Recommendations
Over the past several years, the world has witnessed a spectacular communications and technological revolution that is transforming our economic, social, political, and cultural life. This revolution has the potential to expand opportunity greatly for everyone, but the potential is especially great for under-served communities because of the remarkable new opportunities now being presented to civil and human rights groups that represent those communities.
With appropriate leadership, investment and collaboration, we can help ensure that new communications advances are leveraged to improve people's lives, reinforce society's core values, and strengthen our institutions. We can seize the opportunity to utilize new technologies to help foster a rich culture of ideas and perspectives. Through the power and reach of technology, we can help create new, sustainable ways to educate and mobilize the widest possible coalition of conscience to promote equal opportunity and fight discrimination in all its forms in the United States and around the world. In moving from digital disconnect to digital empowerment, we can continue building a more equitable society.
While some progress is being made in improving the technology capacity and readiness of the civil rights community and its involvement in the development of communications and Internet public policy, much more is needed. Accordingly, we offer the following recommendations designed to help ensure that all segments of society can participate fully in the Digital Age.
Building Information Technology Capacity Among Leadership Conference Member Organizations
Develop A Coalition-Wide Technology Assistance Initiative
As Arnold Aronson, co-founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, stated, "The struggle for civil rights cannot be won by one group acting by or for itself alone, but only through a coalition of groups that share a common commitment to equal justice and equal opportunity for every American."
This same coalition model represents the best hope for the civil rights community to develop a strong presence online, and therefore the coalition should develop a coalition-wide technology assistance initiative. The initiative would leverage limited resources from many sources to provide a wide-range of technical assistance including hardware and software development, network installation, database development, web site design, training, and broader technology consultation.
A coalition-wide initiative would include the development of an umbrella web site (portal), a trusted clearinghouse that would bring together like-minded socially responsible organizations as well as link loyal communities around them. The portal would allow for the efficient pooling of content and constituencies could create a vibrant, issue-based community that grows along with the Internet, providing all participating sites a significant value-added entry point for their content. Such a portal could also ensure that social justice-oriented content is accessible and inclusive for all segments of the population.
This initiative would also assist those interested in funding technology capacity building for social justice organizations by serving as a trusted entity where funders would be assured that their scarce resources were being leveraged to maximize their impact.
Beyond the coalition-wide technology assistance initiative, there are several specific ways the civil rights community, the business community, and the foundation community can each help build the technology capacity of national organizations.
Increasing the technology capacity of the civil rights community will not occur without national leadership and vision. Toward that end, the leadership of the civil rights coalition must use its prestige and influence to improve the coalition's knowledge and use of the emerging technologies in all its work.
Develop Comprehensive Technology Plans That Stress Employee Training
The first step in making more effective use of technology is having a comprehensive technology plan outlining the role technology can play in the larger operations of the individual organizations. The plan should include an assessment of the organization's current allocation of resources, to give a clear picture of an organization's current access to and utilization of advanced technologies. To the extent possible, the coalition should develop a standard technology assessment tool to assist organizations in their efforts to establish technology plans. Those organizations that have developed technology assessment plans should assist those who have not yet done so.
Another key component of the technology plan should be staff training on the use of technology. Many technology consultants advise that at least 70 percent of the technology budget be devoted to training. This helps ensure that technology will advance the organization's mission rather than drive the agenda. Thus, the application of technology is never an end in itself, but a means to an end.
Utilize Technology More Effectively To Achieve Programmatic Goals
In addition to developing comprehensive technology plans, organizations should begin thinking creatively about how new technologies can help them more efficiently and effectively achieve their programmatic goals. So, for example, rather than thinking about how a report can be posted on the web, organizations should consider how the Internet may assist in the creation of the report in the first place. At a minimum, all foundation proposals should incorporate strategies on how tech- nology can assist an organization in achieving the goals of the project.
Import Technology Knowledge Into The Coalition With Strategic Technology Consulting
If the civil rights community is to utilize technology more effectively to achieve programmatic goals, there is a critical need to bring individuals more proficient with the effective use of technology into the national civil rights community. Given that most organizations do not have funding available to hire full-time employees (and the questionable value of doing so vis-(e0)vis other priorities), organizations should consider strategic relationships with technology consultants.
Convene Technology Leadership Forums For Civil Rights, Industry, And Foundation Leaders
National civil rights organizations should convene leadership forums that bring civil and human rights leaders together with high tech leadership, to discuss the value of emerging and established technologies. Similar forums should be convened for those within the foundation community to discuss the potential of technology to build institutions, and facilitate advocacy and civic engagement.
