New Hampshire’s Digital Equity Planning Initiative

“New Hampshire has been a national leader when it comes to deploying critical resources targeted at increasing access to reliable, high-speed internet services,” said Taylor Caswell, commissioner of the Department of Business and Economic Affairs. “We look forward to this partnership identifying new opportunities to bridge the divide and connect Granite Staters with the digital economy.”

Help Shape New Hampshire’s Digital Future:

New Hampshire has received funding to develop over the next few months New Hampshire’s multi-year plan for digital equity in support of economic and educational opportunity, healthcare access, civic engagement, and other important inclusion outcomes.  Coordinated by UNH Cooperative Extension, the National Collaborative for Digital Equity, and METRO’s Digital Equity Research Center, we’re developing a wide range of means by which you can help shape New Hampshire’s digital future. Once approved by the USDOC, NH’s plan will unleash up to $5 million/year in federal funding to NH for four years, starting in 2024, to make our shared vision for New Hampshire a reality. We invite you to join us!

Add your organization to the statewide Asset Inventory if you provide any digital-equity related services/resources/programs—such as providing broadband access, free/discounted devices, tech support, or digital literacy and cybersafety skill-building— or serve any of the populations listed below. This information will be used to support the distribution of federal funding and the implementation of the Digital Equity Plan. Add your organization to the Inventory.

Community Outreach Toolkit: Help spread the word about the survey and ensure everyone’s Internet access needs are met. Get flyers, social media copy, and more.

For assistance enabling those with limited English proficiency and without broadband access to complete the survey and asset inventory, please contact the survey development team at derc@metro.org. Please note that we are working with community organizations across the state to support additional language translations at this time.

Links to Recordings of Regional and Statewide Listening and Planning Sessions to Shape NH’s Digital Equity Plan

Friday September 8th Starting at 1:30pm at Keene Public Library in Keene. An invaluable listening session was held on September 8th.

Wednesday October 4th Noon-1PM Online NH Brownbag Lunch & Learn Conversation on Digital Equity. In this highly interactive brainstorming conversation, we’ll explore together local and regional digital divide priorities you most want NH’s plan to address, using up to $5 million/year for four years starting in 2024. You can register at link.

Online Forums to Develop Digital Equity Plans in support of Key Inclusion Impacts

Tuesday September 5th 2:00-4:00pm  “NH Forum on Cybersafety Skills and Systems”

In this interactive two-hour action planning session via Zoom, in collaboration with the NH CIO, Granite United Way/211, SkillsCommons and NH’s digital equity planning team, over 100 participants explored how best otherwise siloed multiyear grants to NH for cybersecurity and digital equity can together strengthen cybersafety skills for all and the cybersecurity and inclusiveness of NH’s public services websites. To access the webinar recording, please click here and use this password: @t%^v&P3. To access the slide show, please click here.

Friday September 15th Starting at 10AM  “NH Forum on Workforce Development and Digital Equity”

In this interactive brainstorming session via Zoom, in collaboration with NH Works and other partners, NH workforce development leaders explored how best to utilize up to $5 million/year to NH for four years starting in 2024 can best remove digital divide barriers for those in workforce development programs and increase their essential digital literacy skills. To access the webinar recording, please click here and use this password: =KxJnM0Q. To access the slide show, please click here.

Thursday, September 21st, 10AM-noon: “NH Educators’ Forum on Digital Access, Skill & Pedagogy: How Best to Deploy Federal Funding to NH for Digital Equity”

In this two-hour interactive brainstorming session via Zoom, NH educational leaders at all levels — K12, afterschool, adult education, community college, and four-year degree-granting — shared their priorities for how up to $20 million in federal funds to NH for digital equity over the next four years, starting in 2024, should best be deployed to ensure digital access, skill and pedagogy for all learners and their educators. View Video Here.

Friday, September 22nd 10AM-noon:  “Forum for NH Broadband Providers: Strengthening Access to Broadband and Computers”

In this two-hour interactive Zoom conversation, we invited NH broadband providers to join us to explore how best NH’s federally funded digital equity and broadband initiatives can best (1) significantly expand enrollment of NH’s low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program’s (ACP) $30/month subsidy; (2) enhance promotion of your affordable pricing options for LMI households, and (3) significantly expand corporate philanthropic, foundation, state and federal workforce development, college financial aid, and bank Community Reinvestment funds enabling you to provide new and fully refurbished computers to ACP-enrolled households at no cost to them.  Ms. Chantal Virgile, the FCC ACP program’s National Community Impact Manager will provide welcoming remarks. Granite State News Collaborative’s director Melanie Plenda will describe the availability of journalists and NH’s radio, newspaper and TV outlets to promote the ACP subsidy and providers’ discounted pricing plans. To access video for Part A, click here and use password: *Ak7WUFg. To access the video from Part B, click here and use password: *Ak7WUFg. To access the slideshow, click here.

