Missing the Boat

nintended consequences are a frightening side effect of the technology revolution. One consequence governments are struggling with is the digital divide-the disenfranchisement of rural and poor populations as governments deliver more and more services electronically.

Larry Irving, former administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at Commerce, might not have invented the term "digital divide," but he certainly popularized it. His agency started looking at the dramatic differences in access to telecommunications and the Internet in a 1995 study called "Falling Through the Net." By 1997, the words "digital divide" were added to the title as a much broader realization emerged of the huge difference in access to government services among those with computers and those without.

Growing Gap

It is not news that people with fewer economic resources or those who live far from large population centers have more difficulty getting access to government services. However, NTIA's study was among the first to document how large the gap was. "A low-income household in a rural area has less than a one in 30 chance of having Internet access at home," Irving said when the study was released in July 1999. "A rural black household has less than a one in 13 chance of having home Internet access." More troubling to Irving and other policy-makers is that the gap is widening.

As federal and local government began taking advantage of the Internet's efficiencies in delivering services, the disparity in access to computing and telecommunications threatened to cut off those who most needed help. The government's solution has been to seek help from the private sector. The digital divide has become one of the most common arenas for public/private partnerships.

Technology Alone

Throwing technology at the classrooms as part of the E-rate program-an administration plan that funds the purchase of telecommunications equipment and services through a universal tax on telecom-and other well-intended efforts prove that equipment alone is not the answer. Widgets with fancy or unneeded bells and whistles in the public domain offer few results unless teachers and students are trained and prepared to use them.

The traditional solution has been to allow public access through the computers in the public libraries and to spend resources to enlarge their offerings. However, a large part of the target audience that digital divide solutions hope to reach either doesn't have easy access to libraries or doesn't frequent them. The digital divide solution must provide access where people spend time.

Community Outreach

One promising approach has been to create community technology centers where young people and adults can take classes or reserve computers for personal use at the center. Atlanta is using this approach, and the Clinton administration just funded a survey to study 100 similar community technology centers to find out what is working.

One of the first was the Gum Springs Computer Center in Fairfax, Va. Created last winter as a joint project by the Northern Virginia Technology Council and Gen. Colin Powell's America's Promise program, the project has the support of the YMCA, the Steve and Jean Case Foundation and 21 corporations. Fairfax County supplied space and a full-time director. AmeriCorps, a volunteer service organization, provided five full-time workers to teach and mentor students.

Bobbie Kilberg, president of the Northern Virginia Technology Center, says the project serves as a model for new efforts. "We stayed flexible as we were working out the project design and listened to our advisers, and we got buy-in from the corporate sponsors and not just a donation," she says. "For some of the smaller companies, this was a chance to make a real contribution to improving our world. But it was not just about money. It was about getting all the players involved in creating a solution."

The PowerUp initiative, launched in November 1999, with the support of nonprofit organizations, major corporations and federal agencies, builds on similar approaches. PowerUp now has plans for more than 250 community technology sites, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to install centers in public housing developments. The availability of technology, the mentoring from AmeriCorps volunteers and the commitment of the industry partners tie the efforts together.

In another model, the National Partnership for Reinventing Government is installing about 3,500 kiosks in urban areas. The General Services Administration and a company called Urban Cool Networks will use the kiosks to connect via broadband networks to the Urban Cool Web site, which will offer such services as providing passport applications and tax forms.

The common denominator in all these models is that all sides of the services delivery equation stand to gain. If the digital divide is to be turned into a digital opportunity, then both government organizations and corporations must get something out of the partnership. Too often, agencies will only ask for a donation of computers or Internet accounts to bridge their service-delivery gap. If their industry partners see the venture as charity, then it will be a one-time donation. But if they see it as a commitment to solving a problem, it is likely to generate something far more valuable-real involvement from businesspeople who want to serve and expand their markets.

Anne A. Armstrong is president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, a private, state-funded organization that fosters the growth of technology
businesses in the commonwealth.