Convene Technology Assistance Forums For Staff
National civil rights organizations should also convene Periodic Technology Assistance Forums that focus on supporting the Information Technology (IT) staffs at civil rights organizations. These Forums would create opportunities for IT employees to share knowledge and learn from each another.They should highlight promising applications of technology, and train staff to utilize these promising applications within their own organizations. In addition, the Forums should address organizational barriers to leveraging the latest technologies more effectively, including: technical resource information, fiscal resources, and staff technical training.
Become Accessible And Inclusive
National civil rights organizations must play a leadership role in ensuring that all segments of society are able to participate fully in the Digital Age. Full participation is defined not only as ensuring access to individuals with disabilities, but also enabling full and complete access to information for individuals with limited English proficiency, limited literacy, or slow Internet connections.
Larger organizations or those organizations with a specific focus on disability issues should provide technical assistance, demonstrate best practices, and link to information and tools to help improve accessibility for all. Among the organizations that could play an important role are: National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the National Federation of the Blind, and Children's Partnership.
Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate
National non-profit organizations have similar technology needs. The LCCR coalition should coordinate the development of technology applications directed toward fulfilling the shared needs of its member organizations. The civil rights community should consider utilizing its shared resources to develop a suite of applications similar to an application service provider that addresses the needs of national, state and local coalition members. To jump start collaborative efforts, the civil rights coalition should consider sponsoring a coalition-wide initiative among organizations working on a common issue.
The business community and specifically the high-tech industry, is in the best position to help civil rights leaders realize the potential of recent technological advances. As the brain trust of the technology revolution, the industry has the vision and a staff uniquely qualified to serve as "trainers of trainers" for the civil rights community. By lending their technology and intellectual capital, and by making their skilled staff available to help the staff of civil and human rights organizations build their technology capacity and leadership in this area, the high-tech industry would make a major contribution to the pursuit of economic and social justice in the United States and around the world.
While some companies within the high-tech industry have already made significant profits, the full potential of the industry has yet to be realized. As the industry seeks new ways to promote its products and services, civil and human rights organizations can play an important intermediary role to some of the communities that have been slower to adopt these new technologies.
Provide Hardware, Software, And High-Speed Internet Access
There is a critical need for civil rights organizations to utilize the latest hardware and software tools and to acquire high-speed Internet access. Given the cost of these innovations, which may be prohibitive to most organizations, the high-tech industry should provide in-kind contributions to support the civil rights community's technology needs. A special initiative focused on providing technology resources to civil rights organizations and community centers serving low-income communities may be warranted.
Encourage And Support Training Efforts
It is not enough to have access to the latest hardware and software applications. Knowing how to utilize these technologies requires extensive training. Perhaps the starkest finding of this report is the dearth of training currently taking place within the civil rights community, particularly among the leadership of coalition organizations. The business community is acutely aware of the important role technology training plays within their institutions and would contribute greatly to the work of the coalition by funding collaborative technology training programs for employees at civil rights organizations. The business community could invest in the development of online training modules to guide organizations and their grassroots components through technology planning, staff development and integration.
Encourage And Support Employees' Volunteer Efforts
Bridging the technology divide requires understanding organizations' needs before using technology to solve them. It requires a significant time commitment and lots of training, nurturing and handholding. The business community should actively encourage their employees to share its time and skills with civil rights organizations, particularly those working to bridge the digital divide.
Help Build Collaborative Web-Based Applications
The business community should assist civil rights organizations in building web-based applications that every coalition member could utilize.
Convene Leadership Forums With Civil Rights Leaders
There is a real need for greater collaboration among the leadership of the business community and civil rights leaders. The business community, and high-tech leaders in particular, should convene forums where civil rights leaders can discuss their technology-related challenges and barriers.
In turn, these forums would provide leaders in the business community a venue to express their priorities to civil rights leaders. Establishing a structure for on-going discussion and debate, creates the opportunity to build trust, collaboration and a shared agenda among business, the non-profit world and government.
Provide Direct Financial Assistance
While intellectual support and capital is important, there is a demonstrated need for industry to provide direct financial support to help civil and human rights organizations build their technology capacity. Many high-tech companies and foundations including America Online, Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Bell Atlantic (now Verizon), Intel and Verio have devoted significant resources to bridge the digital divide and bring technology capacity to non-profits. Even so, greater investments are sorely needed. A lack of resources (financial and intellectual) remains a major obstacle to building the technology capacity of the civil and human rights community.
