Youngstown & Mahoning County
Community Technology Action Plan Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio: June 2017
Prepared as part of the Connected Community Engagement Program Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
The following organizations contributed their time and expertise as part of the Youngstown-Mahoning County Broadband Team:
The Western Reserve Port Authority The Oak Hill Collaborative Eastgate Regional Council of Governments ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation in Our Neighborhoods) Better Business Bureau of Mahoning Valley City of Youngstown Friends of the Mahoning River Intelligent Community Forum KO Consulting Mahoning County Educational Service Center Mahoning County Public Library Oak Hill MakerSpace OCCHA (Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana)
Rocky Ridge Neighborhood Association The Business Journal United Returning Citizens WFMJ TV WKBN TV Youngstown City School District Youngstown FreeNet Youngstown Vindicator Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...... 4 Project Background ...... 4 Current Community Technology Developments ...... 4 Project Focus Areas ...... 5 Assessment Summary ...... 5 Challenges ...... 6 Priority Projects...... 6 Digital Equity ...... 6 Connected Program Overview ...... 9 Why Access, Adoption, and Use? ...... 9 The Connected Community Engagement Program...... 10 Process ...... 11 Connected Certification ...... 11 Community Assessment ...... 12 Community-Wide Infrastructure ...... 13 Households ...... 24 Business and Economic Development ...... 35 K-12 Education ...... 41 Libraries and Community Organizations ...... 45 Talent/Workforce Development ...... 51 Challenges and Recommendations ...... 55 Current Projects ...... 55 Priority Projects...... 55 Challenges ...... 55 Recommendations ...... 56
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Executive Summary
Today, technology plays a pivotal role in how businesses operate, how institutions provide services, and where consumers choose to live, work, and play. The success of a community has become dependent on how broadly and deeply the community adopts technology resources, which includes access to reliable, high-speed networks, the digital literacy of residents, and the use of online resources locally for business, government, and growth, job creation, global competitiveness, The purpose of this document is to summarize the results of a community technology assessment for Youngstown-Mahoning County and to provide the next steps for addressing any deficiencies or opportunities for improving the local technology ecosystem in order to advance economic, social, and educational opportunities for families, businesses, and institutions in the community. This Community Technology Action Plan was developed following a comprehensive community assessment performed by the Youngstown-Mahoning County Broadband Team as part of Connected Community Engagement Program. Using the Connectedsm assessment toolkit, the community team was able to examine the access, adoption, and use of broadband and related technologies in the community. One key output from this process is the Connected Community Scorecard, which is used to summarize the results of the community broadband assessment and relative standing of communities participating in this process. Through the work of the Youngstown-Mahoning County Broadband Team and information reflected in this document, Youngstown-Mahoning County achieved a score of 60.03 points out of 100 for overall broadband and technology readiness. While the results indicate that the community has made tremendous strides and investments in technology, priority projects were identified to help catapult the community to a new level of technology access, adoption, and use. This plan is a blueprint for leveraging technology to improve quality of life and advanced community and economic development. Below are the detailed results and recommended strategies for Youngstown-Mahoning County. Project Background The Western Reserve Port Authority applied for a broadband assessment for Mahoning County, Ohio. The County has a population of 238,823 with roughly equal portions in urban, suburban, and rural communities. It is part of Appalachia where much of the basic infrastructure to support broadband internet does not exist. It has urban areas experiencing severe distress, with Youngstown being primary among them. The urban areas have infrastructure to support broadband, but lack adequate internet access. A survey conducted by the public library of Youngstown and Mahoning County found that 55% of users said they lacked broadband access at that the problem for Mahoning County remains two-fold socioeconomic factors that affect broadband access at home and lack of access to the necessary infrastructure to expand much needed broadband resources. In conjunction with core partners, Oak Hill Collaborative and Eastgate Regional Council of Governments as well as other collaborators, the goal is to acquire significant data on Internet use and preferences as a basis for further, informed action and to organize interested and necessary entities in support of a common purpose, one that cannot be accomplished without a cooperative use of community resources. Current Community Technology Developments As part of our overall effort to improve the access, adoption and use of broadband in Youngstown and across Mahoning County for our residents and businesses, a number of technology-related projects and strategies have been developed and are currently underway in the community: in seven after- school programs. Mahoning Cou -Fi hot spots to patrons. -time information on bus and paratransit arrivals. Development of various apps by students with YWCA, Oak Hill Collaborative, and others.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
-to-business software focus. America Makes and a plethora of companies and organizations that utilize 3D printing. Code Youngstown, a group that meets for coders to socialize and brainstorm applications. Project Focus Areas The Youngstown-Mahoning County Broadband Team chose to examine four areas including: Business and Economic Development, K-12 Education, Libraries, and Talent/Workforce Development. Assessment Summary The following table provides highlights from the community broadband and technology assessment conducted as part of this plan and detailed in the remainder of the document. Broadband and Technology Assessment Summary Community-Wide Infrastructure 97% Households with access to 25 Mbps Internet 36% Households with only one choice for fixed Internet service provider Areas of the community where service gaps persist: Newton, Weathershield, Poland, Jackson, Mesopotamia, Farmington, Greene, Gustavus, Kinsman, Johnston, and Hubbard Townships 34% Households with access to only one type of Internet connection 11 Residential fixed Internet service providers Households 68,308 Households without a fixed broadband connection 30.4% Households with Internet access dissatisfied with current service Groups struggling the most with home broadband adoption: 1) Households earning <$35k, 2) Adults w/High School Diploma or Less, 3) Adults Aged 18-34, 4) Households with school-age children, and 5) Residents of Youngstown 5.5 Average number of Internet-enabled devices in the home 64% Residents who digitally interact with local businesses at least weekly 30% Residents who regularly telework Business and Economic Development 89% Businesses with a fixed broadband connection 89.8% Businesses with a website 46.7% Businesses using or planning to use advanced technology applications 2/3rds Businesses using social media at least weekly 5 Organizations supporting economic development in the community K-12 Education 55.6% K-12 curriculum delivered with web-enabled technology 8 K-12 schools with connections of 500 Mbps or faster 1.33 Internet-enabled devices per student 1/2 Schools with a social media presence Libraries and Community Organizations 30% Adults without home Internet accessing the web at libraries 230 Internet-enabled public computers 4 Average number of tech. training programs offered at libraries 83% Libraries and organizations using or planning to implement more advanced technologies Talent/Workforce 48.9% Employers who feel employee tech. skills match business needs 84.6% Percent of businesses who require or encourage continuing education for employees 28.1% Percent of community employees with advanced technology skills 11 Community organizations offering STEM+C opportunities for youth ~ 5 ~
Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Challenges
The following table summarizes the broadband technology gaps and challenges in Youngstown-Mahoning County identified during the assessment.
Area Challenge
Broadband Competition Community-Wide Infrastructure High Speed Broadband Availability Platform Dependency Digital Literacy Households Frequency of Internet Use Home Broadband Adoption K-12 Education Electronic Content Delivery Libraries/Community Organizations Digital Literacy Training Support for Continuing Education Talent/Workforce STEM+C Activities for Youth
Priority Projects The following is a list of the recommended projects the community team aims to prioritize to ensure robust broadband and technology access, adoption, and use. Digital Equity Develop a Community-Based Technology Awareness Group Digital Equity - Promote Low-Cost Broadband Service Offerings for Vulnerable Populations Digital Equity Facilitate Digital Literacy Training in Partnership With Communication Organizations for Vulnerable Populations Digital Equity The data gathered during the Connected assessment allows an analysis of digital equity in the community. Digital equity is a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy. Digital equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services (National Digital Inclusion Alliance). Data gathered through this process can help determine which groups in the community may be struggling with technology access, adoption, and use and thus which groups need assistance to create a truly digitally equitable community. The table below contains a summary of ten different metrics that aim to identify which groups are struggling with technology and the intersection between the challenges related to accessing broadband infrastructure and actually adopting broadband in a meaningful way. Twenty different demographic groups are included in the table and are divided by income, educational attainment, age, employment status, households with children, and military households. These metrics are designed to provide a high-level summary of issues facing specific groups in the community, and each metric is discussed in greater detail throughout this plan. These metrics are also critical in generating solutions and/or interventions that will be targeted to the appropriate group to ensure success. The dimensions include: Access Households with dial-up, satellite, or mobile-only connections: These households may have service, but these are not ideal connections for a number of reasons include speed, data caps, latency, reliability, etc. Households reporting a connection speed less than 3 Mbps: These households subscribe to Internet service at speeds that limit the usefulness of that connection for those in the home. Households dissatisfied with the cost of service: These households subscribe to Internet service, but indicate they are dissatisfied with that service because of the cost. They desire to be connected, but the cost of service is likely a burden. ~ 6 ~
Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Adoption Home broadband adoption: This is the percent of households in each group that have subscribed to an Internet connection at home. Non-adopting households citing cost as primary barrier: These are households that do not have a home Internet connection that report not having one because service is too expensive. Devices in the home: This is the average number of Internet-enabled devices in the home. A lack of a device can prevent full online participation by all members of the household. Digital literacy: This is the average digital literacy score on a scale from 1-4 across 38 different hardware, software, and online applications, with 1 indicating the respondent has no experience and 4 indicating they have advanced technology skills. Digital literacy is key to using technology to improve quality of life. Use Daily Internet access: This is the percent of respondents reporting that they access the Internet multiple times per day. Internet use is a personal choice, but limited access and adoption can prevent more robust use of technology. Teleworking: This is the percent of respondents indicating they telework in any capacity for their job. Technology is used more and more on the job and teleworking can provide new opportunities for residents to participate in a digital economy. Section interaction: This is the average frequency at which residents in each group report digitally interacting with various sectors of the community on a scale of 1-7, with 1 indicating daily interaction and 7 indicating no digital interaction. This metric may be used to encourage organizations to increase efforts to promote their electronic resources. While all in the community struggle with some aspect of technology access, adoption, and use, some groups struggle more than others. Cells in the table are highlighted in red where the indicator for that particular group is negatively related to the community average. For example, home broadband adoption for households earning less than $35,000 is highlighted in red as home broadband adoption for this group is far below the average home broadband adoption rate for the community. Also included in the table, is a column indicating the percent of the community falling into each of the demographic groups. For example, 43.2% of households in the community earn less than $35,000 annually. This information is intended to provide even greater context for the technology issues facing each group. When implementing programs and projects that are designed to improve broadband and technology access, adoption, and use (such as those recommended at the end of this plan), the community should keep these groups in mind and examine the desired outcome of the project or program relative to the struggles faced by the various demographic groups.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Youngstown-Mahoning County Digital Equity Analysis Access Adoption Use Dial-Up, Dis- Less Home Cost as Devices Use Sector Group Population Satellite, satisfied Digital Tele Than 3 Broadband Barrier to in the Internet Inter- Estimate or Mobile With Literacy work Mbps Adoption Adoption Home Daily action Only Cost Community Average 5.1% 3.7% 71.9% 63.0% 45.9% 5.4 2.41 93% 30% 2.09 Youngstown 27.3% 6.2% 6.4% 68.6% 53.2% 40.3% 3.7 2.00 81% 25% 1.87 Mahoning County (excluding 72.7% 5.7% 2.8% 71.4% 65.9% 44.0% 6.0 2.53 97% 31% 2.16 Youngstown) Household Income $75K or Greater 24.6% 4.1% 0.0% 79.5% 82.7% 10.0% 8.0 2.84 99% 51% 2.43 Household Income $35K - $74K 32.2% 6.8% 5.4% 63.8% 65.7% 38.7% 5.7 2.50 95% 30% 2.35 Household Income <$35K 43.2% 4.7% 3.9% 85.4% 38.1% 54.9% 3.8 2.16 84% 21% 1.78 Non-Military 90.1% 5.4% 2.8% 76.7% 57.3% 51.1% 5.6 2.47 91% 30% 2.09 Active or Retired Military 9.9% 5.0% 4.9% 62.5% 64.2% 42.9% 5.1 2.29 95% 37% 2.24 No School-Age Children 81.2% 5.1% 3.7% 66.7% 62.6% 37.2% 4.6 2.26 89% 29% 1.80 School-Age Children 18.8% 6.0% 2.7% 86.2% 52.0% 61.0% 6.8 2.73 96% 37% 2.59 Other Employment Status 13.6% 10.0% 13.1% 79.2% 56.8% 31.8% 5.6 2.43 90% 17% 1.86 Retired 12.7% 6.5% 5.3% 39.3% 62.9% 39.1% 2.9 1.56 82% 0% 1.34 Employed (Full-Time, Part-Time, or 57.1% 3.6% 2.4% 74.3% 71.5% 48.1% 6.0 2.61 96% 42% 2.33 Self-Employed) Adults Age 18-34 25.0% 5.8% 2.5% 69.0% 61.7% 43.3% 6.6 2.82 97% 32% 2.11 Adults Age 35-49 22.6% 4.0% 4.1% 82.9% 65.1% 50.0% 6.5 2.76 95% 47% 2.62 Adults Age 50-64 28.8% 5.5% 3.4% 75.6% 72.8% 35.0% 4.9 2.33 95% 34% 2.10 Adults Age 65+ 23.6% 4.9% 7.4% 51.2% 69.4% 43.5% 3.3 1.63 82% 8% 1.45 High School Diploma or Less 48.7% 7.1% 14.5% 75.0% 50.0% 29.7% 4.3 1.99 81% 20% 1.39 Undergraduate Studies or Degree 43.3% 3.8% 1.9% 69.2% 68.5% 43.5% 5.6 2.45 93% 30% 2.01 Graduate Studies or Advanced 7.9% 3.9% 2.0% 68.6% 83.4% 40.0% 5.7 2.65 99% 40% 2.57 Degree
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Connected Program Overview