Thursday October 5th 4-6:00PM “NH Forum on Civic Engagement and Digital Equity”

In this interactive two-hour action planning session via Zoom, in collaboration with NH Civics, Granite State News Collaborative and Franklin Pierce University’s Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication, participants explored how best up to $5 million/year to NH for four years starting in 2024 can best remove digital divide barriers to civic engagement and foster essential digital, media and cybersafety skills. To view the video, click here: Password: $Lae8GKc

Wednesday, October 11th 10-11AM  “NH Forum on Housing and Digital Equity”

In this brainstorming conversation, NH housing leaders learned about four years of broadband access and digital equity funding coming to NH in 2024, and brainstormed about how this funding can best meet the needs of NH’s low-income public housing residents.  The federal funding can support not only bringing high speed broadband to every public housing building that needs it, but also wifi access for every unit, digital literacy and cybersafety skill training, enrolling residents for the FCC Affordable Connectivity Program $30/month broadband subsidy, equipping new or enhancing existing classrooms, and other digital equity-related priorities.  View Video Here; Password: P2!Y4DYQ

Monday, November 13th Noon-1PM:  “NH Summit to Review and Improve NH’s Plan for Digital Equity: Crafting Our Vision for NH’s Digital Future

In this Zoom-based forum, participants reviewed and recommended improvements needed in NH’s potential plans for digital equity in support of economic and educational opportunity, healthcare access, civic engagement, and other important inclusion outcomes.

Thursday November 16th Noon-1PM:  “Digital Equity Funding for K12 Educator Apprenticeship & Other Apprenticeship Programs”

In this informal session, we will explore opportunities for NH’s USDOL-registered K12 educator apprenticeship program to leverage federal digital equity funding to better equip future educators to strengthen their “digital pedagogy” and ensure their K12 students enjoy digital access and skills.

In addition to your invaluable insights, we’re in the process of ensuring sustained guidance from each of New Hampshire’s four economic development regions comprised of at least one representative in each region from those who are or serve the following eleven “populations” identified in the federal Digital Equity Act (DEA) and Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) programs:

• Aging Individuals
• Immigrants living in New Hampshire
• Individuals with disabilities
• Individuals currently incarcerated or recently returned
• Individuals with a language barrier
• Individuals in the LGBTQI+ community
• Low-income individuals and households
• Native Americans, Members of Registered Tribe or Indigenous Community
• People who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group
• Rural residents
• Veterans

Also providing invaluable guidance are the members of the New Hampshire Asset Advisory Council so that every New Hampshire resident can learn about resources that stand ready to ensure all are on the right side of the digital divide, and so that digital equity is pursued in support of economic and educational opportunity, healthcare housing, civic engagement, and other important inclusion impacts.

Input from all these sources will inform New Hampshire’s Digital Equity Plan and the subsequent allocation of up to $20 million over four years, starting in 2024, for programs and policies that support digital equity and systemic inclusion. Affordable and reliable internet is essential for banking, access to healthcare, online education, finding employment opportunities, and accessing government information and other resources that enable people to fully participate in our society, democracy, and economy.

A particular emphasis of New Hampshire’s Digital Equity Plan will be on addressing the needs of populations that are currently unserved or underserved when it comes to internet access and use, as well as access to digital devices, services, and other resources. The team will develop plans to increase internet access, device access, and digital and cybersafety skills development for veterans, people who live in rural areas, people with disabilities, persons of color, those with language barriers, aging individuals, incarcerated individuals, and households experiencing poverty, among others.

The New Hampshire Digital Equity and Inclusion Plan will help foster an inclusive economy in the state.

Background

The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension (UNHCE) has been awarded $511,216 by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) to lead the development of a five-year plan to connect residents state-wide with reliable, high-speed internet service, in partnership with the National Collaborative for Digital Equity (NCDE) and the Digital Equity Research Center (DERC) at the Metropolitan New York Library Council.

Charlie French, who leads Cooperative Extension’s community and economic development department, and serves as project co-lead for the development of the Digital Equity Plan, notes that: “We wouldn’t be able to develop such a massive, comprehensive plan for digital equity without the support and experience of our NCDE and DERC partners and the project co-leads from those two organizations, Robert McLaughlin and Colin Rhinesmith.”

Grant support for the plan’s development was provided by BEA as part of its funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.  UNHCE’s contract with BEA was approved by New Hampshire’s Executive Council on June 28, 2023. BEA will oversee the plan’s development.

Digital Equity Act Population Viewer: The Digital Equity Act Population Viewer enables users to locate and understand where these populations are concentrated, at both the state and local levels. In this webinar, we will demo the latest version of this tool, explain its applicability to the Digital Equity Act programs, and share experiences from users who are using these estimates to help understand needs in their communities. Click Here

Internet for All Webinar Series