A Study of State-Funded Community Networks in Indiana:

Final Report

Executive Summary

This document reports the findings of a study of state-funded community networks (CNs) in Indiana, funded by the Indiana Department of Education. Beginning with a brief background of state-funded community networking in Indiana, it describes the research, presents the findings, and concludes with recommendations that provide a framework for a set of best practices for successful CN development. The methodology, researchersŐ backgrounds, and the budget are described and the instruments used in data collection are attached as appendices.

Using a survey of CN Board members, site visits, and a content analysis of CN web sites, the study found that state-funded CNs are at a critical point in their histories as their Access Indiana (AI) funding runs out. Almost all have used their AI grants to create technical infrastructures that can support useful web-based community information systems; this has led to two tiers of CNs - those that have become Internet Service Providers (ISP) in their regions and those that have had to purchase their connectivity. Successful CNs have established themselves as competitive ISPs in their regions or have worked out good cooperative relationships with their service providers. They have also begun to "sink roots" in their communities, a time consuming, tremendously important, and often thankless effort. Other CNs, however, find themselves in a difficult period as they struggle to transform themselves from dependency on state funding to a new status as independent, revenue generating, community information providers. An important and related goal for these CNs is to become institutionalized into their communities.

Although the degree to which they have accomplished this institutionalization varies, the general impression is that, with a few notable exceptions, CNs are not yet well integrated into their communities. Interviews and site visits showed that some CNs are working hard to overcome this challenge. For example, analysis of the survey data, the content analysis of the web sites, and site visits show that there are not many instances where CNs have established relationships and partnerships with schools and public libraries beyond listing location information, although some CNs are thinking of ways to create these relationships. In addition, it is not clear, either to the researchers or to many CN board members, who is using these networks. Only a few CN Boards have been able to gather good data about their users, allowing them to understand what their users are doing when they log in.

The design and layout of the CN websites are well done. They are, for the most part, very usable and have reasonable navigation strategies in place. For the most part, the content of CN web sites follows the requirements set out in Section 7.0 of the ICNA Board Policy Manual (1.17.97), although, as will be explained below, compliance appears superficial. The general design and structure of these web sites are created by Board members, paid designers, or, sometimes, community volunteers. Maintenance and updating are handled largely by the first two groups. One interesting exception is in those sites with interactive community calendars; here CN members can submit updates and calendar items.

With technical development proceeding apace, CNs now have to concentrate on economic and social development. To take the next step in their development, they also have to begin the transition to sustainability, or self-sufficiency. Board members recognize that they must develop viable strategies for attaining self-sufficiency through the generation of ongoing revenue streams. A troubling trend is that there does not seem to be much movement among the CNs to develop strategies for pursuing sustainability although many Board members describe this issue as the most significant challenge they face. There are some discussions about pursuing grants from state government and foundations, seeking revenue from advertising and sponsorships, and providing fee-based design work and page hosting. These, however, seem to be local initiatives and there is little evidence of information sharing among the CNs. Concurrently, they have to create the kinds of social and cultural content and services that will enable them to integrate their systems into the routine lives of their communities. This will involve the development of deep and meaningful local content, another significant challenge mentioned by many Board members. There was, however, less mention of the equally i mportant interactive services that could be used to encourage ongoing and regular social interaction among CN members. CNs have to learn more about their communities and user populations to accomplish this.

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank the Indiana Department of Education for their financial support of this research. We also thank the Indiana Community Network Association (ICNA) for its support, and all the CN Board members and volunteers who graciously donated their time and provided the rich information needed to conduct this research. Finally, we would like to thank Mark Whitman and Mike Ney for their careful reading and constructive criticisms of early drafts of the report. Of course, text herein remains the sole responsibility of the authors.