NDIA Policy Team Walks through the RFC & Where Your Voice Matters

 

Digital equity practitioners and experts, this is your chance to share what matters to you in two upcoming federal grants. If you saw the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) new Request for Comments (RFC) on the Digital Equity Act (DEA) programs and wondered what it was, why they were asking for comments, and what the 24 questions inside the RFC mean, then we’ve got you covered. 

On April 4, NTIA’s Digital Equity Director, Angela Thi Bennett joined us for a webinar to stress the importance of hearing from you as they formulate the two remaining grant programs for the Digital Equity Act. Watch the video where I walk you through each of the 24 questions summarizing them in plain language and providing best practices for submitting comments.

Horizontal flow chart shows Digital Equity Act funding from NTIA to three different grants

What You Need to Know

  1. NTIA wants to hear from you to inform the future Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for the remaining two programs funded by the Digital Equity Act:
    • $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program
    • $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program
  2. The public comment period is open and closes on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET – set an alarm and get your comments in before then! 
  3. You can submit your comments by mail, email, or through the official docket system. But you need only submit your comments one way (i.e. don’t mail and email your comments, pick one.) See RFC for instructions.

Tips for Submitting Your Comments 

  1. Start Early – it always takes longer to draft comments than you expect. 
  2. Identify which questions align with your experience and expertise. You do not need to answer all of them. Answer questions that are a priority to you and as many as you have time for.
  3. Tell NTIA what you know and why you know it (i.e. why you run your programs certain ways, what works best, what doesn’t work, etc.). Remember, you are the subject matter expert and they need to hear from you what works and what doesn’t so the grant programs reflect your realities and the needs of the people you serve.
  4. Cite your work and other examples or studies you’re familiar with that helped shape your work.
  5. Submit on time (or early)!