The Digital Equity Researcher Inventory is a listing of researchers who have published research about broadband adoption and digital inclusion. Researchers from a multitude of academic disciplines and types of organizations have contributed to what we know about digital equity. The diversity of disciplines and sectors that researchers come from represents a rich variety of approaches to research and it demonstrates the importance of digital equity across fields. At the same time, disciplinary and sectoral boundaries can limit communication with the practitioner community and within the research community itself. NDIA aims to foster a more cohesive network of digital equity researchers and strengthen ties between digital inclusion practitioners and aligned fields of study.
Digital inclusion practitioners, local leaders, policymakers, and others can use the inventory to locate experts and review their research, enhancing the capacity to make informed decisions and create sound programs and policies. The Digital Equity Researcher Inventory highlights the need for collaborative solutions to address digital equity challenges, and demonstrates NDIA’s interest in supporting the research community.
The searchable inventory below can be sorted and filtered by multiple fields, including discipline and digital equity-related research interests. Searching by institution may also be useful to locate experts in a specific institution or geography. A researcher’s GoogleScholar profile offers links to publications (note that they may be paywalled).
Digital inclusion practitioners may find this inventory useful to:
- Seek expert help in finding, gathering, and analyzing data about digital equity
- Locate potential program evaluators
- Consult with researchers with interests in a specific practical topic, such as aging individuals, public libraries, disability, or health applications
- Review research from a specific discipline (e.g., economics, public administration, library and information science) to understand priorities and the state of knowledge
This resource will evolve to become more extensive and accurate with our community’s assistance. To request an addition to the inventory, click the button below. Reach out to [email protected] if you’d like to request a change to existing information.
The researchers listed in the inventory have published research about broadband adoption, digital inclusion, and related themes. We conducted a search of academic literature and research documents produced by other organizations, such as government agencies, non profits, and think tanks, to locate relevant publications, extract authors’ names, and collect information available online about the disciplines they work in, as well as any research interests relevant to digital equity. In addition to our literature search, we reviewed the programs of relevant conferences such as the Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC). Our search of non-academic research documents prioritized reports about and evaluations of digital inclusion projects, such as projects supported by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.
Keep in Mind
Not all researchers listed in the inventory have an active program of research about digital equity-related topics. Many researchers publish on other topics in addition to digital equity or may have a current research agenda that lies outside of digital equity. Criteria for inclusion included publication on broadband adoption and digital inclusion, so researchers who present their work in other formats or those with publications not listing authorship are not necessarily represented in the inventory.
The data in the inventory was compiled in late 2024, so it reflects researchers’ institutional affiliations at that time. GoogleScholar profiles and other publicly available information on the web may be helpful to consult for up-to-date affiliation information.
NDIA thanks 35 Mile Foundation for their generous support of the Digital Equity Researcher Inventory.
We’re also grateful for the support of researchers who responded to a questionnaire and to Dr. Revati Prasad and Dr. Colin Rhinesmith for their feedback on the questionnaire.