Grant Summary
This project will help rural communities in Virginia develop the tools needed to prosper in the Information Age economy. It will give these communities the ability to take control of and use technology as a tool to improve local economic conditions and include many more citizens in the decision making process. To do this, the grant uses four key programs to help the communities begin to control and direct their own destiny:
- Leadership and technology training for local and area extension agents who will work directly in each community. Extension agents live and work in the communities, and have a broad local network of contacts in place. They serve as local champions of efforts to increase the quality of life in their communities and have significant ties to internal and external resources. Their direct linkage to Virginia Tech can facilitate access to cutting edge information technology developments and community development resources.
- Citizen teams comprised of a broad cross-section of people with varying responsibility and interests that agree to commit significant time and energy to the effort. Citizen teams create buy-in at the local level and play a key role in the long term sustainability of the effort. Extension agents have extensive experience working with volunteers in similar capacities.
- The time-tested Take Charge program helps communities reach consensus on major points of their development agenda and provides ongoing support and resources for the citizen-based planning process.
- A tested, turnkey community network system, including:
- web hosting
- design assistance
- mailing lists
- resident directory
- business directory
- community groups directory
- online discussion forums, and
- professional tech support throughout the life of the project and beyond, coupled with extensive technical training for extension agents and citizen teams.
Twenty-nine communities in nine rural counties will participate. These communities, which have been deemed "underserved", are spread across the state, from the Eastern Shore of Virginia to far southwest Virginia.
Implementing the above four programs, within the framework of a tested community consensus building processes, will have multiple impacts. Communities will better understand how information technology represents a change that affects them on numerous fronts. Each participating community will have, for the first time, a professionally-facilitated planning process and a vision statement accompanied by short and long term plans for achieving the goals of the vision. Residents will acquire marketable job skills by using a world class community network system. Local decision-making will be substantially enhanced by drawing in citizens who have been effectively disenfranchised in local politics. Initiatives to create new small businesses and enhance the effectiveness of existing ones will create new job activities for local residents.
This effort is led by the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV), one of the oldest and best known community network projects in the country, and Virginia's Cooperative Extenstion (VCE) Service. They are working together to help selected rural communities in Virginia move into the Information Age. BEV will provide technical expertise and community network systems, while VCE provides extension agents in each community for leadership and institutional support.
