COVID-19 Resources
Organizations that already focused on access to the internet and devices (public use and in the home) plus digital literacy training, now find themselves working around the clock. Organizations that did not provide this digital inclusion programming now find themselves figuring out how to do so, again around the clock. Most of this work is local and none of them have enough resources.
NDIA is:
- Facilitating virtual spaces for information sharing
- Relaying on the ground experiences and federal resource needs to the media
- Advocating for local, state and federal resources
Community Calls
To help our community stay informed during this chaotic time – NDIA is hosting Community Zoom calls the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month at 1 PM ET. During these calls, we will share national resources and on-the-ground strategies for providing digital inclusion services during this health crisis.
REGISTER HERE if you would like to join.
"The inequities in all our education systems are going to be even worse," says @angelasiefer of @netinclusion. https://t.co/xmZVwggRAw
— CityLab (@CityLab) March 24, 2020
The onset of a global health pandemic has put a spotlight on digital inclusion. NDIA is documenting State Government Responses and Local Government Responses to encourage other governments to address access to the internet (particularly at home), personal computers and tablets, and tech assistance. These initiatives are in addition to the FCC’s Keeping American’s Connected Pledge.
The COVID-19 health crisis has shed light on the need for home internet service, and the large number of American households in all kinds of communities who don’t have it. Some Internet Service Providers have responded with new or improved discount broadband plans, that will only be available for a short time; others continue to offer plans that were created prior to the crisis. NDIA updates the list of Free & Low-Cost Internet Plans regularly.
This ten-episode series showcases interviews with digital inclusion stakeholders and practitioners from across the country highlighting their community-based efforts to address the digital divide. In the first four episodes, the digital inclusion practitioners talk about how they have pivoted and adapted their organizations and digital inclusion work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angela Addresses the Digital Equity Landscape on iHeartMedia
In the News
Part One:
Part Two:
Latest News
Digital Navigator Spotlight: Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley
NDIA had the privilege of training and supporting a total of 105 participants with the Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley over the past year. This regional model combined the efforts of neighboring library networks Ramapo Catskill Library Council and Mid-Hudson...
Among Hundreds of Heroes, Three Emerge as ‘2023 Digital Equity Champions’
NDIA & Benton Present Awards at Net Inclusion in San AntonioAbove: WATCH the presentation of the 2023 Benton Digital Equity Champion awards at NDIA's Net Inclusion conference in San Antonio. Adrianne Furniss, executive director of the Benton Institute, presents...
Native American Heritage Month Spotlight
AMERIND and Cayuse Native Solutions Share Digital Inclusion Progress in TribesThroughout Native American Heritage Month, our amazing partners at AMERIND Critical Infrastructure provided us with information on how Tribal entities continue to strive for digital equity. ...
NDIA Awards 18 National Digital Navigator Corps Grants in Rural & Tribal Areas
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced today 18 grant recipient organizations, who will together launch the National Digital Navigator Corps. The grants are part of $10 million of support from Google.org, which will go toward hiring community-based...
Denver Public Library Made a Tool for Comparing Internet Options – And We’re Sharing It with You!
Guest Blog by Nate Stone, program administrator, Technology Education and Access | Digital Inclusion, Denver Public Library Soon after launching our digital navigator program in Denver, Colorado, we discovered that one of the biggest challenges in signing community...
NDIA Participates in Tribal Broadband Bootcamp in California
A couple weeks ago, Angela Siefer, NDIA’s executive director, and I found ourselves with hands full of sticky notes in a “zombie shelter” constructed of shipping containers on a ranch in the southern California desert. Handwritten on each sticky note was one barrier...
Salt Lake City Public Library Publishes Digital Navigator Toolkit
Salt Lake City Public Library Model Offers New Guidance Last fall, when NDIA launched our Digital Navigator training, Navigators was a nascent program with the potential to change the lives of community members in a transformative way. With guidance and feedback from...
Can Bulk Purchases be used for the Emergency Broadband Benefit?
As digital inclusion advocates and internet service providers (ISPs) across the country prepare for the start of the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB), NDIA has gathered resources to assist community based organizations and households navigate the temporary federal...
NDIA Announces Emergency Broadband Benefit Webpage
NDIA is happy to announce our EBB webpage filled with materials intent on helping the unconnected fully understand this federal broadband subsidy. EBB is the first time the federal government invested in broadband adoption in a targeted, significant way. NDIA...
More Replicable Digital Navigators Tools Now Available!
In the Fall of 2020 NDIA partnered with the Salt Lake City Public Library and Urban Libraries Council to bridge the Digital Divide in Salt Lake City through the launch of a Digital Navigators pilot project. To prepare for direct service in December 2020, program...