Broadband board rolls out plan, seeking input

Vermont Community Broadband Board announced the kickoff of its Digital Empowerment Plan. The DE plan is the way Vermont will make sure every Vermonter has high-quality, accessible, affordable technology resources and knows how to use them.
Vermont’s DE plan has five parts: research to understand what’s needed; devices for people who need them; a digital navigator program to provide resources and teach digital skills; workforce training to maximize digital opportunity; and grants to organizations representing and serving Vermonters negatively impacted by the digital divide. These grants will support organizations to scale their capacity to provide services complementary to Vermont’s Digital Empowerment Plan. The goal is to support and improve existing efforts in a sustainable way.
In order to meet these goals, VCBB has recently hired digital equity data and research specialist Yujie Li. Li has over six years’ experience as a researcher and data scientist in both academia and industry and will be leading the research to learn what barriers Vermonters are facing to be able to effectively and safely get online.
Vermont was awarded $5.3 million in federal funding to implement its DE plan. Read the DE plan, including a plan summary and translation into 14 languages and an ASL video summary, at https://www.vermont.gov. Register to attend the next quarterly virtual meeting on Wednesday, April 16, from 2 to 3:30 pm. Everyone is welcome.