Despite the growing dependence on technology, the United States Census reports that 27% of Americans do not have a high-speed connection at home. Connected Nation's studies also indicate that 19.1 million children do not have broadband at home, and 6.1 million of those children live in low-income households. In 2014, Connected Nation also surveyed 4,206 businesses in 7 states. Based on these data, Connected Nation estimates that at least 1.5 million businesses (20%) in the United States do not use broadband technology today. In this environment, deploying broadband infrastructure, services, and applications, as well as supporting the universal adoption and meaningful use of broadband, are challenging but required to advance twenty-first century technologically empowered communities. From healthcare, agriculture, public safety, and tourism, to government, education, libraries, talent, and economic activity, every sector of a community requires the power of broadband and related applications to function at the highest capacity. One thing is clear, broadband and related technologies have transformed nearly every facet of society. While many of these technology changes can be discussed at a global scale, local community technology advancements depend on community leadership and action. A critical first step in advancing broadband technology is identifying and understanding local assets along with opportunities and barriers to technology advancement. This plan is a roadmap to advancing technology in the Youngstown-Mahoning County. Why Access, Adoption, and Use? Connected Nation is dedicated to improving lives through the expansion of broadband and technology access, adoption, and use. It is often asked why we look beyond infrastructure when addressing broadband issues when many other community broadband assessments and studies are focused on the wires in the ground and the technology to improve quality of life and community and economic development. Connected Nation, through its Connected program, recognizes that in order to fully participate in a digital economy, communities need to address not only the access to broadband (supply), but also the ways in which it is adopted and used (demand). Access Broadband access refers to the infrastructure that enables a high-speed Internet connection. Broadband is delivered to a user via several technology platforms including cable, digital subscriber line (DSL) through a phone line), fiber optics, fixed wireless, mobile wireless, and satellite. While these are currently the primary methods of delivery, new innovations and technologies are being developed that continue to improve the efficiency and speed of connectivity. Broadband availability is essential infrastructure for twenty-first century communities. Broadband empowers a community to access applications ranging from healthcare and education to business and government services. Unfortunately, many communities suffer from inequities of access on several fronts: between income levels; between urban and rural areas; between traditional business areas and nontraditional ones; and differing levels of service due to geography or infrastructure limitations. Adoption Broadband adoption is a different issue from broadband access. While acce connection to the Internet, broadband adoption is the choice made by a resident, business, or institution to embrace and use broadband and its related technologies. Broadband adoption cannot occur without having access to high-speed infrastructure; however, even with access to the Internet, broadband adoption may not follow. Several studies have shown that even with access to broadband, residents, businesses, and institutions may not adopt. Barriers to adoption can often include cost (of either a device used to connect or the cost of the connection itself), lack of relevance to the user, or lack of digital literacy (knowledge and skills associated with the use of digital hardware or software). Lack of broadband infrastructure availability is also cited as a barrier. The broadband adoption gap (the difference between the number of entities with access to broadband and the number of those same entities that use it), can increase or decrease depending on the demographics of a community. For example, low-income populations have lower adoption rates than those with higher incomes.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
This same disparity can be found between age cohorts, physical locations, employment status, educational levels, etc. However, regardless of socioeconomic status, demographic composition, or geographic location, every person should have the opportunity to participate in the digital economy. Use The access and adoption of broadband and Internet technologies leads to the use of that connection and applications to improve the quality of life of a community. Technology impacts every sector of our economy, and opportunities abound for residents, businesses, and institutions to leverage technology to make improvements in their day-to-day lives and operations. The well-being of a community involves the complex interaction of several sectors including healthcare, K-12 and higher education, public safety, government, libraries, residents, private-sector businesses, and others. These distinct, yet entwined, sectors (and their many individual parts and entities) contribute to that . As broadband and related technology have developed over time, applications pertinent to each of these sectors have been developed that allow them to function, provide services, generate revenue, and generally operate more efficiently, which impacts their contribution to the community. The use of broadband and technology is critical to the impact these sectors have on the overall quality of life in a community. While access, adoption, and use form a spectrum of sorts, (i.e. one cannot adopt broadband without having access to it, and one cannot use broadband without adopting it), all three components are equally important for every member of a community to fully realize a digitally inclusive and digitally connected community. The Connected program is designed, and this report is framed, to examine the access, adoption, and use of broadband and technology across every sector of a community. The Connected Community Engagement Program For more than a decade, Connected Nation has been assisting communities in the development of Community Technology Action Plans through various internal programs that have ultimately progressed into the Connected program. The Connected Community Engagement Program is a facilitated broadband and technology planning program designed to address the most pressing technology challenges facing communities today. Connected engages of technology access, adoption, and use. Connected offers communities the opportunity to measure the supply, demand, and use of technology in the community assessment provides insight into the local technology ecosystem, identifies gaps and opportunities, and economy. Connected communities benefit in many ways: Benchmarking and planning: Determine where the community stands in relation to similar places and national benchmarks. Inform a technology planning effort with unprecedented data on infrastructure, adoption, and use. Connected helps communities gather and analyze data on technology use across sectors, from agriculture to education and healthcare to public safety. Recognition: Leverage Connected certification status and plan as a recruitment tool for residents and industry. Communities need a competitive advantage they can promote in order to thrive. Network with other communities: Collaborate with other communities and partners share best practices, spread policy insights, disseminate solutions, gather information, and adapt to evolving opportunities. Create an empowered and informed community team: The Connected process educates, empowers, and unifies community leaders and cross-sectorial stakeholders to address broadband issues, develop a vision, and manage their action plan.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Process In order to determine the state of technology in Youngstown-Mahoning County, the community team participated in a 4-step community engagement process that consisted of: Community Team Creation Empowering a community team leader Connected Assessment Scorecard (local champion) and Total Weighted creation of a community Category Total Raw Points Weight team composed of a Points diverse group of local Community-Wide 50 (60 w/ middle 33.33% 33.33 residents from various Infrastructure mile) sectors of the economy including education, Households 120 33.33% 33.33 government, healthcare, 40 x # of Sectors Sectors 33.33% 33.33 the private sector, and Assessed libraries, among many Total Possible Points 250 (plus Sectors) 100% 100 others. Points Needed for Connected Certification 75 Technology Assessment The community team uses a series of instruments to gather community technology data. These instruments include a sophisticated set of surveys distributed throughout the community to gather hyperlocal data on the access, adoption, and use of broadband and technology that is not available anywhere else. The Connected assessment framework is broken into three categories: Community-Wide Infrastructure, Households, and Community Sectors. The assessment first examines community-wide infrastructure by gathering information from various sources, including the Federal Communications Commission, broadband providers, and others. This analysis provides
The assessment then examines the current access, adoption, and use of broadband and technology among h identify members of the community that have been excluded from fully participating in the digital economy. Accompanying the access, adoption, and use analysis of households is a similar analysis for a wide-variety of community sectors. This analysis allows a community to tailor its assessment to the sectors of that community that Organizations assessment is required of all participating communities, but communities can then choose additional sectors for assessment from among Agriculture, Business/Economic Development, Talent/Workforce, Government, Healthcare, Higher Education, K-12 Education, Public Safety, and Tourism. Each part of the assessment has a specific number of points available for the community to earn toward Connected certification. Each of the three portions of the assessment is equally important for a community. The table provides the total points available in each part of the assessment before weighting. Each sector assessment is worth 40 points. Following the tabulation of the total raw score and subsequent weighting, the community is provided its final Connected Assessment score. Action Planning and Project Prioritization This process entails the compilation of the results of the assessment, identification of best practices, and priority technology projects by the community team in collaboration with Connected Nation facilitators. Completion of the Community Technology Action Plan marks ing its broadband landscape. Connected Certification Beyond the development of the Community Technology Action Plan, Connected certification recognizes that a community has measurably demonstrated proficiency for effective access, adoption, and use of broadband and broadband supported technologies. This national platform recognizes communities that are excelling in their pursuit of accelerated access, adoption, and use of broadband. While an exciting accomplishment for any community, it is critical to stress that Connected certification is not the end of the Connected program. In fact, Connected certification, while recognizing work completed to date, marks the launch of the Community
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Technology Action Plan. Maintaining community collaboration and progress during plan implementation is a difficult task, but one that will result in an improved standing in the digital economy. Additionally, Connected certified communities, and all communities engaged in the Connected program, are part of a nationwide network of stakeholders all working toward the same goal: improved broadband access, adoption, and use. While every community is different, many share common issues, and Connected works to identify the best practices for solving these issues and shares them with this network. Together, we can work to bring affordable, reliable, and high-capacity infrastructure to underserved areas; promote adoption via skills training and education; and facilitate the advanced use of technology among all sectors to create more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous communities. Community Assessment
The following sections provide detailed findings from the Connected Assessment for Youngstown-Mahoning County. Following the development of a broadband team, the community worked to gather data in three critical areas. The Community-Wide Infrastructure section checks to see whether the broadband and technology foundation exists for a community. The criteria within this section endeavors to identify gaps that could affect a local community broadband ecosystem including issues related to last-mile connections, cost, and competition. Household access, adoption, and use are important for consumers, institutions, and communities alike to take the next step in fully utilizing broadband appropriately. The Households component of the Connected Assessment seeks to ensure the ability of all individuals to access and use broadband and to recognize the value of a connection and its impact on quality of life. Robust use of technology among the intertwined Sectors of a community is a critical component of the broadband landscape because it is where the value of broadband can finally be realized. However, without
Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Connected Community Scorecard
Possible Raw Weighted Category Weight Points Score Score Community-Wide Infrastructure 50 26 33.33% 17.33 Households 120 60 33.33% 16.66 Sectors 160 125 33.33% 26.04 Business/Economic Development 40 30 K-12 Education 40 33
Libraries and Community Organizations 40 33 Talent/Workforce Development 40 29 60.03/100 supporting infrastructure and households that can afford, adopt, and use broadband, meaningful use of technology among various sectors is not possible. Meaningful use of broadband occurs when value to individuals, businesses, organizations, and institutions can be realized across the many sectors of a community. Each section incorporates a series of metrics upon which the community is scored in order to quickly identify gaps and leverage opportunities. The table below contains Youngstown-Mahoning County Assessment scorecard. The following pages dive into each of the underlying metrics for these sections to strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Community-Wide Infrastructure Broadband access refers to the infrastructure that enables a high- speed Internet connection. Broadband Community-Wide is delivered to a user via several technology platforms including cable, Infrastructure Highlights digital subscriber line (DSL) through a phone line, fiber optics, fixed wireless, Households with access to mobile wireless, and satellite. While 97% 25 Mbps Internet these are currently the primary methods of delivery, new innovations Households with only one and technologies are being developed choice for fixed Internet that continue to improve the efficiency 36% and speed of connectivity. service provider Broadband availability is essential Newton, Weathershield, Poland, infrastructure for twenty-first century Jackson, Mesopotamia, Areas of the community communities. Broadband empowers a Farmington, Greene, Gustavus, Kinsman, Johnston, and Hubbard where service gaps persist community to access applications Townships ranging from healthcare and education to business and government services. Households with access to Unfortunately, many communities only one type of Internet suffer from inequities of access on 34% connection several fronts: between income levels; between urban and rural areas; Fixed residential Internet between traditional business areas and nontraditional ones; and differing 11 service providers levels of service due to geography or infrastructure limitations. Access to broadband is not simply a yes/no scenario. There are several aspects of broadband infrastructure that comprise the quality of the network in a community. For this reason, the Community-Wide Infrastructure section is composed of six interrelated metrics that examine the quantity and quality of broadband in a community. These six areas are residential broadband availability, high-speed availability, competition, platform dependency, mobile broadband, and middle mile.
