Between July and August 2019, the Sacramento Coalition for Digital Inclusion (SCDI) conducted community workshops in Sacramento County to collect community feedback and direct service provider insights on digital equity needs within the county. Its findings were similar to those of the 2018 Brookings Institution on the same issue: The Sacramento region has a persistent and increasing digital divide that is manifested in disparities in broadband access and adoption, educational attainment by race, and lack of basic digital literacy skills at a time when a digital-skills workforce is critical to the future of Sacramento’s economy.
SCDI consists of more than 40 organizations and is led by a steering committee comprised of Sacramento Public Library, Valley Vision, Social Venture Partners of Sacramento, and the City of Sacramento’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development. In its report, SCDI recommends the following as treatments for the issues highlighted:
- Increase the availability of digital-skills training focused on K-12 youth;
- Increase the availability of free and low-cost computing devices through surplus refurbishing and discounted programs for new devices;
- Increase access to public computing labs and adoption of affordable home broadband subscriptions;
- Invest in organizational infrastructure and capacity to coordinate, track and measure progress toward regional equity goals.
Read the report and learn more about SCDI at
www.digitalinclusionsac.org. The report was adopted by the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2019, and by the Sacramento Public Library Authority on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019.
The SCDI Steering Committee invites community leaders and residents to help identify resources to support implementation of these recommendations. Get involved by contacting them at
scdi@innovatesac.org.