By all accounts, civil rights organizations have found it difficult to find support for the development of their technology infrastructures. Yet, as the survey makes clear, those costs remain a major hurdle for social justice organizations. While a number of organizations have achieved base-line capabilities, most remain far behind.
Within the non-profit community, foundations have been very slow to provide technology support/advice to national and local civil rights organizations. While some in the technology industry have stepped up to help with capacity building, most foundations that fund the core civil rights mission have not yet recognized the nexus between technology and equal justice in the digital age. This is particularly troubling given that many right-wing foundations and organizations (e.g. Olin Foundation, Southeastern Legal Foundation, Federation of America Immigration Reform (FAIR), and the Christian Coalition) have aggressively pursued high-tech education and advocacy strategies. As should now be clear, equality and social justice are now inextricably intertwined with the ability of organizations to organize, advocate and build the civil rights voice online. Because of their control over resources, foundations funding social justice organizations have a unique role to play in building the technology capacity of civil rights organizations.
Improve Technology Culture In Foundation Community
Just as there is a dearth of technical knowledge/skills in the civil and human rights community, there is a lack of these skills in foundations that support social justice organizations. Foundation executives and program officers who understand the need to support technology capacity building should take a leadership role in convening Foundation Leadership Forums to help educate their colleagues not yet sold on the importance of funding such initiatives. These forums should focus on improving the technology culture within the foundation community as well as assisting foundations to develop the means necessary to review and differentiate between well-defined initiatives and those with little merit.
Support Technology Capacity Building Initiatives
Foundations must begin to view requests for capacity building favorably and to understand that often a program cannot be separated from the technolgy capacity. Moreover, foundations can help encourage the social justice community to move towards technology literacy and leadership by requiring grant applicants to include technology components in their proposals. Foundations should begin to require their grantees to have technology plans and if necessary, provide funds for that task. Foundations that fund groups to help nonprofits better utilize technology must take steps to direct the work of those grantees towards the civil rights community as well. The foundation community should consider establishing a special technology assistance initiative for civil rights organizations.
Fund Early Adapters
It can be very difficult to get organizations to embrace change. Some organizations have a natural aversion to change, perceiving it as scary, complicated or costly. Funders can do much to help civil rights organizations build capacity by funding "early adapters" who use technology for effective capacity building and by supporting well-defined aggregation initiatives. As these projects show promise, those institutions less anxious to adopt new technological advances will soon follow.
Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate
Foundations must work together on technology-related issues. One of the most important things that foundations can do is to forge better working relationships with each other and combine their resources to work across portfolios. Many national social justice organizations do very similar tasks, and therefore, have very similar approaches to fulfilling their missions and goals. Technology capacity building is a program area that is ideal for collaboration. While non-profits are sometimes hesitant to partner with one another, the encouragement and facilitation of such collaboration by the foundation community would contribute greatly to building the technology capacity of the civil rights community.
Demand Accessible And Inclusive Technology Utilization From Grantees
Foundations should use the "power of the purse" to require that all of their grantees deploy accessible and inclusive technology applications.
Specifically Fund Organizations Working To Bridge Digital Divide
Additional funding is required for those organizations taking a leadership role in accelerating the understanding, acceptance and use of information technology among under-served communities. National civil and human rights organiztions have a critical leadership role to play in demonstrating the importance of technology skills to their grassroots constituencies. Initiatives are needed that not only sponsor technology demonstrations in under-served communities, but also help low-income individuals find low-cost ways to access and begin utilizing computers.
Establish A Coalition-Wide Resident Scholar Program For Communications And Internet Policy
In order to increase the civil and human rights community's participation on communications and Internet policy debates, there is a critical need for substantive research on the nexus between civil rights and communications and Internet policy. While specific recommendations for various sectors are posted below, one overarching recommendation that should be considered by all is the creation of a Resident Scholar on Communications and Internet Policy for the civil rights community.
Communications and Internet Policy is a large, complex, and persistent policy area that requires time, care and focus. Freed from day-to-day obligations, and thus able to develop a big picture perspective, the Resident Scholar would be in an excellent position to facilitate the development of a comprehensive e-civil rights public policy agenda. By overseeing the commissioning of papers, the convening of conferences, and in general facilitating the translation between knowledge and action as it bears on communications and Internet policy issues the Resident Scholar would represent a long-term effort to ensure the civil rights community has the necessary research to participate fully in the policy debates that will shape the digital age.
