Design the Future
Many communities may have similar goals and strategies, but each community will have a unique vision of their digital future.
Getting Everyone on the Same Page
The assessment process gives you a clear idea of where your community is now. Getting everyone to understand the value of being a connected community and creating a shared vision and strategies to get there are the next steps.
- Set a date for a community event to learn about being a connected community and decide about becoming one.
- Determine how the community will hear about it. Advertise it. Create a 'community buzz.'
- Be inclusive — every segment of the community should be invited.
- Use the PowerPoint presentations in the Tools section to help show the community what connected communities are and provide examples of how businesses, organizations and individuals can benefit.
- Invite a local or regional expert to help you present this material. This could be someone from a neighboring 'connected community' or a state or local educator or perhaps someone from an Internet Service Provider.
Then, answer the question "Do we want to be a Connected Community?"
Assuming the answer is yes, move on to design solutions or set a date for a next meeting to design the solutions.
Design Solutions for Connecting Your Community
Once your community has decided to become digitally connected, the next step is to select specific ways to get there.
Seeding ideas about specific technology projects will help groups better understand what broadband is, how it is used, and how it can benefit the community. Individuals who see benefits in a technology are more likely to adopt and use it, especially if significant number of other community members are doing so.
Two strategies are suggested for your group use. Use the Card Game or the Community Projects Checklist in the Tools section.
- The Card Game is a set of cards that have project ideas printed on them. Groups sort and prioritize the cards to come up with a set of project ideas that best lead to their idea of being a connected community. The card game takes a couple of hours to play.
- The Community Projects Checklist is a set of statements that groups can decide which ones are true for their community. There are pre-defined projects associated with each statement. The checklist limits the number of project possibilities so groups can move quickly through the selection process; it could take as little as 1 hour.
The outcome of the designing the future meeting should be several doable tasks or projects, each with a team, a designated leader and timeline.
The projects may be in the categories of (1) access and infrastructure, (2) applications and education, or (3) community content.
- Access & Infrastructure: Connected communities make every effort to ensure all residents have access to digital technology tools regardless of social or economic status. This is usually accomplished by providing access to computers, printers, high speed Internet and productivity applications through organizations open to the public. Where is public access to information technology tools available in your community?
- Applications and Education: Education and training on using information technology tools and software is readily available to individuals and organizations in connected communities. What organizations provide basic education and training on using email, word processing, spreadsheets, databases and browsing the WWW in your community?
- Community Content: It is easy to find information about organizations and community life in connected communities. Connected communities may have a community portal that contains information about businesses, schools, social organizations, community events, local government and local issues. Does your community have a web site?
