Close the Digital Divide - Project Spotlight 1
The Suncoast Digital Navigator Network
2021 - Present
Voices from The Patterson Foundation’s Digital Navigator Program
〰️ 9 nonprofit/government agencies
〰️ 7 Florida counties
〰️ 37 trained Digital Navigators
〰️ 9 nonprofit/government agencies 〰️ 7 Florida counties 〰️ 37 trained Digital Navigators
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50 Trained Digital Navigators
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10 Florida Counties
〰️ 50 Trained Digital Navigators 〰️ 10 Florida Counties
Close the Digital Divide - Project Spotlight 3
Digital Navigator Training & Support
An Initiative is Born
After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, The Patterson Foundation sought to better understand the roots and dark consequences of being unconnected or underconnected to the internet, of not having a computing device, or being unable to use one effectively. The organization embarked on an insight-gathering journey in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota, Florida counties which eventually led to the birth of the Digital Access for All initiative (DA4A) in June 2020, whose aim is to connect asset-limited families to affordable broadband, computing devices, digital literacy skills and support through community action and beyond-the-check philanthropy.
Partnership and Growth
Maribel Martinez Consulting’s principal became involved with the DA4A initiative as its subject area expert in September 2020, lending thought partnership to its growing stakeholder agencies and partners, and in February 2021, providing digital inclusion leadership and strategic guidance on broadband connectivity, devices, and training to its dozens of stakeholder partners and hundreds of thousands of constituents. In addition to being interviewed by local journalists, supporting with digital divide data mining and interpretation, and local area asset mapping, Maribel Martinez designed a pilot program to train local digital navigators as well as develop a custom digital navigator training curriculum based on best practices in adult education, and her own experiences in the digital inclusion space and as a former digital navigator.
Ten cross-trained digital navigators were trained to assist asset-limited families in obtaining low-cost home internet (including signing up for the Emergency Broadband Benefit), free or affordable computing devices, and learning digital skills. Maribel manages the program and provides direct support to new digital navigators on a regular basis to ensure program success, and also works with leadership teams at Goodwill Manasota, UnidosNOW, and Women’s Resource Center on data management and reporting, outreach and communications, and overall initiative integration.
Evolution and Legacy
The digital navigator pilot at The Patterson Foundation launched in June 2021. Today, it is known as the Digital Navigator Program, led by Maribel Martinez Consulting, and includes three cohorts of nonprofit and government agencies working together with other local community partners who understand the intolerable effects of the digital divide. The foundation’s goal to create sustainable #DigitalAccessforAll in its four-county area has extended to encompass seven counties, including Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Lee, Manatee, and Sarasota. Its Digital Access for All initiative continues to evolve in 2024 in close collaboration with Maribel Martinez Consulting. The fourth cohort of the Digital Navigator Program launches in July 2024.
Stay tuned to learn more about other projects with The Patterson Foundation, including:
thought leadership, strategic advice, and collaborative support for Society and Philanthropy in Action: Creating New Realities in Digital Access
professional development and technology integration for libraries in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties to increase library patronage and relevancy
thought leadership, strategic advice, and implementation design and support for developing a computer ecosystem in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties to ensure that everyone who needs a computer has one
Close the Digital Divide - Project Spotlight 2
Digital Navigation Cross-Training
When community members first become aware that roughly 20% of their community is without internet primarily due to its cost, they are also surprised to learn that there are high-speed broadband subscriptions available designed for under-resourced people for around 0-$30/month. Not low quality, just low cost.
Eddie Gloria, CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, was one such person. He reached out to Maribel Martinez Consulting about deepening the organization’s ability to serve its constituents in ten Florida counties, knowing that many lacked internet and computers at home. Without internet access, he knew, lifting people out of poverty could be an insurmountable challenge.
Because CCDOV already employed a case management approach to its work with seniors, the homeless, single mothers, victims of human trafficking and disasters, nomadic and displaced families, and asset-limited people, staff members and volunteers could be cross-trained to serve as Digital Navigators at CCDOV. The digital navigation model has emerged nationally as an accelerator to getting people connected to a low-cost broadband subscription, finding them a free or affordable computer, and presenting them with free digital literacy training options.
The firm’s Digital Navigators: A Course for Digital Equity Champions was featured as part of a comprehensive professional learning package that was further customized for CCDOV staff roles. The consultant worked closely with CCDOV staff to adapt their online case management system so newly cross-trained Digital Navigators would be able to hit the ground running using their day-to-day productivity and data management tools. CCDOV identified 50 staff for Digital Navigator training which was completed in just four hours. Some key aspects of the training included a personal skills inventory to identify areas for growth, manipulating digital divide data sources and interpreting them, searching for low-cost internet and device providers, and how to support clients through the enrollment process. One important supplement to the course included understanding the Emergency Broadband Benefit program and how to support clients who qualify.
The consultant also worked closely with CCDOV’s communications team to create a multi-channel outreach campaign in support of digital navigation work, as well as setting aside dedicated time for new Digital Navigators through virtual office hours to work through implementation challenges. Over 100,000 households in CCDOV’s ten-county service area stand to benefit from the work of its Digital Navigators.
“Through Digital Navigator training, we’ve met people we otherwise would not have reached. The increase in foot traffic at our centers has been amazing,” said Margie Genter, Vice President of Mission Services at Goodwill Manasota.
Ongoing digital navigation training and professional development continues at Goodwill Manasota, after the nonprofit first committed to cross-training their first Digital Navigator back in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to rethink how they communicate with those who need them the most, and it quickly became evident that many did not have the ability to continue on a work search trajectory without support for affordable home broadband, an affordable computer of their own, and the digital literacy skills to qualify for today’s jobs. The pandemic also made it clear that Goodwill Manasota’s staff needed additional support with new and essential technologies that soon became commonplace at work, like Zoom meetings and cloud computing skills.
As community needs changed over the past few years, so have the strategies and resources that Goodwill Manasota offered in an effort to ensure they continue to meet people where they are. An additional benefit of Digital Navigator training has been the focus on digital skills, a core tenet of digital navigation training. The need for Digital Navigators to possess a variety of technical and computer skills has created a unique opportunity for Goodwill Manasota to diagnose and backfill digital skills, and continue to support professional development so staff feel capable, efficient, and successful at their jobs every day.