The Digital Equity Research Center is pleased to announce a new evaluation research project with the Centri Tech Foundation (CTF), which was announced yesterday in this press release. As the announcement explains,
“CTF’s inaugural 2022 Digital Integrators Pilot Program aims to demonstrate how community-based digital equity organizations can continuously improve and modernize workforce development programs to address digital inequities, particularly within public housing and low-income communities, communities of color, and intergenerational households.”
We are excited to work with CTF and the following five community-based organizations on the evaluation of the pilot program:
● Equitable Internet Initiative, Detroit, Michigan
● ExCITe Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
● LIFT-NY, Bronx, New York
● Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Boston, Massachusetts
● Byte Back, Washington, D.C.
The results of evaluation will be published in a report at the end of the pilot period in Fall 2022. The report will highlight replicable and scalable program models to achieve greater digital advancement in cities across the country.
In addition to the program evaluation, this project will be part of a research project led by the DERC. The research seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how philanthropy can play a role in fostering innovation within community-based organizations to promote digital advancement in their communities. The research will pursue this approach through the following research questions:
How are Digital Integrators leveraging existing programs to promote digital advancement in their communities? How might the Centri Tech Foundation Digital Integrators Pilot Program foster innovation within motivated digital equity community organizations?
Dr. Rhinesmith will gather qualitative data through interviews with multiple individuals representing each of the five Digital Integrator community-based organizations across the country. Dr. Rhinesmith will also engage with the participants over Slack during the entire pilot program to learn more about their work and to inform the impact measurement framework design and implementation.
