Southern Indiana Business Report
BLOOMINGTON — Sharp increases in remote learning and remote work are helping push more need than ever for digital access. To combat the growing digital divide, the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) has placed six individuals in regions around Indiana to execute strategies aimed at fostering digital inclusion.
“The pandemic brought the importance of broadband to Indiana’s communities into sharp focus. Not only does the state need more fiber, it also needs boots on the ground,” said Annie Cruz-Porter, Digital Inclusion Fellow program director. “The Purdue Center for Regional Development’s Digital Fellows will be uniquely positioned to respond to and drive change in Indiana’s communities.”
Locally, recent graduate Emma Woods is working with Bloomington-based Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) to improve digital inclusion and literacy in the Indiana Uplands, an 11-county region that encompasses Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen and Washington counties.
ROI is a non-profit organization working to advance economic and community prosperity in the Indiana Uplands, with a focus on advanced industry sectors, regionalism, transformative school and workforce redesign, and placemaking strategies.
“To help the Indiana Uplands region become more digitally inclusive, ROI has partnered with PCRD to create a plan with strategies and tools to enhance digital resiliency and equity across our 11 counties,” said Lisa Abbott, ROI vice president of economic and community development. “We are excited to welcome Emma Woods to our team. Emma will help complete the plan and work with communities to implement key strategies to improve infrastructure, internet speed, connectivity, access to devices, and digital literacy across the region.”
When asked about the impact she hopes to make, Woods stated, “Along with building our communities’ digital skills, my role works to expand access to high-performing and affordable broadband. This is to ensure all of our residents in the Uplands region have the necessary tools to reach their highest potential.”
The five other PCRD Digital Inclusion Fellows are working with the communities of Richmond, Versailles, Terre Haute, Muncie and Loogootee. Digital Inclusion Fellows will work to finalize the digital inclusion studies, identify funding opportunities that communities might be able to pursue to enhance digital access and literacy among their residents. They may also implement workshops, conduct training, and work with small businesses to increase digital awareness and literacy in the communities they serve. They will work to increase broadband access and digital literacy and contribute to critical community development initiatives. Fellows will also work with these communities in a variety of ways that may also include teaching local businesses how to strengthen their online presence, determining shortages in digital skills among local workforces, and validating broadband speeds.
The Indiana fellows are part of the American Connection Corps nationwide effort in partnership with Lead for America and Land O’Lakes. The supporting partners are confident that the Digital Inclusion Fellowship will not only impact Indiana communities, but also the lives of the fellows themselves. As these fellows help develop communities, they too are developing skills and knowledge in digital inclusivity, outreach, public policy, economic development, data analysis, research and more.
Learn more about the Digital Inclusion Fellowship and the impacts they are making on Indiana communities at https://pcrd.purdue.edu/.