Digital Equity Ecosystems
We define digital equity ecosystems as interactions between individuals, populations, communities, and their larger sociotechnical environments that all play a role in shaping the work to advance more equitable access to technology and social, economic, and racial justice.
Our research in this area seeks to understand how coalitions in the U.S. have worked to advance healthy digital equity ecosystems, as well as what measurement frameworks and tools they might need to be more effective in measuring the outcomes and impacts of their work. The purpose of this research is to provide data and evidence to help practitioners, philanthropic organizations, and local, state, and federal policymakers develop more effective digital equity strategies, particularly as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration releases billions of dollars in the next five years through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. We hope that the findings from our work will also be useful for key stakeholders working on digital equity initiatives to advance social, economic, and racial justice in communities across the country.
To learn more about digital equity ecosystems research produced by those affiliated with the DERC (in bold), please visit the following links below.
Publications
Colin Rhinesmith and Rafi Santo. (November, 2022). “Digital Equity Ecosystems Measurement Framework.” Digital Equity Research Center, Metropolitan New York Library Council.
Colin Rhinesmith. (2022). “Community-Based Solutions for Digital Advancement: Findings from the Digital Integrators Pilot Program.” Washington, DC: Centri Tech Foundation.
Colin Rhinesmith, Malana Krongelb, and Jie Jiang. (2022). “The Digital Equity Leadership Lab (DELL): A Case Study of Community Leadership Development to Promote Digital Equity and Justice.” The Journal of Community Informatics, 18(1), 104-131.
Shaun Glaze, Colin Rhinesmith, Chris Webb, and Sabrina Roach. (July, 2022). Introduction. In “The Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Fellowship: A Participatory Action Research Project” (pp. 4-7). Wilmette, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
Colin Rhinesmith and Susan Kennedy. (2020). “Growing Healthy Digital Equity Ecosystems During COVID-19 and Beyond.” Evanston, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
Bianca Reisdorf and Colin Rhinesmith. (2018). “An Asset-Based Approach to Digital Inclusion Research in the US Context.” In Massimo Ragnedda and Bruce Mutswairo (Eds.), Digital Inclusion: An International Comparative Analysis. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Colin Rhinesmith. (2016). “Digital Inclusion and Meaningful Broadband Adoption Initiatives.” Evanston, IL: Benton Foundation.