A primary responsibility of the Resident Scholar would be to interact with academia and those engaged in applied policy work and help to bring those worlds together. The Resident Scholar would help to educate the civil rights community about existing research relevant to communications policy; and would provide academic researchers a clearer understanding of the research needs of the civil rights community in this area.
In short, the Resident Scholar would bridge the worlds of research and advocacy, helping policy advocates appreciate what the research community can provide and helping the research community understand how it can contribute to social problem-solving. The central aim of the Resident Scholar program would be to build capacity and a legacy of collaboration around communications and Internet policy. The work would be centered in the civil rights community and would reflect its concerns about social and economic justice.
The Resident Scholar should be placed at an organization that focuses on both advocacy and knowledge and public education, so as to be positioned to assist those who engage in advocacy to broaden their understanding; and to help those who pursue knowledge to target their efforts to advance social and economic justice.
To date, the civil rights community has played a very limited role in the debates about advanced communications technologies. Increasing the civil and human rights community's involvement in policy debates shaping the digital age will only occur with strong leadership and vision at the national level. LCCR's Executive Committee must add these issues to its agenda and establish a task force to spearhead this work. Those member organizations already engaged in this area should take leadership roles, such as co-chairing a task force overseeing a range of communications and Internet policy debates. Civil rights organizations should also explore adopting official resolutions outlining the organizations' interest in these issues as well as focusing on these issues at annual conferences.
Develop Communications And Internet Staff Positions
Civil rights organizations need to develop their programmatic capacity to increase awareness and understanding of important communications and Internet policies. New communications and Internet staff positions need to be established. These new staff should be charged with: promoting communications and Internet policy on the agenda of national civil rights organizations; demonstrating to the media that these issues are civil rights issues; and, assisting efforts in local communities to build diverse grassroots coalitions that will work to ensure that everyone is included in the debates over communications issues.
Create Communications And Internet Policy Education Campaigns
There is a real need for organizations representing under-served communities to participate at a much greater level in the discussions that will shape how these policies are implemented in communities across the nation. Civil rights organizations should develop educational outreach campaigns involving the civil rights community, policy makers, the media and lay public. The campaigns should include the creation and dissemination of materials on communications policies; a community outreach and coalition building component in several regions around the country; and, the development of an online resource center on the nexus between civil rights and communications and Internet policies.
Collaborate With Media Policy Groups
Civil rights groups need not enter the complex media and technology space alone. Just as there is a rich tradition and knowledge base in the civil and human rights community, there is a longstanding community of nonprofits and academics who have strived to keep media of all types open, diverse, affordable and accessible. Among those organizations are: Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, Media Access Project, Center for Media Education, and Consumers Union.
While the two communities have come together at historic moments to support the creation of public television or more recently, low power radio, more often they work on parallel tracks, separated by language, culture and priorities. Yet, they are remarkably united in their ultimate vision of a more equitable and diverse America and a more empowered and knowledgeable citizenry. In the twenty-first century, the divide between these two communities must be bridged.
Convene Communications And Internet Policy Leadership Forums
LCCR and its member organizations must continue to hold leadership forums for civil and human rights leaders to educate their constituents, high-tech leaders and those within the foundation community about the civil rights implications of communications and Internet policy debates. These forums will create opportunities for civil rights leaders and those within the foundation and business communities to discuss a wide variety of technology-related issues. Civil rights organizations should also explore emphasizing these issues at annual conferences.
It is in the high-tech industry's overarching interest to ensure that all segments of the population fully understand e-policy issues. The faster that civil and human rights organizations integrate technology policy into their missions, the faster their constituencies will begin integrating technology into their daily lives. Help is needed, however, in turning civil rights organizations into de facto "technology ambassadors," underscoring the critical need for the industry to accelerate the understanding, acceptance and use of information technology among under-served communities.
Convene Policy Forums With Civil Rights Leaders
To foster greater collaboration between business leaders and civil rights leaders, a structure for ongoing policy discussion and debate should be created. Through leadership forums convened by the business community, civil rights leaders can be provided the opportunity to share the technology-related challenges and barriers that they are facing. In turn, these forums would provide business leaders with a venue to express their policy priorities to the civil rights leadership.
For example, in November of 1997, IBM Corporate Community Relations, in partnership with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, convened a Technology Forum entitled, "Technology -- For Use by Us All." The Forum represented the beginning of an ongoing collaborative dialogue among different civil rights constituency groups about improving technological access for under-served communities. In April of 2000, America Online, Inc. convened a similar meeting with the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and more recently with leaders in the disability community.