Community-Wide Infrastructure Assessment Score Summary Community Possible Metric Points Points Basic Availability 10 10 High Speed Availability 2 10 Competition 2 10 Platform Dependency 2 10 Mobile Broadband 10 10 Total 26 50
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Basic Availability A high-speed Internet connection is critical for families, students, businesses, and institutions to participate in the digital economy. Without broadband access, conversations of technology adoption and use are fruitless. connection of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 megabits per second (Mbps) upload. While broadband connections do exist at speeds slower than this benchmark, 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload represents the current aspirational goal for connecting every home in the United States. Residential broadband availability is measured by analyzing the percentage of homes in the community that have access to fixed broadband speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. In 2015, the Youngstown-Mahoning County area had 184,618 households. As of June 2016, approximately 97.7% have access to broadband at the target speed. Broadband availability often follows patterns of household density, so geographic disparities in availability do exist. The map of Residential Broadband Availability, provided, shows areas with and without broadband service at this speed (white areas are those without such service). Seven providers on nine technology platforms in the community offer speeds that match this benchmark: Charter- Spectrum (previously Time Warner Cable), FairPoint Communications, CenturyLink, Windstream, Comcast, Armstrong Cable Services, and Suddenlink Communications, (a full list of carriers in the community can be found in the Competition section).
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
High-Speed Availability While the Internet connection speed of 25 Mbps download and 3 broadband connection was 768 Kilobits per second download and 200 Kilobits per second upload. Four years later, in 2013, the FCC revised its definition again to 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. This moving target will continue upward as residents, businesses, and institutions continue to demand more of their Internet connections and new bandwidth-intensive applications are developed. Trying to future-proof the definition of broadband is impossible, but by examining the availability of higher connection speeds, areas in need of intervention can be identified early. High-speed broadband availability is measured by analyzing the percentage of homes in the community that have access to fixed broadband speeds of at least 100 Mbps download. In 2015, the Youngstown-Mahoning County area had 184,618 households. As of June 2016, approximately 37.3% had access to broadband of at least 100 Mbps download. The map of High Speed Broadband Availability provided shows areas with and without broadband service at this speed (areas in white are those without such service). Five providers on six technology platforms can offer Internet service that can reach 100 Mbps download: CenturyLink, Windstream, Comcast, Armstrong Cable Services, and Suddenlink Communications, but availability is found mostly outside the central urbanized area.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Competition In the majority of communities, broadband service is a private-sector industry. Internet connectivity can be delivered via several technology platforms including cable, DSL, fixed wireless, mobile wireless, fiber, and satellite. Companies offering service via these platforms often compete with each other in areas with high household density, but that competition can wane as household density decreases in rural areas. Because broadband service typically responds to market forces, competition impacts the cost of broadband service. Therefore, in theory, the more ISPs available to a consumer the lower the cost of service is. More information on broadband cost can be found in the Adoption/Affordability section of this plan. Broadband competition is measured by analyzing the percentage of homes in the community that have access to two or more fixed, terrestrial broadband providers with service of at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload (non-mobile and non-satellite). In 2015, the Youngstown-Mahoning County are had 184,618 households. As of June 2016, approximately 36.0% had access to an Internet connection from two or more providers. ompetition between broadband services enables consumer alternatives, helps to lower costs, improves services, and induces broadband providers to upgrade their networks. By encouraging competition in communities, communities will benefit directly through the expanded services and competitive immediate past chair of the Federal Communications Commission. The map of Broadband Competition provided shows areas with and without access to multiple carriers (areas in white are those without access to two or more providers). Youngstown- Mahoning County is served by eleven fixed technology carriers that provide service to residents and four mobile wireless companies. The list of carriers, their technology platform, and maximum advertised download speed is included on the next page. Some carriers offer more than one technology type.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Youngstown-Mahoning County Broadband Providers
Youngstown-Mahoning County Broadband Providers Maximum Advertised Provider Name Platform Download Speed (Mbps) Armstrong Cable Services Cable 200 Comcast Cable 150 FairPoint Communications Cable 50 Suddenlink Communications Cable 1000 Charter Spectrum (Time Warner Cable) Cable 50 AT&T Ohio DSL 24 CenturyLink DSL 80 FairPoint Communications DSL 20 Frontier North, Inc. DSL 6 Windstream Western Reserve, Inc. DSL 100 Armstrong Cable Services Fiber 400 CenturyLink Fiber 100 AT&T Mobility LLC Mobile 10 Sprint Mobile 15 T-Mobile Mobile 10 Verizon Wireless Mobile 10 RAA Services Fixed Wireless 20 Watch Communications Fixed Wireless 5
Platform Dependency The Broadband Competition metric examines how many households have access to two or more ISPs, while the Platform Dependency metric looks at how many households have access to two or more technology types to which they can subscribe. It is important to ensure that households not only have access to multiple ISPs, but also have access to different technology types to meet their needs. Technology choice allows greater flexibility for households looking to find the right company, but also the right speed and connection reliability that meets their needs. Broadband platform (or type) dependency is measured by analyzing the percentage of homes in the community that have access to two or more fixed broadband technology types with service of at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. In 2015, Youngstown-Mahoning County had 184,618 households. As of June 2016, approximately 34.4% had access to an Internet connection from two or more technology platform types. The map of Platform Dependency provided shows areas with and without access to multiple technologies (areas in white are those without access to two or more technologies). The examination of broadband technology platform dependency is similar to that of the analysis of broadband provider competition. Technology platforms included in this analysis include cable, DSL, fixed wireless, and fiber optic (all of which are fixed, terrestrial platforms). Differing technology platforms offer different features and speeds that appeal to the various needs of households. Youngstown-Mahoning County has five cable providers, five DSL providers, two fiber providers, and two fixed wireless providers that offer residential service. Often times, DSL and cable service areas do not overlap others of the same time, but do overlap one another. Fixed wireless service is often found in more rural areas where the deployment of wired options is cost prohibitive, but does overlap wired coverage in some areas.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Mobile Broadband Mobile broadband is the technology that connects mobile, or cellular, phones to the Internet. Mobile technology is designed to operate seamlessly as one moves about either in a car or otherwise. Mobile broadband is not considered in any of the previous Access metrics as those metrics are concerned with stationary broadband connections for homes, while mobile is just that-mobile, flexible, and dynamic. For this reason, mobile broadband availability is measured not by percent of households with availability, but by geographic area of the community. There are several factors that can impact the quality and availability of a mobile broadband signal including terrain, elevation, vegetation, man-made structures, weather, and large bodies of water. While some of these features have been considered when mapping and analyzing mobile access, local conditions in the community can greatly impact on-the-ground results. Mobile broadband is critical for not only consumers, but for public safety as well. Mobile broadband is becoming increasingly important to local economies, government services, public safety and utility organizations, as well as local residents. Robust mobile broadband service is key to the development of infrastructural upgrades, such as smart grid and other utility efficiencies, unlocks unlimited opportunities for business development, and provides support for educational, healthcare, and government services. Mobile broadband availability is measured by examining the percent of geographic area of the community with access to mobile broadband from at least two mobile providers at speeds of at least 10 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload. The Youngstown- Mahoning County area has a total land area of 1,062 square miles. As of June 2015, approximately 99.8% of this land area had access to two or more mobile broadband providers at 10 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload. Youngstown-Mahoning County has four mobile broadband providers that serve at least some area of the community. The map of Mobile Broadband provided shows areas with and without access to mobile broadband, (areas in white are those without access to such services). Data for this metric is from June 2015 as more current information is unavailable from the Federal Communications Commission or other source.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Middle Mile The ter communities as it provides the necessary data transport from local users to the broader Internet. Middle mile infrastructure is typically made up of fiber optic cable, although microwave technology can also be used to support middle mile connectivity. A lack of middle mile infrastructure in a community can impact the availability and cost of last mile connections to residents, businesses, and institutions. The following maps provide a glimpse into the long-haul and metro fiber-optic infrastructure in the Youngstown-Mahoning County area.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Households While the Community-Wide Infrastructure section examines broadband access Households Highlights available to residents, businesses, and institutions throughout the community, Households without a fixed the Households section examines the ways in which a 68,308 broadband connection access, adopt, and use broadband and related technology in their everyday lives. Households with Internet access dissatisfied with While infrastructure information is 30.4% available and consistent from one current service community to the next, the detailed Adults aged 18-34 assessment of household access, Adults w/ High School adoption, and use is not. In order to Diploma or Less gather this information, the Youngstown- Groups struggling with Households Earning Less Mahoning County Broadband Team than $35k digital equity in the deployed the Connected Residential community Technology Survey throughout the Households w/school-age community. The survey is designed to children gather detailed information on the Residents of Youngstown access, adoption, and use of broadband Average number of and technology among residents of the community. The survey, distributed Internet-enabled devices in between February and April of 2017, 5.5 the home gathered 701 responses. Residents who digitally The Households section of the Connected assessment examines several areas in interact with local order to form a comprehensive view of 64% businesses at least weekly the technology access, adoption, and use among residents. While each metric has a Residents who regularly single identifying variable for scoring, the following pages provide deep insight into 30% telework each metric to help identify underlying issues that can be remedied through strategic project implementation. The following areas related to broadband adoption are measured and reported: home adoption, affordability, digital literacy, digital interaction, frequency of Internet use, and frequency of telework.
Household Assessment Score Summary
Community Possible Metric Points Points Home Broadband Adoption 4 10 Affordability 8 10 Digital Literacy 6 30 Digital Interaction 30 50 Frequency of Internet Use 4 10 Frequency of Telework 8 10 Total 60 120
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Household Access Household Connections by Speed and Platform Download Speed The metrics contained in the Community-Wide Infrastructure section examine the broad availability Dial-Up of broadband in the community across several 50 to 100 100 Mbps 0.7% aspects. However, just because broadband is available Mbps or More 17.0% at certain speeds, does not mean that households and 29.7% residents are adopting or subscribing to Internet Less than service at the maximum speed available. The chart 3 Mbps 3.7% shows the distribution of connection speeds as 3 to 10 reported by households in the community. Mbps 25 to 50 15.0% The average reported download speed among Mbps 10 to 25 surveyed residents who are aware of their connection 16.7% Mbps speed is 89.4 Mbps. This is higher than the FCC 17.2%
Community-Wide Infrastructure section. This is likely to the many responding households indicating they connect to a cable network. Additionally, 46.7% of residents report subscribing to speeds faster than 50 Mbps. However, 29% of households are unsure of the speed at which they connect. While the reported average connection speed is high, there are many households that have slower connections. Just under one-fifth of households (18.7%) subscribe to speeds less than 10 Mbps. Household Connections by Type Some households (4.1%) report using a satellite connection or a mobile or cellular service for their Internet connection. Dial-Up 1.2% Satisfaction Cable Other or 65.5% Unsure Competition provides residents and businesses with 3.8% choices for service, allowing them the ability to switch Fiber providers if their current service does not meet their Fixed 0.7% needs. According to the Residential Survey, 30.4% of Wireless households with a broadband connection state that 10.2% their current Internet service does not meet their needs. Among residents who state that their Satellite DSL connection does not meet their needs, 57% state that 2.4% the speed is too slow, 42% report the connection is 14.5% unreliable, 75% report the cost is too high, 20% have Mobile only issues with data limits, and 17% state that poor 1.7% customer service is the reason for dissatisfaction, (respondents could choose more than one reason for their dissatisfaction). Additionally, many households are interested in having additional Internet service choices at their location. More than four-fifths (84%) of responding households indicate that they are interested in having improved or additional Internet service options. Household Adoption The adoption of home Internet service is the single most critical step for families to experience the benefits of being connected to the digital economy. Adoption represents the choice families make to be connected or not. There are several factors that influence broadband adoption. Sometimes these factors are internal and influenced by behavior patterns and knowledge (e.g., digital literacy skill, awareness of benefits, etc.); other times these factors are external and the adopter has little or no control over them (e.g., cost and infrastructure availability). Adoption often follows broadband availability, but not always. With more and more services being conducted in an online environment and an increased desire to digitally communicate, those without a home
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broadband connection most often seek connections elsewhere, breaking the access-first-adoption-second Fixed Broadband Adoption by pattern. Demographic Home Broadband Adoption looks at the percent of the All Residents 63% 37% Internet service. In 2015, Youngstown-Mahoning Graduate Studies or Advanced 83% 17% County had 184,618 households. According to the Degree Residential Technology Survey, 63% of households in Undergraduate Studies or 69% 31% the community subscribed to Internet service with a Degree fixed broadband connection at home, (households High School Diploma or Less 50% 50% indicating Internet connections via dial-up, satellite, or mobile-wireless only are not included in this Age 65+ 69% 31% calculation). For comparison, the United States American Community Survey estimates that 72% of Age 50-64 73% 27% households across the country subscribe to the Age 35-49 65% 35% internet with a fixed broadband connection. Across Ohio, this figure is slightly lower at 70.9% of Age 18-34 62% 38% households. Adoption in the Youngstown-Mahoning Employed (Full-Time, Part- County is lower than the national average, as well as Time, or Self-Employed) 71% 29% that of Ohio. This is likely due to a number of issues (including a lack of infrastructure access) that will be Retired 63% 37% analyzed in the following pages. Other Employment Status 57% 43% While this data point provides a macro-level look at School-Age Children 52% 48% adoption in the community, additional survey questions allow for a deeper analysis of adoption in No School-Age Children 63% 37% order to find the demographic or socioeconomic groups struggling with digital inclusion. Active or Retired Military 64% 36%
Digital Divide Non-Military 57% 43% The chart below provides insight into Home Household Income <$35K 38% 62% Broadband Adoption for various demographic groups Household Income $35K - $74K 66% 34% in the community. From this data, the following observations can be made regarding those on the Household Income $75K or Greater 83% 17% wrong side of the digital divide in Youngstown- Mahoning County (excluding Mahoning County: Youngstown) 69% 31% Households earning less than $35,000, annually, Youngstown 56% 44% are significantly less likely to adopt an Internet connection at home compared to households 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% earning more. This is consistent with national and state trends. Broadband No Broadband Adults with a high school diploma or less are also less likely to adopt broadband at home. Adults aged 18 to 34 are slightly less likely to have a home broadband connection than other age groups. Households with school-age children are less likely to adopt a fixed broadband connection. Residents of the City of Youngstown are less likely to have a fixed broadband connection than those living in Mahoning County, but outside the city limit.
