data Gathering

• Residential Survey
• Existing data from a variety of sources
  (Education, Government, Industry)
• Non-profits Survey
• Community Organizations Survey

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High Access
Seattle is a very wired city. However, our
research shows us that there are still many
residents without access to the tools and skills
needed to fully participate in the information
age. Households in the extremely low to moderate
income brackets are five times less likely to
have access to a computer in the home than
households with higher incomes. Less than half
(43) of senior citizens have a computer in the
home, making them almost three times less likely
to have a computer than all other age groups.
Less than half of residents with a high school
degree or less have a computer in the
home. African-Americans in Seattle are more than
three times less likely to have a computer in the
home than all other ethnic groups combined,
regardless of income, age, or education. never
used a computer would not have received this
question. It is likely that this situation
occurred in only a small number of cases. This
figure therefore is an accurate reflection of
access to e-mail.

• 75 of residents have an e-mail address
• Significant high bandwidth use (18)
• Natl Internet up 42 58 since 2000

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Speed of Internet Connection at Home
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Critical Gaps
Households in the extremely low to moderate
income brackets are five times less likely to
have access to a computer in the home than
households with higher incomes. Less than half
(43) of senior citizens have a computer in the
home, making them almost three times less likely
to have a computer than all other age groups.
Less than half of residents with a high school
degree or less have a computer in the
home. African-Americans in Seattle are more than
three times less likely to have a computer in the
home than all other ethnic groups combined,
regardless of income, age, or education.

• Low Education
• Low Income (5x lt)
• Senior Citizens (only 43)
• African-Americans (3x lt), Hispanics
• Disabled residents
• Issues access, training content

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LITERACYAre we software enabled?

• Operate word proc, spreadsheet
• Internet search, use of forms
• Email attachments, folders, listservs
• Graphic manipulation
• Web site
• Install and learn new programs
• Teach others

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Business Economic Development
CTCs are ramps More than 60 percent of all jobs
require some experience with information
technology. Even with the slowing in the economy,
predictions done by the WSA show that Washington
colleges and universities are still not
graduating enough people with information
technology related degrees to meet predicted
workforce needs. Hourly wages for information
technology professionals are almost 50 percent
higher than that of the average worker.

• Difficult to track IT occupations
• Jobs need IT skills (gt 60)
• IT jobs pay 50 more
• Shortage of local workforce
• Residents look for local business info online
  (55)
• Small businesses need training

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Community Development
City of Seattle Overall access to a computer
includes respondents have access to a computer at
home, work, school, library, community center,
Internet café, and/or some other location.
Overall access to the Internet includes
respondents who have access to a the Internet at
home, work, school, library, community center,
Internet café, and/or some other location.
The question regarding e-mail access was asked
only of those respondents who have used a
computer in the past, have a computer at home, or
have access to the Internet at home. Some people
who have access to the Internet or a computer
outside the home only but may have said they have
never used a computer would not have received
this question. It is likely that this situation
occurred in only a small number of cases. This
figure therefore is an accurate reflection of
access to e-mail.

• Residents participate in community (62)
• Community groups and NPOs are using email web
• 40 of NPOs with Technology Plan
• They face challenges using them effectively

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Civic Participation Online

• Useful tool, less so with electeds
• 55 have accessed government online

• Greatest confidence among women, young people,
  Caucasians

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Human Relationships

• High concerns over privacy
• More secure with transactions with experience
• How many feel swamped with spam?

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Survey Conclusions...

• Affirmed our wired Seattle the divide
• People are looking for info electronically
• Focus moving towards content services delivered
• High opportunity for e-govt, community
  development and business
• Need to more narrowly target the divide
• Need for targeted training more than
  infrastructure

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A Working Tool

• Already applied to
• Tech Matching Fund
• E-democracy portal
• Neighborhood leadership training
• Cancer immigrant health strategies
• Business markets

www.seattle.gov/tech/indicators
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Seattle Response

• Citizens Board
• Funding Staff
• Access Site Map
• Indicators
• Public terminals
• Used pcs

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Seattle Response

• Work with CTCs
• Technology Matching Fund
• Seniors Training Seniors
• Indicators
• Sustainability support, incl cable modems and
  coalition support

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Working with CTCs

• Enabling underserved communities and
• individuals with IT tools
• Have a broader purpose
• In a range of locations
• Range of services
• Sustainability challenges

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Like toasters and telephonesIts not just
technology

• Basic Fairness Equity To obtain and to produce
• Life skills financial, cultural, ed, gov and
  civic
• Lifelong learning
• Business development preservation
• Jobsfor us or our future employees
• Safety and crime prevention
• Control Quality of life
• Creative culture and economy
• Preserving community
• Civic engagement and service delivery

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Partnerships

• Seattle Jobs Initiative
• Puget Sound Alliance for Community Technology
• Homeless
• School-CTC achievement project

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Arenas of IT Development

• Backbone infrastructure
• Last mile access
• End user hardware
• Software
• Literacy
• Content

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Where is Milwaukee?

• Positive activities
• Challenges
• Where in 3 years?

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Policy arenas

• Federal program funding
• Telecom settlement and revenue
• Regulation Spectrum, Ownership and Customer
  service
• Local cable franchising
• Private investment, incl. wireless deployment

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What you can do

• Determine how your org can help
• Form strategic partnerships
• Support private and public funding
• Ask your candidates

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Resources

• Seattle.gov/tech
• CTCNet.org
• Benton.org
• Pewinternet.org
• Ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn
• Digitaldividenetwork.org
• Techpolicybank.org Contentbank.org
• Npower.org Techsoup.org

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Goals for a Technology Healthy Community

• Enhance our local economy
• Ensure equitable and affordable access
• Solve social issues
• Promote relationship building and community
  development
• Promote civic engagement
• Support sustainability of our quality of life

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