These meetings presented both high-tech and civil rights leaders the opportunity to examine traditional civil rights issues through the lens of the digital age. For example, how is online voting impacted by the voting rights laws? How does a moratorium on Internet taxation affect the goals of social justice? What policies are necessary to assure media diversity and accessibility? Is the lack of minority workers in high-tech careers a simple failure of leadership and outreach among technology companies or is something more at play? The business community should continue to support these Forums.
Take A Leadership Role In Promoting Diversity In The Workplace
All corporations should develop and implement standards that are not merely inspirational but that substantively address the need for a workplace that is free of discrimination and reflects the diversity of the country. The technology business community should be a leader in promoting diversity within its work place by embracing equal opportunity through anti-discrimination policies and affirmative action. The civil and human rights community should be called on to share its expertise and experience in this area.
Foundations that care about civil and human rights in the digital age must play a critical role in elevating communications and Internet policy among their grantees and in mobilizing social justice organizations on these critical public policy issues.
Build The Civil Rights Community's Knowledge Base And Capacity For Communications And Internet Policy
There is a pressing need for more research and analysis on communications and Internet policy issues so that civil and human rights groups will have a firm analytical base on which to shape their priorities. Leadership is needed to help build a knowledge base within the civil rights community about the nexus between civil rights and communications and Internet policy. Academics need to be encouraged to examine the civil rights implications of high stakes Internet policy issues. In addition to original substantive policy research, there is a great need to translate research on civil rights and technology into materials that civil rights advocates can utilize in their advocacy efforts.
In addition, foundations must fund civil and human rights organizations' efforts to monitor and educate their constituencies on these matters. The survey indicates that scarce resources are a major barrier to policy participation. Civil and human rights groups cannot forego work on their "traditional agenda" to enter this new policy space. In order for the civil and human rights community to have an impact on communications and Internet policy, additional support is essential.
Collaborate With Media And Internet Programs
Because financial support is a key element in bridging the knowledge gap, it is important for funders to be fully informed about the issues across traditional program areas. Grantmakers who support civil rights, community building, civic engagement and media policy need to share knowledge and strategies and identify the synergies among program goals. The foundation community can play a special role in facilitating collaboration between civil rights and media policy communities. This collaboration should include educating about issues and priorities across constituencies, and working together on public policy issues of mutual interest. Those program officers within the foundation community who work with media policy groups need to interact more with program officers who fund social justice organizations. Program officers should consider developing jointly funded program initiatives and convening meetings that bring both communities together. The Ford Foundation and the Markle Foundation deserve special recognition for their understanding and efforts at crossfertilization between media policy and civil rights groups.
Include Communications And Internet Policy At Foundation Community Meetings Focusing On Civil Rights
Those foundation executives who understand the nexus between technology, social policy, and economic justice in the digital age should take a leadership role in educating their colleagues within the broader foundation community. This education should address both the needs of the social justice community in terms of technology capacity building and philanthropic policies around support for capacity building, technology and communications strategies, and general support. Leaders within the foundation community should consider holding briefings for foundation staff and boards, and developing a workshop for the next Council on Foundations meeting as part of the education process.
Support Communications And Internet Research Projects
As noted, there is a pressing need for more research and analysis on the nexus between civil rights and communications and Internet policy. Support is needed for academics and others to conduct original substantive policy research as well as projects that bring together and synthesize a wide-ranging body of existing academic research on these issues. Foundations should convene meetings with leading academics and advocates to help identify additional areas for investigation and communicate that need to concerned researchers.
Support Communications And Internet Demonstration Projects For Grassroots Constituencies
Given the complexity of some communications and Internet policies, there is a real need to help civil rights advocates at the grassroots level understand the implications of these policies. Efforts should be made to develop demonstration projects that show in user-friendly, easy-to-understand terms why communications and technology policies are fundamental civil rights issues.
Conclusion
What is clear from the survey results is that the civil and human rights community recognizes the importance of this moment; but a significant disconnect remains between understanding and action. The pursuit of equal opportunity and social justice and enhancement of civil rights cannot be severed from the realities of the digital age. It is still early in the digital age and there is still ample opportunity to help the civil rights community assume its rightful place at the table. But the time for investment, leadership and collaboration is now. If the civil and human rights community is to ensure a voice for the voiceless in the years ahead, if it is to help shape the emerging digital society, it must act now to build capacity and policy knowledge. In this fast paced century, those who hesitate may indeed risk being lost. That is a risk that must not be taken here.
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