Following the Dollars: Measuring the Efficacy of Federal Broadband Funding
October 8 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CDT
The federal government has $42.45 billion scheduled for distribution through the BEAD program, the most recent in a number of federal funding programs aimed at closing the digital divide. Where and how those federal dollars are allocated depends on both the program’s infrastructure and the quality of collected data.
This webinar features research evaluating past and present federal broadband programs and their underlying data, providing insight into the policies’ design, implementation, and sustainability.
Space is limited.
The 2024 Digital Inclusion Webinar Series
Join us during Digital Inclusion Week for a series of webinars highlighting the latest research on digital inclusion. Each webinar focuses on a timely topic, elevating policy-driven scholarship. The presentations will feature emerging methodologies, best practices and needs for future research.
Academics, researchers, policymakers, and community development practitioners are encouraged to register for one or more of the sessions:
- The Broadband Affordability Burden: Exploring Research and Policies for Affordable High-Speed Internet for All (October 9, 10:00 am – 11:30 am CT)
- Evaluating Digital Skills: Data, Measurement Tools, and Outcomes (October 10, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm CT)
- Roundtable Discussion (October 11, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CT)
Why this matters
Access to the internet is vital to economic inclusion. However, many Americans lack access to affordable home broadband or the skills and devices needed to use it.
Recent federal funding programs provide a singular opportunity to address these issues. This has driven an interest in relevant research on digital inclusion among policymakers and practitioners, as well as academics and researchers. The heightened attention has also revealed research gaps in some areas.
About this series
This webinar series is a follow-up to the Digital Inclusion Research Forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Dallas, Kansas City and Philadelphia in 2023.
The forum serves as a platform to share digital inclusion research and provide context for practitioners to understand and apply research to their work. It also highlights opportunities for new research.