In order to help guide digital transformation efforts across the metro, KC Digital Drive has developed a landscape analysis of the current digital inclusion funding ecosystem in Kansas City. This analysis is meant to provide funders and community organizations with a clear picture of the digital inclusion needs and funding apparatus in our community by highlighting the kinds of digital inclusion programming that are currently funded, and where there are gaps at a program and system level within the ecosystem.
The goal of this analysis is to help inform the upcoming re-launch of Kansas City’s Digital Inclusion Fund, as well as to support funders and digital inclusion practitioners in developing a strategy to take advantage of upcoming state and federal funding opportunities to build digital inclusion programming and capacity in the city.
The white paper is structured according to a five-point framework that KC Digital Drive has developed to help contextualize the the full diversity of barriers that contribute to the digital divide in Kansas City:
- Network Capacity
- Access to the Network
- Quality of Network Access
- Participation in Digital Life
- Excellence, Innovation, and Growth
For each of these dimensions, we explore the existing capacity of Kansas City’s digital inclusion ecosystem, the gaps we have identified that will require new initiatives to address, and the systemic issues that serve as barriers or opportunities for progress.