As digital equity remains front-of-mind for many government officials, partnerships offer promise for rural and urban areas alike.
As such, the recent launch of the Digital Empowerment Center in Fresno offers an example of how collaboration can enhance this work. According to Deputy Mayor of Fresno Matthew Grundy, the center came about as a natural progression from the city’s existing partnership with Bitwise.
“I think the long-term goal is really to support micro- and small businesses to develop some digital literacy skills and web presence,” said Grundy.
Grundy said a website is critical for businesses now, citing a study that found small businesses that had no online e-commerce presence were twice as likely to have stopped operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, at least temporarily.
In order to help vulnerable businesses, the city used American Rescue Plan Act funding to create this center, to which Grundy says education is the key. The grant is for one year, set to end in October 2023.
A classroom within a Bitwise building operates as the site of workshops. Teachers, both from Bitwise and external experts, offer sessions in both English and Spanish.
Sessions in Spanish were made possible through a partnership with the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The organizations are seeking other partnerships to meet other language needs, according to Thilani Grubel, VP of Bitwise Industries Fresno.
Digital skills that might be taught in these sessions include the benefits of using digital payments, having a website and building an app, and how these things can be implemented to transform businesses, she said.
Grubel says the goal is to prove the viability of this center to support businesses; once that is proven, it can act as a blueprint and be tailored to other cities’ needs.
Fresno has historically been known for strength in agriculture, but Grundy says it's seen an increase in both the manufacturing and technology sectors. As it grows, Grundy pointed out that Mayor Jerry Dyer has made a commitment to inclusive economic development — “keyword: inclusive.”
COALITIONS IN FRESNO AND MERCED
While the new center in Fresno works to support businesses, the city’s digital equity work started earlier, with one example being the creation of the Fresno Coalition for Digital Inclusion. As Grundy explained, there are many stakeholders in the area working to remove the digital divide.
“We think everyone should have an opportunity to do well in Fresno, and certainly digital inclusion is a really important part of that,” Grundy said.
Bitwise was able to join and build on that work, Grubel said. However, in Merced County, there was not such a coalition in place, so Bitwise worked to bring people together from different sectors to create the Merced Digital Empowerment Coalition.
The Merced County coalition includes individuals and organizations across sectors, from the Merced County Office of Education to the Merced Indian Chamber of Commerce.
One member of the coalition, Merced County District 2 Board Supervisor Josh Pedrozo, said the benefit of having so many different entities involved lies in bringing in different perspectives, from workforce development to education. For Pedrozo, the focus is on influencing policy.
The focus right now, he said, is to better understand the community’s needs related to digital equity.
For example, the county is working to understand how to deploy broadband infrastructure in a way that meets multifaceted digital equity needs of a diverse community.
“This is what's going to help us continue to make sure that our economic standard is growing, our unemployment rate is going down, and that we are preparing the youth of Merced County for all different types of jobs and all different types of opportunities,” Pedrozo said.
