A replay of this conversation is available here.

Our expert panel discussed the topic of the sustainability of Digital Equity efforts related to the $42B Infrastructure bill. Here are a few highlights:

“We have evidence through research about how important, not just broadband infrastructure, but inclusive broadband adoption and broadband use is for communities. It’s an argument for why this is a core responsibility for the government.” 

Karen Mossberger, Arizona State University

Kathryn: Why should state and local governments care about making digital equity and related initiatives sustainable? 

Karen: We have evidence through this research about how important, not just broadband infrastructure, but inclusive broadband adoption and broadband use is not only for individuals but for communities. It’s an argument for why this is a core responsibility for the government. It’s part of something that governments at all levels need to be paying attention to going forward. 

Looking at over two decades of data,we can see the percentage of the population with broadband subscription –  that is inclusive broadband adoption and use – and how that matters for outcomes like measures of prosperity for full employment in the 50 largest metros.

Just looking at broadband subscriptions alone was a significant predictor of things like fuller employment and prosperity. We looked at the county level as well using some different measures of prosperity from the Economic Policy Institute that included things like workforce participation, wages, and business establishments, and again broadband subscriptions or broadband adoption mattered for prosperity for median income in counties. It mattered for urban, suburban, and rural counties. 

So all of this suggests that broadband is really important for things like economic development, promoting economic opportunity, workforce development for residents, and things that state and local governments do that are part of their core responsibilities. We argued what this really represents is a measure of digital human capital. Education is human capital and governments promote education for economic development opportunities. This is something that we can’t just let it fade away as federal money is spent in the future. It has to be sustained. 

Kathryn: As we are thinking about the sustainability of these initiatives, how do we strike that balance in recognizing that we need to make these significant investments in infrastructure knowing there will be ongoing costs? How do we approach those ongoing costs? How are we really defining sustainability for the maintenance of the initiatives that we are building, not just the building of a network? 

Mai-Ling: I think my inner bureaucrat is hearing my colleagues that are leading departments thinking, “Where am I going to find a piece of my budget to give up to upgrade and address these things? Yes, I agree but secretly I’m very afraid of what that will actually mean in terms of any service provision, let alone those that are digital in nature.”

Where are there places in which cities can recoup some of those costs to be reinvested for these efforts and initiatives?  That could be  public land, infrastructure, administrative oversight of permits, roads, and installation and the like. 

I feel like there are probably some amazing colleagues that work in cities and local governments across the country that can say, “You know we don’t get money for “fill in the blank”.” That’s probably where a lot of our answers lie in bridging that connection.

Kathryn: We don’t talk enough about those great examples of where the states are thinking, “How do we support our communities at this moment? How do we make sure that those that are least likely to access those resources actually get them in place?”

Mai-Ling: Generally speaking I would say that one of my missions is to give local leaders the tools to talk about these issues. I think that there isn’t enough of an understanding from a policy perspective. Certainly, people work in technology policy and that typically happens at the federal or national level, but not at the local level. I think that there’s an incongruence there because a lot of the execution and implementation are actually there.

I would say there is an explicit moonshot to equip a lot of local leaders to better converse and to understand where these points are. They can better advocate for their cities and speak to the point made about having few resources where there is the highest need. So how do we aid or balance that disproportionate investment is going to be key through these local leaders. Through no fault of their own, these local leaders  have a steep learning curve for something that is rapidly changing. It’s not something that there is a college program out there for. There is no place for a local council member to learn about decades of policy. Then, as soon as you learn it, it’s rapidly changing because the technology is also changing around it. So the policy process also doesn’t necessarily keep up with the flow and the pace at which technology has been evolving. 

Kathryn: Karen, as the professor on the panel. What would you like to add to the education and training piece?

Karen:  We need to do more in educational training around digital governance. This is part of that discussion. Actually, I’m working with ASU where my Center is partnering with the Marconi Society on a certificate training program that we hope to roll out next year. We will be supporting people who are great managers and have been tasked with this, but don’t know much about the policy area, digital inclusion and / or broadband infrastructure. 

As Mai-Ling said, this is always changing, policymakers need to know where to go to look for information over time. What are some of the organizations that state and local government officials always turn to so they can stay current with what’s happening in their profession? Those state and professional associations have a role to play. We look at how this is just integrated into everything that we do. Digital inclusion and the resources for this should be part of these professional networks, and it’s important for people to find out how to keep learning about this and to stay current with developments because there is this rapid evolution.