{"id":4175,"date":"2024-01-18T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=4175"},"modified":"2024-07-01T14:52:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T14:52:40","slug":"purdue-center-for-regional-development-leads-effort-for-indianas-digital-equity-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q1\/purdue-center-for-regional-development-leads-effort-for-indianas-digital-equity-plan","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Center for Regional Development leads effort for Indiana\u2019s Digital Equity Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"purdue-initial-words-wrap\"><p class=\"purdue-initial-words wp-block-paragraph\">WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. &mdash;<\/p> \n<p>The Purdue Center for Regional Development, in partnership with the Indiana Broadband Office, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Purdue Extension, has developed a draft of the state\u2019s first-ever&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/indianabroadband\/grants\/digital-equity-plan\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Digital Equity Plan<\/a>. The plan will serve as a road map to help Indiana overcome the digital divide, assisting Indiana residents, communities and businesses that are unable to participate in the digital economy due to various barriers, including poor or no broadband connection, having no digital devices, and the need to learn digital skills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Jan. 8, the Indiana Broadband Office published online a draft of the five-year plan, launching a\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:%20IBOPublicComment@iot.in.gov.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">30-day public comment period<\/a>\u00a0for feedback before the proposed plan is implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <div  class=\"purdue-home-quick-links-static \">\n        <div class=\"tagged-header-container\">\n\n            <h2 class=\"tagged-header\"><span>Additional Information<\/span><\/h2>\n        \n        <\/div>\n\n       <ul class=\"quick-links-content\">\n                                        <li class=\"quick-link__item\">\n                                                                <a class=\"quick-link__link\"\n                                    href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/releases\/2023\/Q4\/purdue-launches-broadband-team-effort-to-increase-high-speed-internet-access-adoption-and-use-throughout-indiana.html\" target=\"_blank\">\n                                    Purdue launches broadband team, effort to increase high-speed internet access, adoption and use throughout Indiana                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n                                                <li class=\"quick-link__item\">\n                                                                <a class=\"quick-link__link\"\n                                    href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/releases\/2023\/Q4\/purdue-iu-to-collaborate-on-analysis-of-indianas-500-million-economic-development-efforts.html\" target=\"_blank\">\n                                    Purdue, IU to collaborate on analysis of Indiana\u2019s $500 million economic development efforts                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n                                                <li class=\"quick-link__item\">\n                                                                <a class=\"quick-link__link\"\n                                    href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/releases\/2023\/Q3\/purdue-center-for-regional-development-to-support-nsf-engines-initiative-evaluate-regional-impact.html\" target=\"_blank\">\n                                    Purdue Center for Regional Development to support NSF Engines initiative, evaluate regional impact                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD), which is part of the university\u2019s Office of Engagement, led the effort by forming Indiana\u2019s digital equity task force, conducting surveys and data analysis, drafting initial goals and objectives, conducting regional solution sessions and finalizing the draft document for public comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roberto Gallardo, vice president for engagement and the center\u2019s director, said, \u201cDigital inequalities have far-reaching impacts on businesses, organizations, residents and workers. Failing to address these disparities can place a region at a competitive disadvantage. PCRD\u2019s goal is to contribute to the development of a thriving economy within our state, and the Digital Equity Plan stands as a crucial component of this strategic effort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plan, designed to provide greater access to reliable broadband internet, is composed of five key sections. The document outlines the plan\u2019s purpose and creation process; describes the current state of digital equity in Indiana; identifies the plan\u2019s core vision, goals, strategies and objectives; and lays out implementation strategies, timeline and evaluation procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gallardo, who also leads the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/engagement\/pbt\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Purdue Broadband Team<\/a>, said by providing greater access to reliable broadband internet, \u201cwe aim to bridge the digital divide and empower our community for a more prosperous future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stephen Cox, infrastructure and broadband administrator for the Indiana Office of Technology, said, \u201cThe 21st century is ushering in a digital transformation of our economy and society. Those unable to fully engage in this digital era are experiencing a decline in their quality of life and workforce opportunities. Navigating the intricate digital equity landscape is essential, recognizing both its barriers and assets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cox said while the Digital Equity Plan has statewide implications, developing directives that offer positive and meaningful impact to each Hoosier will require tailored, hyperlocal strategies for each region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBuilding affordable and reliable infrastructure in our communities is only a portion of the plan,\u201d Gallardo added. \u201cWe must all ensure residents have reasonable access to devices and the digital literacy and abilities to use these tools to their fullest advantage.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Purdue Broadband Team is part of Purdue President Mung Chiang\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/welcome-back-fall-2023\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cABCD\u201d strategy<\/a>&nbsp;to better serve the state through four initiatives: Airport for the Greater Lafayette region, Broadband for rural counties, (hard-tech) Corridor for central Indiana, and Purdue@DC, which brings unique capabilities to the nation\u2019s capital.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. &mdash; The Purdue Center for Regional Development, in partnership with the Indiana Broadband Office, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Purdue Extension, has developed a draft of the state\u2019s first-ever&nbsp;Digital Equity Plan. The plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"department":[138],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[41],"class_list":["post-4175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","department-extension","source-purdue-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4175"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4178,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4175\/revisions\/4178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4175"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=4175"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=4175"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=4175"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}