Evaluation critically needed for closing IT gaps in tribal communities and public housing

[Commentary] On a recent visit to the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma, President Barack Obama announced that ConnectHome will provide free or discounted broadband service to public housing residents in 27 cities and the Choctaw Nation. The ConnectHome program is aimed at some of the most digitally disadvantaged populations in the US. Whether measured at the community level or the individual level, income matters for broadband adoption, and this is true when we control for other factors such as race, ethnicity, education, and age. American Indians and Alaska Natives are least likely to say that they are not interested in broadband, and along with Latinos and African-Americans, at least half give cost or lack of an adequate computer as the reason for not having home access. Concentrated poverty matters, too. Living in a poor community exercises an independent effect over and above poverty at the individual level on the likelihood of having Internet access at home, and it magnifies barriers such as cost. There may be many reasons for why place is significant – the lack of information in low-income communities or higher costs and poorer connectivity among them.

The ConnectHome program, embedded within public housing sites and tribal areas, opens the possibility of positively influencing communities as well, providing support and sustainable adoption and use. This initiative also offers exciting opportunities for comparative evaluation. ConnectHome offers the chance to better understand how to craft effective programs on a broader scale. Along with the Lifeline reforms announced by the Federal Communications Commission, there is greater policy attention paid to making the Internet affordable for all. It is important to take advantage of the moment by ensuring, through rigorous evaluation, that resources are invested wisely and generate important benefits for participating individuals and society.

[Karen Mossberger, Ph.D., is Director and Professor of the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. Traci Morris, Ph.D., is the Director of the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University. Caroline Tolbert, Ph.D., is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa]