The Digital Bridge Trust Fund Act

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The Digital Bridge Trust Fund Act
October 4, 2000 Midterm Briefing
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Digital Bridge Trust Fund Act

• Faculty Advisor Deborah E. Ward
• Project Manager Jennifer Sly
• Deputy Manager Nirmala Patni
• Members Maria Bustria,Tammy Draut,
• Hirofumi Kawakita, Maki Kobayashi,
  Ying Liu, Kristin Sullivan, Joy Wang,
  Bernard Wee, and ThaoMee Xiong

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Agenda

• Background
• Legislation
• Program Goals
• Program Design Criteria
• Program Design
• Conclusion

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Background

• What is the digital divide problem?
• Urban households with earnings of 75,000 or more
  are 20 times more likely to have home internet
  access than rural households of the lowest income
  level.
• National average for home computers is 42.1 and
  for internet access, 26.2. For rural Native
  Americans, 26.8 have home computers and 18.9,
  internet access.
• The internet access gap between white and black
  households grew by 37.7 between 1997-1998.

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Legislation
The Digital Bridge Trust Fund Act HR
4477 Funding Telephone Excise Tax Target
Population Underserved rural, urban, and
Native American Communities Mission
Provide financial assistance to areas
lacking technical resources and education.
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Program Goals
What? Community Technology Centers
(200M) Why? Assist in bridging digital
divide Where? Underserved rural, urban,
Native American areas How? Provide
funding to various community based
organizations who are interested in setting up
community technology centers.
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Program Design Criteria

• Cost
• Time
• Effectiveness
• Feasibility

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Program Design

• Program Structure
• Funding Allocation
• Oversight and Enforcement

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Program Design Program Structure

• Board of Trustees (11 members)
• Digizone Administrator
• 6 Regional Digizone Committees
• President
• Experts for each target community
• State liaisons
• Staff

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Program Design Program Structure

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Program Design Program Structure

• Board of Trustees Responsibilities
• Appoint and oversee 6 digizone committees.
• Ensure equitable funding allocation of 200M
  budget to each digizone.
• Yearly status report to President and Congress.

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Program Design Program Structure

• Digizone Administrator Responsibilities
• Initiate and organize periodic meetings with
  regional digizone presidents.
• Communicate each digizones progress and concerns
  to Board of Trustees.
• Oversight and assessment of programs overall
  progress.

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Program Design Program Structure

• Digizone Committee Responsibilities
• Conduct needs assessment of region.
• Communication with local and state agencies.
• Implement and disseminate grant procedures to
  state liaisons and staff.
• Establish criteria for applicant selection.
• Review applications and award funds.
• Overall enforcement and oversight.

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Program Design Program Structure

• State Liaison Responsibilities
• Ensure equitable access to funding opportunities
  across 50 states through equal representation.
• Disseminate application process information to
  all communities and various institutions.
• Ensure information on fund availability gets
  communicated to those target communities that
  program is intended to serve.

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Program Design Funding Allocation
Program Budget 200 M

Staffing 15
Community Outreach 5
Grant Funding 70
Strategic Assessment Planning 10
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Program Design Funding Allocation
Step One Board of Trustees allocates 200 M to
each regional digizone. Step Two Digizone
Committees allocate funds to communities based on
application and selection criteria.

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Program Design Oversight Enforcement

• Grantees
• Semi-annual reports
• Regional Digizone Committees
• Annual reports
• Board of Trustees
• Annual report to Congress

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Conclusion

• Next Steps
• Expectations