Barriers to Adoption Once the broadband adoption rates for various socioeconomic and demographic groups have been identified, the next important step is to examine the barriers to broadband adoption among them. This analysis examines groups of current non-adopters and the barriers they face: 1) households earning less than $35,000 annually; 2) adults aged 18 to 34; 3) adults with a high school diploma or less, and 4) households with school-aged children, and households within the City of Youngstown. The table shows the percent of households in each group that indicated their primary barrier to having a home Internet connection.
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Barriers to Broadband Adoption Among Various Groups
Households Adults With a All Adults Households Earning High School Residents of Barrier to Adoption House- Aged 18 With K-12 Less Than Diploma or Youngstown holds to 34 Children $35K Less Not Available 11% 5% 13% 8% 8% 6% Too Expensive 49% 55% 43% 61% 30% 43% No Computer 15% 18% 23% 6% 30% 24% Access the Internet Elsewhere 10% 12% 7% 9% 8% 11% Dissatisfied with Current Options 6% - 7% 12% 5% - Do Not Need the Internet 6% 7% 7% - 19% 12% Other 3% 4% - 4% - 4%
Across Youngstown-Mahoning County, the primary barrier preventing home broadband Reported Monthly Price Paid for adoption is cost of service. Among all Residential Broadband Service households without a home Internet connection, 49% cite cost as the primary $25.00 - barrier. This is also reflected among all groups $24.99 or $49.99 featured in the table. Less 41.3% The second most common barrier to adoption is 5.1% a lack of a computer. Among all households, 15% cite a lack of a computer as the primary barrier. Some groups cite this more than others $100 or include households in the City of Youngstown, More adults with a high school diploma or less, and 7.5% adults aged 18 to 34. $75.00 - $50.00 - $99.99 Some non-adopting respondents indicate that $74.99 9.3% 36.8% they have no need for the internet and therefore do not have a home connection. Among all households, 6% state this as the primary barrier, but among adults with a high school diploma or less and residents of Youngstown, this barrier rises to 19% and 12% of Average Internet Service Cost by respondents, respectively. By comparison, Download Speed Tier among all non-adopting households to respond to the Residential Technology Survey across the 34 communities in five states to participate in $85.08 100 Mbps or Faster $120.62 the Connected Community Engagement $116.83 program, only 1.9% state that they do not need $44.99 the internet. 50 to 100 Mbps $95.19 $86.46 Finally, while a lack of infrastructure availability $47.49 is a barrier to adoption for some households, it 25 to 50 Mbps $72.61 is far less an issue than cost or lack of a $74.67 $41.23 computer. 10 to 25 Mbps $56.65 $59.10 Affordability $31.65 3 to 10 Mbps $42.13 The Affordability metric examines one of the $44.70 primary barriers to broadband and technology No Data Available Less than 3 Mbps $15.68 adoption. The cost of having an Internet $28.92 connection c*an stem from several sources, including the monthly cost of service, $0 $25 $50 $75 $100 $125 installation and equipment costs in order to Youngstown-Mahoning Ohio US
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obtain service, and the cost of an Internet-enabled device (e.g., computer, tablet, smart phone, etc.). These costs can be a burden for families with lower incomes and thus the choice to connect is controlled by the external cost of service for these households. This disconnection can leave families on the wrong side of the digital divide. The affordability metric compares the average cost of residential Internet service in the community to the average cost in the state and nation as a whole. In 2016, the national average monthly subscription cost for Internet service was $67.12. Across Ohio, the average price is $56.52 per month. In Youngstown-Mahoning County, this cost was $57.31, approximately 85% of the national average. Subscription price information was gathered from seven residential providers that offer a total of 24 subscription packages and the national and state averages are from data gathered by the FCC. As shown, the cost of Internet service in Youngstown-Mahoning County is lower than state and national averages. It should be noted that no price information could be found for carriers offering service less than 3 Mbps. While the costs of Internet service are generally less than the national average, cost is still a significant barrier to the adoption of technology by many in the community. Of the current non-adopting households in the community, half (49%) cite the price of service as the primary barrier to subscribing at home. Additionally, most residents (83.2%) report paying less than $75 per month for Internet service.
Digital Literacy
the American Library Association succinctly describes the goals of measuring and improving the digital literacy in a community. Technology skills are critical for competing in the global, digital economy. The digital literacy metric examines three areas of technology skills: those associated with hardware, software, and online activity and communications. The Digital Literacy metric is examined in the Household Adoption section, (instead of the Household Use section) because, for some, a lack of digital skills can be a barrier to adopting a home broadband connection. Respondents to the Residential Technology Survey were asked to assess their own technology skills among several devices, applications, and activities within each of the three digital literacy areas on the following scale: 1 = No Experience ("I need to learn.") 2 3 4 N/I = Not Inter Among all residents in the community, the average score for Hardware Digital Literacy was 2.42, the average score for Software was 2.24 and for Online Activity, 2.41. The charts explores the average overall digital literacy skill for each of the hardware, software, and online activities, as well as the average digital literacy by demographic. Below are a few notes of interest regarding digital literacy in the community: More than 43.5% of residents stated th online. Knowledge of cybersecurity drops significantly with age. Overall, residents are quite comfortable with the three basic types of computers (i.e., desktop, laptop, and tablet), with an average skill rating of 2.85 across all three devices. Knowledge of both smart mobile phones and analog mobile phones tends to decline with age. Residents are significantly more comfortable with Facebook than they are with Twitter or other social media platforms, (avg. rating of 2.8, 1.7, and 2.4, respectively). Even though a large portion of residents are not proficient with cybersecurity, they are proficient with conducting online banking and bill payment, an activity typically fraught with opportunities for identity exposure or fraud. More than two-thirds (65.3%) of residents say they are comfortable with e-banking or could teach it to others.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Average Reported Digital Average Reported Digital Literacy by Demographic Literacy by Application or Device
Average 2.41 Browsing the Internet E-Mail Graduate Studies or Advanced Mouse/Keyboard Degree 2.65 Text Messaging Undergraduate Studies or Desktop Computers Degree 2.45 Internet Browsers
High School Diploma or Less 1.99 Touchscreens
Laptop Computers
Adults Age 65+ 1.63 Smartphones
Online Research
Adults Age 50-64 2.33 Facebook
Word Processing
Adults Age 35-49 2.76 Tablet Computers
Printers
Adults Age 18-34 2.82 Operating Systems
Employed (Full-Time, Part- Time, or Self-Employed) 2.61 Mobile Apps
Music Listening Apps Retired 1.56 Other Social Media
Average Other Employment Status 2.43 Spreadsheets
Video Apps School-Age Children 2.73 Online Job Searches
Presentation Software No School-Age Children 2.26 External Storage Devices
Buying and Selling Active or Retired Military 2.29 Internet TV Devices
Cybersecurity Non-Military 2.47 VoIP
Analog Mobile Phones Household Income <$35K 2.16 Taking Online Classes
Household Income $35K - $74K 2.50 Wearable Tech
Household Income $75K or Game Consoles 2.84 Greater
Mahoning County (excluding Youngstown) 2.53
Offline Gaming
Skill
Online Gaming
Youngstown 2.00
Basic Advanced Skill 3D Modeling Intermediate Skill 0 1 2 3 4
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Average Number of Internet- Devices in the Home Connected Devices In the early days of the Internet, a desktop in the Home computer was the primary, and virtually the only, way of connecting to the Internet. All Households 5.5 However, with the rise of Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, Bluetooth, and many other Graduate Studies or Advanced 5.7 revolutionary technologies, residents have Degree several ways in which they can access the Internet. However, as seen in the barriers to Undergraduate Studies or Degree 5.6 broadband adoption chart, lack of an Internet-enabled device is sometimes cited as a barrier to home broadband adoption. High School Diploma or Less 4.3 The Residential Survey asks residents to report the total number of Internet-enabled Age 65+ 3.3 devices they have in the home.
Households earning less than $35,000 Age 50-64 4.9 annually, typically have fewer Internet connected devices than those earning more. Adults aged 18-49 report the highest Age 35-49 6.5 number of devices in the home by age. Additionally, households with school-aged Age 18-34 6.6 children tend to have more devices that households without K-12 aged children. Employed (Full-Time, Part-Time, 6.0 or Self-Employed)
Retired 2.9
Other Employment Status 5.6
School-Age Children 6.8
No School-Age Children 4.6
Active or Retired Military 5.1
Non-Military 5.6
Household Income <$35K 3.8
Household Income $35K - $74K 5.7
Household Income $75K or 8.0 Greater
Mahoning County (excluding 6.3 Youngstown)
Youngstown 3.7
0 2 4 6 8
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Household Use Population Accessing the Internet Households with access to the Internet that Several Times per Day go on to then adopt a high-speed by Demographic connection, are ready to then use and leverage that connection to improve their All Residents 93% quality of life in any way they see fit. From teleworking or operating a small business Without Fixed Broadband at 82% from home, to accessing e-government Home services and accessing educational opportunities, there are a myriad of ways in With Fixed Broadband at Home 98% which residents can use their Internet connections to enrich their lives. The Graduate Studies or Advanced 99% following examines a few of those ways to Degree provide insight into how Youngstown- Mahoning County residents are leveraging Undergraduate Studies or Degree 93% their connections. High School Diploma or Less 81% Frequency of Internet Use The Internet has moved from an occasional Age 65+ 82% tool to one of the principal ways we communicate, perform research, work, or Age 50-64 95% participate in leisure activities. Measuring the frequency of Internet use among Age 35-49 95% community residents allows a glimpse into the importance of the Internet in their lives. More importantly, this analysis can identify Age 18-34 97% the common traits among those who use Employed (Full-Time, Part-Time, the Internet less frequently and develop 96% solutions for including them in the digital or Self-Employed) ecosystem. Retired 82% The Frequency of Internet Use metric is calculated by finding the average Other Employment Status 90% frequency with which survey respondents state they access the Internet. For Youngstown-Mahoning County the School-Age Children 96% majority of residents access the Internet either constantly throughout the day or at No School-Age Children 89% least several times each day. While it appears that the community as a Active or Retired Military 95% whole uses the Internet on a daily basis, further examination of certain groups Non-Military 91% within the community reveals disparities.
There is significant difference in the Household Income <$35K 84% frequency with which residents with and without a home broadband connection Household Income $35K - $74K 95% access the Internet. Those without a home Internet connection that state they access Household Income $75K or 99% Greater mobile device. Mahoning County (excluding 97% Those earning less than $35,000 annually Youngstown) tend to access the Internet less frequently. This is likely due to the lower overall Youngstown 81% broadband adoption rate among low income households. Additionally, residents 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% of the City of Youngstown are less likely to
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
access the internet several times each day than those living in the greater Mahoning County area. Frequency of Digital Interaction While frequency of Internet use is a personal choice, Between Residents and for those completely without or with restricted Community Sectors access to the Internet, those who cannot afford a connection, those without the skills to use the Travel and 7% 28% 39% 26% Internet, and those with limited awareness of the Tourism Industry opportunities afforded by the Internet, their opportunity to make such a personal choice is Public Safety 7% 16% 23% 55% severely limited. Organizations
Digital Interaction Libraries 7% 21% 26% 46% The Digital Interaction metric measures the frequency with which residents state they digitally interact with various sectors of the community. K-12 Schools 36% 28% 20% 16% Respondents of the Residential Technology Survey were asked to indicate the regularity with which Higher or they access online information from or interact Continuing 18% 18% 21% 43% electronically with the following sectors/entities: Education Agriculture, Community Organizations, Healthcare, Higher Education, K-12 Education, Libraries, Local Healthcare 10% 32% 35% 24% and Non-Local Businesses, Local, County, State, and Federal Government, Public Safety, and Tourism. While the Frequency of Internet Use metric looks at Community 19% 27% 29% 24% the overall use of the Internet by residents, this Organizations metric explores how residents are (or are not) digitally interacting with various community institutions. This information is helpful for guiding Agriculture 6% 11% 19% 63% and developing the digital strategy and online presence of these entities in the community. Non-Local 26% 31% 24% 19% The chart provides a summary of the frequency Businesses with which residents digitally interact with the various sectors of their community. Local Businesses 27% 37% 20% 15% Local government enjoys more frequent digital interaction than other levels of government with Federal 42% of residents reporting they interact with local 9% 18% 34% 38% Government government online at least weekly. Local businesses slightly more digital interaction from residents on a State weekly basis. The K-12 schools distribution includes 8% 20% 33% 39% only households with K-12 aged children. Nearly Government two-thirds (63%) of these households digitally County interact with K-12 schools at least weekly, and 36% 9% 21% 27% 42% do so daily. The agriculture sector has the lowest Government frequency of digital interaction with 63% of residents reporting that they never interact with Local 19% 23% 28% 30% this sector. Government
Telework 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Daily Weekly Teleworking, or telecommuting, refers to working Monthly Never outside of the conventional workplace and communicating with it by way of telecommunications or computer-based technology. Further, telework is a form of organizing and/or from those premises. Teleworking is a spatially flexible work style that typically also involves greater flexibility in
While traditional teleworkers are often thought of as those in management occupations or professional service
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industries, recently, technology has enabled new opportunities for teleworkers across the Teleworking by Demographic occupational and industry sector spectrum.
Teleworkers often do not register on typical All Residents 30% 48% 22% measures of economic or workforce activity. Traditional economic development strategies Graduate Studies or 40% 41% 19% typically involve the attraction or retention of Advanced Degree employers. While this is a critical part of growing a Undergraduate Studies or local economy, telework represents an opportunity 30% 51% 19% Degree to attract or retain employees even though their employer may not be located within the community High School Diploma or Less 20% 52% 28% itself, as long as those employees have access to advanced broadband infrastructure. Nationally, approximately 20-25% of the workforce teleworks Age 65+ 8% 33% 59% with some frequency. Age 50-64 The Frequency of Telework metric examines the 34% 55% 11% regularity with which residents in the community telework or telecommute. Respondents to the Age 35-49 47% 44% 9% currently telework or telecommute in any capacity Age 18-34 32% 56% 12%
Employed (Full-Time, Part- According to survey results, 30% of residents in the 42% 56% 2% Time, or Self-Employed) community are teleworkers, a rate slightly higher than the national average. Retired 25% 75% Approximately half (47%) of adults aged 35 to 49 report that they telework with some Other Employment Status 17% 38% 45% frequency. Among those with undergraduate studies or School-Age Children degrees, 30% telework, and 39% with a 37% 52% 11% graduate degree or graduate study report that they telework. Only 20% of those with a high No School-Age Children 29% 49% 22% school diploma or less report that they telework in some capacity. Active or Retired Military 37% 34% 29% Frequency of telework also follows a pattern of household income. Only 21% of households earning less than $35,000 annually report that Non-Military 30% 54% 16% they telework, compared to 51% of those with household incomes greater than $75,000. Household Income <$35K 21% 52% 26% More than half (63%) of teleworkers report Household Income $35K - teleworking at least several days per week. 30% 56% 15% Two-thirds (66%) of current teleworkers would $74K telework more frequently if allowed by their Household Income $75K or 51% 42% 8% employer. Greater Shared or co-working office spaces can be an Mahoning County (excluding 31% 49% 20% attractive use in city centers, small towns, and other Youngstown) similar environments. Oftentimes, teleworkers need to get out of their home office and socialize with Youngstown 25% 46% 29% other telecommuters or access office equipment too large or expensive for a home office (e.g., printers, 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% plotters, mailing machines, etc.). A shared office Telework Do Not Telework Not Employed space facility can provide these functions while bringing workers into a commercial setting to patronize restaurants or other service establishments.
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The vast majority (81%) of teleworkers work from a home office, while another 27% work from a restaurant or coffee shop, 18% from a shared or co-working office space, and 8% from the library, (respondents could choose more than one option). More than one-quarter (27%) of teleworkers who do not currently use a shared office space say they would if it were available (43% said they would not, and 11% were unsure). Additionally, there is a desire among non-teleworkers to take advantage of a telecommuting workstyle if allowed by their employer. Nearly two-thirds (60%) of non-teleworkers said they would telework if enabled as part of their job. Among those wishing to telework by age, 29% are aged 18 to 34 and 25% age 35 to 49. Examining the group of hopeful teleworkers by income, 38% currently earn less than $35,000 annually.
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Business and Economic Development Positive economic activity in a community depends on the success of its private sector business Business and Economic establishments to develop new and innovative products, provide Development Highlights services, attract investment, and create jobs. Small business Businesses with a fixed establishment and growth, 89% broadband connection entrepreneurship, and innovation are hallmarks of the American economic system, and Internet Businesses with a website connectivity, coupled with new 89.8% technology, devices, and applications, is perpetuating these Businesses using or planning ideals in new and exciting ways. 46.7% to use advanced technology The Business/Economic applications Development Section has seven metrics that measure the access, rds Businesses using social adoption, and use of broadband and media at least weekly related technologies in the 2/3 community among two groups: 1) Organizations supporting private-sector business economic development in establishments across all sectors 5 (except agriculture and healthcare), the community development organizations and associations. This structure ensures that technology use is not only promoted for use by businesses, but also among the organizations that work to attract, retain, and grow the economy of the community. Two surveys were distributed throughout the community to capture information for this section. The Business Technology Survey received responses from 65 businesses across Youngstown-Mahoning County. Five Economic Development related organizations were identified in the community and provided information for the survey: Eastgate, Friends of the Mahoning River, Oak Hill Collaborative, Youngstown Business Incubator, and Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber. The Business/Economic Development metrics among businesses include broadband adoption, website use, advanced application implementation, and digital communication. Among economic development support organizations, metrics include website analysis, website advanced features, and digital communication.
Business/Economic Development
Assessment Score Summary
Community Possible Use Area Points Points Business Broadband Adoption 3 5 Business Website Use 8 10 Advanced Applications 4 5 Business Digital Communication 3 5 Organization Website Analysis 4 5 Organization Advanced Website Use 4 5 Organization Digital Communication 4 5 Total 30 40
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Access Connection Speed Among Connections for Businesses Businesses Just as a home Internet connection is critical for residents, a broadband connection for businesses is equally Less than 500 3 Mbps, important. The charts provide insight into the speed, Mbps or 7.7% 3 to10 platform, and cost of broadband service among Business Faster, Mbps, Survey respondents. 100 to 15.4% 500 12.8% The majority of responding businesses (56.4%) indicate Mbps, they have an Internet download speed of more than 50 7.7% 10 to 25 Mbps. Approximately one-quarter of businesses (23.1%) Mbps, connect with a download speed of 100 Mbps or faster. 15.4% 50 to 100 Approximately 20% of businesses do not know their Mbps, connection speed. 25 to 50 33.3% Mbps, Most businesses connect to the web over a cable (46.9%) 7.7% or fiber network (20.4%). Additionally, a small number of businesses (4.1%) utilize a mobile broadband connection as their primary source of connectivity. Less than half (43.6%) of responding businesses pay less Connection Type Among than $100 per month for broadband service, and 23.1% indicate they pay more than $300. The cost of service is Businesses Fixed generally related to the subscribed to speed or technology Mobile Satellite, Wireless, type for the business, but some businesses pay more for the Only, 2.0% 6.1% same level of service than others. 2.0% Additionally, 24.5% of responding businesses indicate that Unsure, they offer free Wi-Fi connectivity to the public at their 4.1% location. T1, 6.1% Other, 0.0% Cable, Connections for Economic Development 46.9% Organizations Fiber, Organizations that support economic development, and 20.4% similar activities in a community, need to be connected to the Internet in order to comprehensively promote the DSL, 12.2% selectors, visitors, and others. The table on the next page provides the speed, platform, and cost of service for each of the responding economic development organizations in the community. Connection Cost Among Businesses Adoption $25 to $300 or $50, Business Broadband Adoption more per 12.8% month, The presence of a broadband connection can be one of the 23.1% most critical needs for a business looking for a location. $50 to Competing in a global economy requires a competitive $75, advantage, and a broadband connection and its other $200 to 20.5% related technologies, coupled with the adoption and $300, meaningful use of that technology, can provide businesses 12.8% with a resource to expand their market, create operational $75 to efficiencies, and find that advantage. $100, $100 to 10.3% $150 to $150, $200, 12.8% 7.7%
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
The Business Broadband Adoption metric measures Economic Development Organization Connectivity the percent of businesses in the community that Connection Connection Organization subscribe to, or adopt, Type Download Speed broadband at their location. Eastgate DSL 25 to 50 Mbps According to the business Friends of the Mahoning River No central internet connection technology survey, 89% of responding businesses have Oak Hill Collaborative Unsure 50 to 100 Mbps a fixed broadband Youngstown Business Incubator Fiber-optic 10 to 25 Mbps connection. While this is Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber Cable 100 to 500 Mbps positive, there may be other businesses in the community without Internet connectivity that were unable to respond to the survey. Additionally, a small number of responding businesses have an Internet connection through a mobile broadband network. These types of connections can be plagued by monthly data limits and can be limited by weather, vegetation, and terrain. These types of connections are indicated that they do not have an internet connection at all. Two indicated this was because internet service is too expensive, and the third indicated that it was not available to them.
Business Website Adoption A website is one of the most basic ways in which a business establishes an online presence. A website provides
According to the Business Technology Survey, 89.8% of responding businesses in the community have a website. Examining survey results further, businesses with annual revenues greater than $500,000 are more likely to have a website than those with revenues less than $500,000. Four out of five businesses with revenues less than $500k have a website, while nearly all responding businesses with revenues greater than $500k have a website.
Organization Website Analysis Communities often have at least one entity responsible for economic development activities. These organizations are tasked with working to attract new business to the community and support existing and start- up establishments to grow the economy of the area. The website of these organizations may be the first point of contact a potential business or site selector has with the community as they seek a location. Therefore, the websites of these organizations should provide relevant information for their target audience in an easily accessible and flexible digital environment. The Organization Website Analysis metric examines the website accessibility, experience, marketing, and technology aspects of organizations in the community that support economic development. This analysis is conducted using an online website analysis tool. Four organizations have been identified in the community: Eastgate, Friends of the Mahoning River, Oak Hill Collaborative, Youngstown Business Incubator, and Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber. The website URL and associated scores are located in the table. The table also contains a link to the full website analysis report for each organization so issues can be quickly identified and fixed if desired. Additionally, the websites of the five economic development organizations were examined for their use of eleven more advanced features. Advanced features include: Calendar of events, staff-accessible content management system, contact information accessible from homepage, integration with social media accounts, integrated search function, links to relevant and related organizations, login for clients/patrons/staff, newsfeed for current updates, organization leadership and contact information, stated privacy policy, online feedback mechanism, and the ability to conduct transactions online, (e.g., bill payment, registration, etc.). The most unused features include transactional functions, integrated search, newsfeed, and an online feedback mechanism. On average, each of the four websites employs 8.5 of the eleven features.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Use
Business Advanced Applications Beyond a website, there are many Internet-enabled technologies that can benefit businesses of all types. These technologies are aimed at increasing revenue and reducing expenditures to give businesses a competitive advantage. In the Business Technology Survey, respondents were asked to identify the advanced applications of technology they are currently using or plan to implement. In Youngstown-Mahoning County, 46.7% of businesses either currently use or plan to implement one or more of the advanced applications within one year. The advanced applications include: Electronic inventory device or software Electronic supply chain management resources E-mail service for at least 75% of administrative staff Employer-issued mobile device for at least 50% of administrative staff Human resources or finance-related software Participating in industry-specific online directories and aggregation services Industry-specific management or performance monitoring software Interactive online customer experience Point-of-sale software Teleworking policy for employees Videoconferencing used regularly Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service Web-based e-commerce application
Economic Development Organization Website Analysis
Organization URL Full Report
Marketing
Experience
Technology
Accessibility Overall Score
Eastgate No website Friends of the https://friendsofthemahoningriver.org/ 9.1 6.4 3.3 6.4 7.1 http://bit.ly/2sYHCLL Mahoning River Oak Hill Collaborative www.oakhillcollaborative.org 7.6 7.7 5.3 5.4 6.7 http://bit.ly/2rXjjPG Youngstown Business www.ybi.org 8.2 8.1 6.2 5.6 7.5 http://bit.ly/2sp9iwa Incubator Youngstown Warren www.Regionalchamber.com 8.0 8.1 6.4 6.0 7.4 http://bit.ly/2rXvxYx Regional Chamber
The three most common applications currently in use included e-mail service for at least 75% of administrative staff (84.3%), human resources or finance software (58.8%), and mobile devices (47.1%). The chart provides more information on the implementation state of each advanced application across all businesses. While not every business has a need for every one of these advanced applications, there may be opportunities to leverage these technologies to help sustain and grow businesses in the community. Among respondents, 13.4% state that they plan to implement one or more of the advanced applications within the next five years. More interesting are the 19.7% of businesses that state they have no plan to implement one or more of the advanced applications but are interested in the technology. These businesses represent an opportunity for the community to educate and build awareness for how technology can enhance a business plan.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Business Digital Communications Similar to the use of Internet-enabled technologies, broadband also enables businesses to communicate electronically with clients, potential customers, and colleagues. The Frequency of Business Digital Communication metric examines how often local businesses are leveraging digital tools and social media. Survey responses indicated that businesses use digital tools to communicate with the public approximately several times each week. The chart shows the average frequency of use for each of the digital communications tools included in the survey. E-mail, text messaging, Facebook, and website updates are the most popular tools among businesses. Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter represent the next most popular platforms for digital communication. Instagram and Pinterest are used, but are less popular than other social media platforms. Video-based social media is rarely used.
State of Advanced Application Implementation Among Businesses
e-Commerce 31.4% 15.7% 21.6% 31.4% VoIP 35.3% 9.8% 19.6% 35.3% Videoconferencing 31.4% 15.7% 23.5% 29.4% Teleworking 19.6% 13.7% 31.4% 35.3% Point-of-Sale 33.3% 9.8% 15.7% 41.2% Online Cust. Experience 27.5% 27.5% 21.6% 23.5% Management Software 25.5% 17.6% 25.5% 31.4% Online Directories 43.1% 11.8% 15.7% 29.4% HR/Finance 58.8% 17.6% 11.8% 11.8% Mobile Devices 47.1% 7.8% 23.5% 21.6% Admin. Email 84.3% 3.9% 7.8% 3.9% e-Supply Chain 21.6% 11.8% 15.7% 51.0% e-Inventory 35.3% 11.8% 23.5% 29.4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Currently in Use Plan to Implement (1 to 5 years) No plan, but Interested Not Interested
Frequency of Digital Communication Among Local Businesses
Never
Pinterest Video social media Less than once monthly Instagram Videoconferencing Once monthly Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Several times monthly Google+
Once weekly Facebook Several times weekly Website updates Text messaging Once daily E-mail Several times daily
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Organization Digital Communications Digital communications tools are critical for economic development organizations to converse with potential businesses and site selectors as well as to market the assets of a community. Similar to the Frequency of Business Digital Communications, this metric examines the use of digital communications tools by the support economic development activities. Survey responses indicate that the economic development organizations use digital tools to communicate with the public several times each week. Some tools are used more frequently than others, however. The digital communications strategies across all five organizations are quite similar and most frequently use e- mail, text messaging, Facebook, and website updates to communicate with the public. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are the next set of popular tools among these organizations. Video-based tools are rarely used.
Frequency of Digital Communication Among Economic Development Organizations
Never
Less than once monthly Pinterest Video social media Once monthly Google+ Several times monthly Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Video conversations Once weekly Website Email Twitter Several times weekly
Once daily Facebook Text messaging Several times daily
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
K-12 Education K-12 Institutions are the K-12 Highlights educational system. K-12 education provides students with K-12 curriculum delivered with the knowledge and opportunity to 55.6% web-enabled technology become productive members of the next generation workforce. Schools, along with libraries, have K-12 schools with connections traditionally been early adopters 8 of 500 Mbps or faster of new technologies, not only as the subject of education but also Internet-enabled devices per as tools. For this analysis, the Connected assessment is focused 1.33 student on the way in which Internet- enabled devices and applications Schools with a social media are tools for enhancing the 1/2 presence learning environment and providing students with opportunities beyond the classroom. Additionally, the assessment examines the use of technology that allows schools to more effectively communicate with parents, students, and the community at large. The K-12 Education section comprises six different metrics. Data for these metrics is derived from the K-12 Education Survey that was distributed to institutions throughout the community. Ten schools and districts provided partial or full responses to the K-12 Education survey: Austintown Local Schools, Boardman Local Schools, Chaney Campus STEM/VPA, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Mahoning county ESC, Springfield Local Schools, Struthers Elementary, Struthers Middle, Youngstown City Schools, Youngstown Community School. The K-12 Education Use metrics include: electronic content delivery, advanced website use, digital communication, student/parent engagement, one-to-one device implementation, and device to student ratio.
Use/K-12 Education Assessment Score Summary
Community Possible Use Area Points Points Electronic Content Delivery 6 10 Advanced Website Use 4 5 Student Parent/Engagement 5 5 One-to-One Device Implementation 10 10 Device-to-Student Ratio 5 5 Digital Communication 3 5 Total 33 40
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Access
Connections for K-12 The Internet connectivity for K-12 buildings is critical to support technology-enabled curriculum delivery, one- to-one device programs, and the other myriad of technology needs of institutions. The K-12 Connectivity Table provides information on the connections for responding K-12 schools in the community. All schools reporting their connection type connect to the internet on a fiber network, and most connect with speeds between one and five gigabits per second. Additionally, all schools, with the exception of the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, utilize the -rate program to offset school connectivity costs.
Wireless Availability Public and classroom Wi-Fi is important for providing students, faculty, staff, and visitors with robust connectivity anywhere on school grounds. The table provides the status of Wi-Fi deployment among
K-12 Connectivity
Connection Connection Classroom Wi-Fi School Type Download Speed Availability Austintown Local Schools Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 100% Boardman Local Schools Fiber-optic Less than 25 Mbps 60% to 79% Chaney Campus STEM/VPA Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 100% Mahoning County Career and Technical 80% to 99% Unsure 100 to 250 Mbps Center Mahoning County ESC Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 100% Springfield Local Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 80 to 99% Struthers Elementary Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 100% Struthers Middle School Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 100% Youngstown City Schools Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 80 to 99% Youngstown Community School Fiber-optic 1 to 5 Gbps 100%
classrooms in each of the districts/schools. Additionally, 60% of responding schools indicate Advanced Website Features that they offer free Wi-Fi connectivity to the Used by K-12 Schools public.
Online feedback tool 37.5% Adoption Privacy policy 87.5% Leadership information 100.0% Website Adoption Newsfeed 100.0% A website is one of the most basic ways in which Login for staff/clients 62.5% an institution establishes an online presence. Links to other orgs. 100.0% Having robust, interactive, and communicative Integrated search 87.5% features on that website makes the user Social media integration 37.5% experience more efficient and impactful. The Transactional functions 50.0% Advanced Website Use metric measures the General contact info 100.0% average number of more advanced website 75.0% features implemented across the websites of schools in the community. Eleven advanced 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% website features were assessed. Advanced features include: Calendar of events, staff-accessible content management system, contact information accessible from homepage, integration with social media accounts, integrated search function, links to relevant and related organizations, login for clients/patrons/staff, newsfeed for current updates, organization leadership and contact information, stated privacy policy, online feedback mechanism, and the ability to conduct
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
transactions online, (e.g., bill payment, registration, etc.). The most unused features include transactional functions, integrated search, newsfeed, and an online feedback mechanism. On average, K-12 websites use 8.3 of the eleven features. The chart shows the percent of K-12 schools using each of the eleven functions.
Student/Parent Engagement One way to digitally engage parents and students is through an online portal where participants can access individualized information regarding school performance, homework, activities, financial accounts, and much more. The Student/Parent Engagement metric measures the presence of online student and/or parent portals across school districts in the community. Districts responding to the K-12 Education Technology Survey responded to the following two questions: 1) Does the school have an online portal for students to access homework, educational content, and other information? and 2) Does the school have an online portal for parents to access grades, pay bills, register for activities, etc.? The Student/Parent Engagement metric is included in the Adoption section for K-12 schools, similar to the website metric, as it represents a basic means in which schools can leverage their connectivity. All schools providing information for this question have both a student and parent online portal. Use
Electronic Content Delivery Technology enables new forms of educational content delivery. Between traditional classroom instruction and online-only classes lies a spectrum of web and technology-enabled methods of learning. The K-12 Education Survey gathered data from schools on the mixture of various intensities of technology-enabled instructional environments. Electronic Content Delivery measures the mixture of technology-facilitated instruction and content. Across the community, the majority of schools in the community use web-facilitated and traditional curriculum delivery. The use of various technologies in course delivery varies between districts as well. For example, 70% of courses are delivered in a traditional classroom setting at Youngstown Community School, while only 30% of courses are delivered traditionally in Austintown Local Schools. While some schools indicate the delivery of courses entirely in an online environment, no school indicates that online courses represent more than 10% of their curriculum. Web-enabled K-12 course delivery offers new opportunities for learning as well as access to educational content the Internet outside of school.
Devices Many schools across the country are putting advanced computing power into the hands of every student. From tablets to laptops, Android to Apple, schools are examining opportunities for leveraging technology to expand opportunities for learning within and outside the classroom. The One-to-One Device Implementation metric measures the implementation status of one-device-per-student initiatives across the community. Schools responding to the K-12 Education Technology Survey were asked the Does the school have a one-to-one device initiative or allow students to bring their own devices to school to access school-related and organized content and applications? a way that indicates their current stage of implementing a one-to-one program. Six schools indicate that they have successfully launched 1:1 device programs. Five of these schools provide the devices to students while the remainder has implemented a bring-your-own-device program. One school is currently piloting a program, and another has an official plan for implementing a device program. One additional school has an official plan for a program and is working to implement. Two schools indicate that they have no program and currently no plan to implement a 1:1 device initiative. One-to-one device programs allow all students to have equal and individual access to technology, content, and resources; however, in communities without one-to-one device initiatives, technology is often shared in labs or individual classrooms among all students.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
In order to examine student device access across communities, the K-12 section also examines the overall ratio of devices to students. The device-to-student ratio is calculated by collecting the total number of devices and students from districts responding to the K-12 Education Technology Survey. Among responding schools, a total of 13,989 students and a total of 18,600 devices have been identified, for a device-to-student ratio of 1.33. This indicates that, overall, there are more than enough internet-enabled devices for students. (Not all responding schools completed this section of the K-12 survey. Data is only representative of schools who provided a count of both students and devices).
Digital Communications Technology coupled with an Internet connection provides a myriad of ways to digitally interact with the world -12 institutions are leveraging digital tools and social media to inform, interact with, serve, and receive feedback from parents, students, and the community. Survey responses indicate that K-12 Schools use digital tools to communicate with the public at least several times per month. The chart shows the average frequency of use for each of the digital communications tools included in the survey. As shown, some tools are used more frequently than others. E-mail and website updates are the most popular tools for communicating with parents and the public, while video-based platforms are used less frequently. Facebook, Text Messaging, Google+, and YouTube represent the second most popular forms of digital communication. Other social media platforms, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are used with some, but rare, frequency.
Average Percent of Courses Delivered by Technology Type Across all School Districts
Course Type All Districts Traditional No online technology used 44.4% Web-facilitated uses web-based tech to facilitate a face-to-face course 33.3% Blended online and face-to-face delivery but with few physical meetings 17.8% Online all content delivered online, no face-to-face meetings 4.4%
Average Use of Digital Communications Tools Among K-12 Schools
Never Instagram Pinterest Video social media Less than once monthly Facebook LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Once monthly Google+ Video conversations Text messaging Several times monthly
Once weekly
Several times weekly Email Website
Once daily
Several times daily
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Libraries and Community Organizations Libraries and other community organizations serve a vital role in Libraries and Community providing access to information and technology for the entire Organizations Highlights community. Libraries often host public computers with Internet access for those without a device Adults without home Internet or connection at home, and also 30% accessing the web at libraries provide various types of technology training to develop a Internet-enabled public more digitally literate community. 230 computers The Libraries and Community Organizations section comprises Average number of tech. six different metrics. Data for training programs offered at these metrics is derived from the 4 Libraries and Community libraries Organizations Survey that was distributed to entities throughout Libraries and organizations the community, as well as from using or planning to implement the Residential Technology 83% more advanced technologies Survey. In Youngstown-Mahoning County, partial or full survey responses were received from fourteen libraries and six community organizations: Boys and Girls Club of Youngstown, Friends of the Mahoning River, Neighborhood Ministries, Northeast Ohio Association for Computing Machinery, Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana (OCCHA, Inc.), United Returning Citizens, and the following branches of the Youngstown and Mahoning County Public Library: Austintown, Brownlee, Campbell, East, Sebring, Boardman, Greenford, Main, Newport, Springfield, Lake Milton/Craig Beach, and Poland The Libraries and Community Organizations metrics include broadband adoption, website use, public computers, training, advanced technology use, and digital communication.
Libraries and Community Organizations Assessment Score Summary
Community Possible Use Area Points Points Broadband Adoption 5 5 Website Use 5 5 Public Computer Availability 10 10 Training 4 10 Advanced Use 5 5 Digital Communication 4 5 Total 33 40
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Access The Broadband Adoption Libraries/Community Organizations Connectivity metric measures the Connection Connection Download number of libraries with Library/Organization Internet service. The Type Speed Libraries/Community Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown Cable 25 to 50 Mbps Organizations Friends of the Mahoning River Cable 25 to 50 Mbps Connectivity Table Neighborhood Ministries Cable Unsure provides details on the Northeast Ohio Association for Distributed membership without connections for each Computing Machinery central office responding entity. OCCHA, Inc. Cable Unsure Additionally, all libraries PLYMC - Austintown Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster and organizations with PLYMC - Boardman Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster permanent offices offer PLYMC - Brownlee Woods Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster free Wi-Fi connectivity to PLYMC - Campbell Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster the public. Finally, all PLYMC - Canfield Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster responding libraries PLYMC - East Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster indicate that they use the PLYMC - Greenford Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster federal E-rate program to PLYMC - Lake Milton/Craig Beach Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster help offset the cost of PLYMC - Main Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster broadband service. PLYMC - Newport Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster PLYMC - Poland Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster Adoption PLYMC - Sebring Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster PLYMC - Springfield Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster Website Adoption PLYMC - Struthers Fiber-optic 500 Mbps or Faster United Returning Citizens, Inc Cable 50 to 100 Mbps The Website Use metric measures the number of libraries with a website. All but the United Returning Citizens organization indicate that they have a website. Public Computer Locations Additionally, an average of 9.8 of 11 advanced # of Public website features are implemented across the Location Computers websites of responding organizations and libraries. Advanced features include: Calendar of Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown 18 events, staff-accessible content management Neighborhood Ministries 9 system, contact information accessible from OCCHA, Inc. 10 homepage, integration with social media PLYMC - Austintown 19 accounts, integrated search function, links to PLYMC - Boardman 12 relevant and related organizations, login for PLYMC - Brownlee Woods 6 clients/patrons/staff, newsfeed for current PLYMC - Campbell 7 updates, organization leadership and contact PLYMC - Canfield 14 information, stated privacy policy, online PLYMC - East 13 feedback mechanism, and the ability to conduct PLYMC - Greenford 2 transactions online, (e.g., bill payment, PLYMC - Lake Milton/Craig Beach 7 registration, etc.). The least commonly used PLYMC - Main 53 features include an integrated search function, PLYMC - Newport 24 online feedback mechanism, and login for PLYMC - Poland 15 staff/clients. PLYMC - Sebring 8 PLYMC - Springfield 4 Public Computers PLYMC - Struthers 6 The expense associated with home computer United Returning Citizens, Inc 3 ownership represents a significant barrier to Total 230 broadband adoption. For low-income residents without the ability to purchase a home computer (or other device), a public computer center may be their only opportunity to access the Internet. Further, public access to technology is necessary for community members
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
who have little or no communication technology available in the home, need assistance to effectively use technology, or Locations Non-Adopters Access need to supplement connectivity at home or in schools. the Internet A community should have sufficient, free access to computers, Internet, wireless networks, and other Non- communication technologies to support the needs of Location Adopting residents. In addition, public computer centers should be Residents located in safe facilities, with adequate levels of privacy, Place of Employment 23% security, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Library 30% Information regarding the availability and location of public Coffee Shop or Restaurant 18% computer centers should be widely disseminated. Friend or Family Member's Home 1% The Public Computers metric examines the ratio of public School 11% computers per 1,000 people in the community. Data Other 2% gathered from the Libraries and Community Organizations Religious Facility 1% Survey identified 230 public computers for use within the Mobile Device 56% community at eighteen locations. In 2015, the population in Respondents could choose more than one location Youngstown-Mahoning County was 234,550. The ratio of public computers per 1,000 people in the community is 0.98. The table provides a list of locations and the number of Internet-enabled public computers available for use. Libraries also were asked to indicate the three groups that comprise the majority of public computer users. Adults of all ages were identified, but specifically, adults that are seeking jobs, are unemployed, or are low- income were identified more frequently. These groups are not mutually exclusive and may overlap. Additionally, the Residential T location where they do access the Internet. The table shows the locations from which non-adopting residents access the Internet. Nearly one-third (30%) of non-adopting residents access the Internet from a public computer at a library. Places of employment are also popular places to access the web. Coffee shops or restaurants are popular for accessing the Internet for 18% of current non-adopters. While libraries and places of employment often supply an Internet- connected device, accessing the web at a coffee shop or restaurant requires the user to have their own device. Additionally, more than half (56%) of non-adopting residents access the Internet via a mobile device. Use
Advanced Applications The Advanced Use metric examines the implementation, or planned implementation, of several more advanced uses of technology within the organizations. The chart describes each of the advanced uses along with the current stage of implementation among libraries and organizations. As shown in the table, there is a mix of current implementation, those planning to do so, and those not interested in the various technologies. Most, (83%), libraries and organizations have implemented or plan to implement these technologies.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Digital Literacy Training and Learning
/App. /App. safety
Training Opportunities -
kills
S
Basic Basic
Office Office
Mobile Mobile
Device Device
Internet Internet
rientation rientation
Website Website
research
browsing
Computer Computer
evelopment Advanced
Multimedia
O
Technology Technology
applications Business for
Productivity
Social Media Social
Cyber
Coding
D Development
Northeast Ohio Association for X X Computing Machinery OCCHA, Inc. X X PLYMC - Austintown X X X X X X X X PLYMC - Boardman X X PLYMC - Brownlee Woods X X X PLYMC - Campbell X X X PLYMC - Canfield X X PLYMC - East X X X X X X PLYMC - Lake Milton/Craig Beach X X X X X X X PLYMC - Main X X X X X PLYMC - Newport X X X X PLYMC - Poland X X X PLYMC - Springfield X X X PLYMC - Struthers X X X 20% - 51% 23% 9% 20% 28% 56% 31% 24% - -
State of Advanced Technology Use among Libraries and Organizations
VoIP 70% 5% 10% 15%
Uses Adaptive Technology 70% 10% 15% 5%
Mobile Compatible Website 85% 10% 5%
Maintains Local Listserv 85% 10% 5%
Electronic Resource Mgmt. 90% 5% 5%
Digitize Local Information 10% 80% 10%
Public Meeting Space with Tech. 55% 5% 25% 15%
Email for All Staff 95% 5%0%
Online Information Access 95% 5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Currently in Use Plan to Implement in 1-5 Years No Plan, but Interested Not Interested
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Training Libraries provide opportunities for digital literacy training outside of a traditional classroom setting within a facility dedicated to accessing information. On average, libraries or organizations that offer training offer four different types. A diverse array of training opportunities is offered at the PLYMC Austintown and Lake Milton/Craig Beach branches. The Northeast Ohio Association for Computing Machinery is the only responding organization to indicate that they offer cyber-safety-related training.
Average Use of Digital Communications Tools Among Libraries and Community Organizations
Never Video social media LinkedIn Pinterest Less than once monthly
Video conversations YouTube Once monthly Instagram Text messaging
Several times monthly
Facebook Twitter Once weekly
Google+ Several times weekly
Website Once daily
Email Several times daily An examination of the self-reported digital literacy skills of specific applications and devices provides guidance for expanding technology training programs in the community. The applications and devices included in the analysis of digital literacy can be translated into the types of training programs offered at community libraries.
The bottom row in the table shows the percent of residents respo As shown, respondents were least familiar with multimedia applications (56%) and cybersecurity (51%), while most were comfortable with browsing the Internet. Nearly one-third (31%) of residents indicated that they need to learn or only know a little about office productivity software, applications that are often critical to on-the-job success in most occupations. These skill gaps can be aligned with the training currently offered within the libraries, and promotion and development can make these trainings more effective.
Digital Communications Technology coupled with an Internet connection provides a myriad of ways to digitally interact with the world community organizations are leveraging digital tools and social media to inform, interact with, serve, and receive feedback from patrons/clients and the community. Survey results indicate that libraries and organizations in the community are using digital tools to communicate an average of several times per month.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
The chart shows the average frequency of use for each of the digital communications tools included in the survey. E-mail, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and website updates are the most frequently used forms of digital communication. Other forms of social media, such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram, are sometimes used. Video-based social media (Google Hangout, Meerkat, and Periscope) are rarely, if ever, used, and YouTube is used only occasionally.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Talent/Workforce Development The entrepreneurship, talent, and human capital ecosystem in a community is often an informal Talent/Workforce Highlights cooperation between businesses, K-12 and higher education, and Employers who feel various supporting organizations. employee tech. skills match While some communities have 48.9% business needs formal facilities and structures to support these elements, this Percent of businesses who amalgam of entities contributes to the overall workforce development require or encourage of a community in largely an ad 84.6% continuing education for hoc fashion. Internet connectivity employees and web-enabled technology contribute to talent and human Percent of community capital development and can employees with advanced facilitate entrepreneurship. As 28.1% technology advances and is technology skills increasingly used in the public and private sectors, the skills of the Community organizations workforce must also advance. 11 offering STEM+C The Talent and Workforce opportunities for youth Development section comprises five different metrics. Data for these metrics is derived from several sources including the Business Technology Survey, K-12 Education Technology Survey, Libraries/Community Organizations Technology Survey, and the Residential Technology Survey. Because the workforce development landscape in a community encompasses a number of different institutions and organizations, this section does not follow the traditional access, adoption, and use paradigm of other sections analyzed in this plan. The Talent and Workforce Development metrics include: technology skill alignment, technology training, continuing education, youth STEM+C activities, and occupational technology digital literacy skills.
