Rural Social Network Analysis and Digital Needs Assessment.

Project Summary

The persistent digital gap between urban and rural areas has created an imperative for digital development rural areas. Most approaches are top-down or focused on a single sector. In contrast, this project takes a holistic, community-focused approach, starting with a comprehensive social network and digital needs analysis to identify pathways for spreading digital services and developing digital skills and self-efficacy in the community.

Social Network Analysis (SNA): How does knowledge spread throughout rural communities?

Digital Needs Analysis (DNA): what digital skills are needed to build self-efficacy.

Only 27% of households in Franklin County have meaningful access to high speed to high-speed broadband and in Dixie County the numbers are even worth standing at only 2%. (Data from Microsoft’s Digital Equity Map)

The Approach 

• Interview community leaders
• Conduct community focus groups
• Survey community members
• Cross-walk prioritized use cases and digital competencies
• Lead community workshop and open-house presentation
• Develop plans for extension and future funding

The Impact

This project will leave us with a clearer understanding of a community driven understanding of digital development needs and a plan of action from which we can develop a strategic plan of action to move forward. By focusing on rural communities and developing partnerships that support the development of digital literacies and self-efficacy across their populations and nurture the capacity within the local community to support on going development of digital services and learning opportunities for their residents.