Where it’s going: Merit Network plans to develop a connectivity and digital equity strategy to promote the expansion of high-speed internet in eight underserved areas in Muskegon, Ogemaw, Roscommon, Saginaw and Van Buren counties.
Who is behind the scenes: Headquartered in Ann Arbor, the Merit Network was founded in 1966 by Michigan’s public universities as a shared resource for network assistance, making it the longest-running regional research and education network in the United States. Merit operates as an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is governed by the state’s public universities.
What they will do: Merit will execute the plan using its Digital Opportunity Compass, a digital equity framework originally developed by academic researchers from MSU’s Quello Center, the Merit Network, the National Alliance for Digital Inclusion and the Center for Digital Equity Research. The pilot program will launch in 2023. Efforts supported by USDA grants include survey activities, education programs, community planning facilitation, digital skills planning, and infrastructure planning and funding activities.
Why it’s important: “This Compass Framework is a community engagement and planning tool that empowers knowledgeable local resources to take action with the support of leadership, community organizations and others,” said Charlotte Bewersdorff, Vice President of Community Engagement. “The team supporting this work are DE (digital equity) experts, researchers and practitioners working on broadband expansion. Our goal is to serve as an unbiased resource to promote multi-stakeholder digital equity planning at the local level.”
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