State of Digital Inclusion in the States
NDIA’s State of Digital Inclusion in the States provides a comprehensive and ongoing assessment and celebration of states’ digital inclusion work. NDIA’s prior efforts to learn about state digital inclusion initiatives (previously titled the ‘Digital Equity Scorecard’) were heavily focused on digital skills. This new evaluation reflects a broader focus on other components of digital inclusion and reflects a range of activities that state governments can engage in:
- State Capacity & Organization – The state dedicates human or financial resources to digital inclusion
- Community Engagement – The state contributes to the digital inclusion ecosystem and has established a mechanism for ongoing public feedback
- Digital Skills – The state connects residents with digital skills resources for education and training opportunities
- Devices – The state creates and contributes to pathways for device access or low-cost device ownership
- Affordability & Adoption – The state supports affordability through competition and consumer assistance
- Data – The state shares digital inclusion data with the community and uses these data to inform digital inclusion work
The development of many of these indicators were inspired by strategies adopted by states to bridge the digital divide for their residents. NDIA celebrates these efforts and aims to support a strong community of practice among state leaders endeavoring to implement impactful initiatives.
Expand the menu below to view information about state activity for a particular indicator.
By dedicating human and financial resources to digital inclusion, state governments give institutional and tangible support to digital equity as a necessary condition for full civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services.
Click to view state progress for Indicator 1
By proactively seeking opportunities for public engagement and feedback, states can ensure that digital inclusion initiatives they pursue are grounded in the experiences of those they serve.
Click to view state progress for Indicator 2
States can play a leading role in helping residents gain digital skills by uplifting resources on public platforms, connecting individuals to training opportunities, and by developing strategies to integrate digital skills training into workforce development programs.
Click to view state progress for Indicator 3
Access to internet-enabled devices is essential for full participation in the digital world, and states can create pathways for device access and ownership by contributing to the supply, preparation, and deployment of devices to communities.
Click to view state progress for Indicator 4
State governments can promote broadband affordability by enacting policies that promote competition among internet service providers (ISPs), requiring or incentivizing ISPs to participate in consumer assistance programs, and by providing direct support to low-income households.
Click to view state progress for Indicator 5
Access to data is essential for understanding the digital inclusion needs of communities, creating measurable goals, and tracking progress towards those goals. States can support digital inclusion practitioners and other stakeholders by consolidating digital inclusion data and making it available on public platforms in a format that allows for rich analyses.
Click to view state progress for Indicator 6
This research captures ‘whole of government’ activities that promote digital inclusion. While many digital inclusion initiatives may be supported by the state broadband and digital inclusion offices, state legislatures and other state agencies can take action to advance digital inclusion in each indicator category.
To understand state activity in the indicators, the research team relied primarily on publicly available information found in state legislation and public-facing descriptions of state agency and department programs and policies considered active at any point between January 1, 2023 through July 2024. Although some indicators encompass activities that states will undertake in implementing State Digital Equity Plans, the State of Digital Inclusion in the States is a standalone assessment and is not intended to evaluate state activity in the context of the Digital Equity Act. This research does not include evaluation of State Digital Equity Plans.
For the purposes of this evaluation, the term ‘state’ encompasses the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NDIA recognizes that U.S. Territories are working to close the digital divide despite limited access to major longstanding government assistance programs, underrepresentation in Federal data sets, and limited ability to influence Federal policy. Some of these barriers may have limited their ability to initiate activities described in this evaluation during the time period in which this research was conducted. For these reasons, U.S. Territories are not included in this evaluation.
Research Limitations
Some information the research team sought to discover about state activity may not have been publicly available or easily accessible at the time the research was conducted.
NDIA is grateful to AARP for their generous contribution in support of this resource.
We thank Digitunity and the Institute for Local Self Reliance, whose expertise helped shape our approach to the research. We also thank the NDIA State Digital Equity Cohort for their valuable feedback during the development of this project.
