The Community Technology Initiative at the Collins Center aims to create digital opportunity for all South Florida citizens by strengthening the infrastructure, support and resources necessary for technology-related access and training. While technology and the internet are accessible to a large proportion of the South Florida population, the gap for those at the bottom of the digital divide remains. Race, income and age are factors which still determine opportunity to access equipment, the internet and computer-related training.
Community Technology Initiative (CTI) aims to lessen the divide between the digital "have's" and "have-nots" through the development of a regional agenda for community technology strategies.
As information and communication technologies reshape society, the need for universal technology skills and access is increasingly recognized as a basic component of our “infrastructure” with significant implications for economic development, workforce and education, and regional competition.
Technology literacy and access are fundamental tools, like reading, that every person needs to participate in and remain self-sufficient in an information-based economy. Residents should be able to benefit from a growing variety of online resources, services and opportunities and to communicate for social and civic purposes.
The South Florida region trails the national average for technology literacy, with just over half of adults who receive email or access the Internet (54% versus 59% nationally).
For five years, CTI principals have developed community technology centers in various settings and have initiated inter-agency collaboration at both the local level (Technology Access Coalition of Miami-Dade County) and the regional level (annual Technology Access Conferences since 2002, co-sponsored by the InternetCoast).
This Collins Center initiative is an outgrowth of these efforts, and it represents a new and strategic approach to address ongoing issues of collaboration, growth, and sustainability for local programs.
Core Strategies
To ensure that the South Florida region has a sustainable and accessible network of community technology programs, the following core strategies are being implemented:
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Baseline Assessment of Programs and Policy:
- Conducting program and policy research (inventory and searchable database of existing local programs, analysis of best program and sustainability practices nationally, compilation of local needs data);
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Capacity Building:
- Development of an Advisory Board of key community leaders who understand community technology needs, can marshal local resources, and who will examine current program and policy research and recommend and support strategic program actions appropriate to individual communities.
- Provision of technical assistance to existing and potential community technology programs.
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Consensus Building:
- Creating an inclusive community planning process via public forums with input and involvement from all major stakeholders.
During its first year, CTI staff will collaborate with diverse public and private partners to develop a strategic vision for community technology progress, and plan with others to act upon that vision.
CTI's first-year work is sponsored by iCoast and Washington Mutual Foundation. Results include:
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A Digital Opportunities Showcase at the iCoast Technology Show in August 2006, including tri-county panel discussions on school district home/after-school policies and the digital divide implications of wireless initiatives.
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A survey of over 100 community technology centers that will map existing resources in the tri-county region.
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Analysis of tri-county school district policies and practices related to technology use outside the classroom.
CTI's second-year work is sponsored in part by the national CTC VISTA project, which has awarded CTI two full-time volunteer staff to help develop community technology programs in our region.
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