Talent and Workforce Development Assessment Score Summary
Community Use Area Possible Points Points Technology Skill Alignment 8 10 Technology Training 5 5 Continuing Education 6 10 Youth STEM+C Activities 2 5 Occupational Technology Digital Literacy Skills 8 10 Total 29 40
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Technology Skill Alignment and Skill Mix The technology-related skills necessary to be successful on the job are changing to keep pace with new innovations, tools, and applications that make production and services How well do the tech. skills of employees match the tech. more efficient. The skills of the workforce should match Percent the needed skills of the employer in order for needs of the business? (All establishments to take advantage of new technologies. Establishments) The Technology Skill Alignment metric measures the Poor 2.1% current technology skill alignment between employers and Fair 23.4% their employees. Respondents to the Business Technology Well 25.5% Survey were asked how well the technology skills of their Very Well 31.9% employees matched the technology needs of their Excellent 17.0% business. According to survey results, the skills of the majority of the Youngstown-Mahoning County employees match the skills of their employers Well or Very Well. The chart shows the distribution of responses across all businesses. Among all responding businesses, 25.5% stated that the technology skills of their employees only poorly or fairly met the technology needs of their business. While these responses were spread among businesses of all types, a few clusters stand out. Smaller businesses, those with fewer than 20 employees, tend to say their employee skills meet the needs of the business very well or excellently, (59% of smaller businesses) more frequently than businesses with more employees, (50% of larger establishments). This pattern is flipped in terms of revenue however. Among businesses earning less than $500,000 annually, 45% state the tech. skills of their employees meet the needs of their business very well or excellently. For businesses earning more than $500,000 annually, however, 53% state the same of their employees. Additionally, businesses were asked to indicate the technology skill mix of their staff. They were asked to indicate the percent of their staff comprising the following four categories of technology skills: Non-Users: Employees that do not need any technology-related skills. Basic Users: Employees that use basic office software, Internet browsers, e-mail, or other primary technologies in their job. Moderate Users: Employees that are required to use more advanced software/hardware in their job that may be sector/industry/task-specific. Advanced Users: Employees that develop, operate, maintain, modify, and manipulate technology systems, software, or hardware. According to responding businesses, 4.8% of employees are non-users, 17.8% basic users, 49.3% moderate users, How important is tech-related and 28.1% advanced users. Again, the majority of training and continuing Percent businesses report that the skills of their employees are well education? matched with the needs of their operation. Not Important 3.8% Technology Training Slightly Important 5.8% Neutral 21.2% If technology is ever-changing, and employee technology Moderately Important 21.2% skills are important to meeting the needs of local Very Important 48.1% businesses, then technology-related training is essential for ensuring employees keep up with the latest technology tools, devices, and applications. The Technology Training metric examines the importance of technology-related training for employees among local businesses. Respondents to the Business Technology Survey were asked to rate the importance of technology-related training, continuing education, or professional development. According to survey results, responding local businesses in the community feel that technology-related training and continuing education is Moderately or Very Important. The chart shows the distribution of responses across all businesses. Most businesses agree that technology-related training and continuing education is moderately or very important. Unlike the differences found between large and small establishments in the Technology Skill
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Alignment section, above, there is no significant difference between large and small establishments when it comes to the importance of tech-related training and continuing education for employees. Businesses Continuing Education Reporting Continuing Education Framework Framework The first two metrics, Technology Skill Alignment and Employees are REQUIRED to Technology Training, examine the current state of 19.2% technology knowledge of employees and the needs of pursue continuing education employers, and the importance of training to boost the Employees are ENCOURAGED, technology skills of the workforce. This metric explores the BUT NOT REQUIRED to pursue 65.4% various ways in which employers contribute to and continuing education. encourage technology-related training and continuing Employees are NEITHER education for employees. ENCOURAGED NOR REQUIRED 15.4% to pursue continuing education Respondents to the Business Technology Survey were asked to indicate two things; 1) their overall continuing education framework, and 2) the specific policies they have in place to support their framework. The continuing education framework establishes whether employees are Active Continuing Businesses required or encouraged to pursue continuing education. Education Policies Reporting Policy The table provides the breakdown for businesses in the Time Off Work 26.2% community that support each framework. Financial Support 30.8% Additionally, employers were asked about the policies they On-Site Training 18.5% have in place to support continuing education among their On-the-Job Training 50.8% employees. The four policies included in the survey are: Participants could choose more than one response
Allowing time off work to pursue training; Providing financial support for continuing education; Regularly offering on-site training by outside experts; and Offering on-the-job training by in-house experts. The survey results show that, on average, businesses in the community have 1.3 of these policies in place. More than one-fifth (19.2%) of businesses require continuing education among their employees, while more than two-thirds, (65.4%) encourage the practice, but it is not required. A small percentage (15.4%) of businesses neither encourage nor require continuing education for their employees. Some businesses (12.3%) have no policies in place to support continuing education. On-the-job training is the most commonly adopted continuing education policy, followed closely by financial support and time-off work for professional development and training. Among businesses that require continuing education of their employees, 60% report that their employee skills match the needs of their business very well or excellently. For businesses where continuing education is encouraged, but not required, the businesses reporting very well or excellently matched skills drops to 41.4%. Youth STEM+C Activities While the technology skills, training, and continuing education of the current workforce are critical for meeting the needs of new and existing businesses, the cultivation of technology-related skills, interest, and entrepreneurial spirit in the next generation of talent is equally important. The Youth STEM+C Activities metric examines the prevalence of STEM+C (Science, Technology, Engineering, educational environment. Educational institutions, libraries, and other organizations are typically the organizers and hosts of such programming. Respondents to the K-12 Education and Libraries and Community Organizations Surveys were asked if they offer STEM+C programming to youth. Thirty organizations responded to these surveys (ten schools, fourteen libraries, and six community organizations). Of these entities, eleven (37%) of them provide opportunities for children and youth to explore STEM+C content, techniques, or careers.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
The Austintown, East, Main, Poland, and Springfield branches of the PLYMC indicate that they provide a wide variety of STEM+C opportunities for youth. Programs include robotics, Blozels, Snap Circuits, Lego Mindstorms, a Build an App Program, Maker Space, 3D printing, and Google Cloud. The MCCTC hosts a 9th and 10th grade STEM academy. Other K-12 schools offer after school clubs, field trips, robotics competitions, science fairs, math nights, and other special events. Occupational Digital Literacy The technology skills of the workforce will need to keep pace as basic and advanced technologies continue to permeate nearly all occupations and industries. The Occupational Information Network Digital Literacy Across Common (O*NET), curates occupational data as it relates to knowledge, skills, and abilities Occupational Technologies needed to perform a variety of activities and tasks and be successful on the job. Part of Email tools and technology used for each defined Mouse and occupation. The tools and technology Keyboard database attempts to identify the universe of machines, equipment, tools, software, and Internet Browser information technology that workers may use for optimal functioning in a high performance Laptop workplace types of tools and technology found in most occupations that require basic digital literacy Desktop skills: personal computer (desktop or laptop), e-mail, Internet browser, and office suite Word Processing (productivity) software. A personal computer is an essential tool for more than 95% of occupations. E-mail and an Internet browser Printers are required for 52% and 51% of occupations, respectively, and 46.5% of occupations require Operating System the use of office productivity software.
The Occupational Technology Digital Literacy Spreadsheets Skills metric examines the digital literacy of Basic Intermediate Advanced devices and applications identified for Skill Skill Skill occupational success. Respondents to the Residential Technology Survey were asked to rate their own digital literacy for the following nine most commonly used devices and applications in many occupations: desktop computer, laptop computer, mouse and keyboard, printers, operating system, word processing, spreadsheets, Internet browser, and e-mail. According to survey results, on average, residents in the community are comfortable using the nine occupational technologies. The measurement of digital literacy among a variety of devices, applications, and activities also allows for an 73% are comfortable with or have mastered the ability to conduct an online job search. This proficiency drops to 62% among those with a high school diploma or less.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Challenges and Recommendations
While Youngstown-Mahoning County exhibits great progress in broadband and technology advancement, this technology plan offers recommended actions that will help the community fill the technology gaps identified via the Connected assessment. These recommended actions for project implementation are subject to evolution as implementers assimilate various local organizational goals and objectives. The plan recognizes the following projects currently in various stages of implementation and supports their continuation as they help to advance the state of broadband and related technologies in Youngstown-Mahoning County. Current Projects -future technology and broadband- related projects. With the overwhelming interest in improving broadband access in the community, we will continue to work with -Fi hot spots in more public areas or identifying ways for students to have continual access to the internet, we want Youngstown-Mahoning County to be thought of as a forward-thinking, technology-first community. This will even tie back to transportation initiatives that will help the community grow through the Internet of Everything.
Based on the overwhelming support for improved broadband access, the County Engineer is revisiting guidelines for running fiber in rural areas to help entice providers to make a greater investment in our changes will make it more cost-friendly for these utility providers and will expand reach throughout the county. Priority Projects From the recommended projects presented in the following section, Youngstown-Mahoning County has identified the following as priority projects to be implemented in the community: Digital Equity Develop a Community-Based Technology Awareness Group Digital Equity - Promote Low-Cost Broadband Service Offerings for Vulnerable Populations Digital Equity Facilitate Digital Literacy Training in Partnership With Communication Organizations for Vulnerable Populations Challenges The following table summarizes the broadband technology gaps and challenges in Youngstown-Mahoning County identified during the assessment.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Area Challenge Broadband Competition Community-Wide Infrastructure High Speed Broadband Availability Platform Dependency Digital Literacy Households Frequency of Internet Use Home Broadband Adoption K-12 Education Electronic Content Delivery Libraries/Community Organizations Digital Literacy Training Support for Continuing Education Talent/Workforce STEM+C Activities for Youth
Recommendations The following pages contain recommended projects with details on their implementation that address the identified challenges. Projects are divided into those addressing Access, Adoption, and Use.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Complete a Vertical Assets Inventory
GOAL: Develop a single repository of vertical assets, such as communications towers, water tanks, and other structures potentially useful for the support of deploying affordable, reliable wireless broadband in less populated rural areas or topographically challenged areas.
DESCRIPTION: Wireless communications equipment can be placed in a wide variety of locations, but ideally, wireless providers look for locations or structures in stable conditions, with reasonably easy access to electricity are defined as structures on which wireless broadband equipment can be mounted and positioned to broadcast a signal over as much terrain as possible. These assets include structures such as cell towers, water tanks, grain silos, and multi-story buildings.
The lack of easily accessible and readily usable information regarding the number and location of vertical assets prevents the expansion of affordable, reliable wireless broadband service. Wireless broadband providers must determine if it is worth the effort and expense to collect and analyze this data when making investment decisions. Public sector organizations are faced with the same challenges. A centralized and comprehensive vertical assets inventory can help wireless broadband providers expedite decisions regarding the deployment of affordable, reliable broadband service in rural areas.
ACTIONS: 1. Identify or develop a vertical assets inventory toolkit to provide guidelines to identify structures or land that could serve as a site for installation of wireless communications equipment. 2. Data to collect would include vertical asset type, owner type, minimum base elevation, minimum height above ground, and location. 3. should be open-ended; localities should be encouraged to continuously map assets as they are made available. 4. Disseminate information to wireless providers who may be interested in leveraging vertical assets.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Local and county government Broadband providers, particularly wireless Residents, businesses, and institutions with vertical assets able to support wireless equipment
RESOURCES: Making rural broadband possible through agricultural assets: http://bit.ly/2dpEUef . 2pifi helps communities develop solutions to provide connections in hard to serve areas: http://2pifi.com/.
BENEFITS: 1. Provides data for private and public investment decisions, lowering the initial cost of efforts needed to identify potential mounting locations for infrastructure. 2. Encourages expansion of affordable, reliable wireless broadband services to underserved areas by shortening project development time.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Perform a Broadband Build-Out Analysis and Validate Demand for Broadband Service in Underserved Areas
GOAL: Determine the reasons why some areas of the community remain unserved, determine the feasibility of deploying various Internet systems in the defined area, and generate a business case for deployment.
DESCRIPTION: Perform an analysis of unserved areas to understand local assets and any barriers to broadband deployment. The local team should solicit feedback from residents of the unserved territory on their demand.
ACTIONS: 1. Field Validation: Conduct onsite visual assessments of the defined geographic areas unserved with broadband coverage. The assessment determines the feasibility of deploying various Internet systems in a defined area. Gather site specific information required for (i) determining use of existing infrastructure, (ii) designing wired and wireless Internet system using these assets, and (iii) expanding the broadband coverage in the defined area. 2. Community Broadband Survey: Use the results of the Residential Technology Survey to identify pockets of demand in areas without service. Survey results can also provide information on currently adopted speeds and costs. Stakeholders can also elect to perform a door-to-door survey of residents who live in neighborhoods in the unserved area to determine exact need, or in communities where more residential survey data is needed. 3. Market Analysis: A market analysis should also be performed to identify potential broadband providers, understand potential service offerings, and respective rates. 4. Investment: Results of the studies should be analyzed and released to providers to inform a business case for expansion or upgrades. 5. Conversations: Community broadband team members should include broadband providers in discussions of access expansion. Providers may have expansion plans that communities may not be aware of, or may be expanding infrastructure due to federal commitments, (e.g., Connect America Fund).
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: County and local units of government with high number of underserved households Broadband providers Residents and businesses
RESOURCES: Guide to Federal funding for broadband projects: http://bit.ly/1QJ1asb. Fiber to the Home Council toolkit for communities looking to expand broadband infrastructure: http://bit.ly/2d18QL6. Pure Broadband builds access through cooperation: http://bit.ly/2cCgzBk. Building community broadband subscribership, from the University of Wisconsin: http://bit.ly/2dCUUsX.
BENEFITS: 1. Determines project feasibility and provides information to develop a business case for build-out. 2. First step in providing unserved community residents with adequate broadband access. 3. Fosters good relationships with public and private sectors.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Digital Equity Develop a Community-Based Technology Awareness Group
GOAL: Organize, promote, and deliver a technology awareness program that would increase use of technology resources in the community.
DESCRIPTION: Conduct an extensive advertising campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of broadband and related technology. Methods should include, but not be limited to, classroom style awareness sessions, press conferences led by community leaders, hosting a speaker at a community event, posting community posters and handouts, and producing public service announcements.
The public awareness campaign should focus on helping residents, particularly those from underserved communities, understand the personal value they can derive from an investment in information technology.
There are also opportunities to leverage existing resources to expand and enhance workforce-training programs, encourage more post-secondary education, and create additional awareness within the community in regard to global resources. It is important to support the outcomes of awareness training with the development of technology training programs that will then teach community members how to use the technology.
ACTIONS: 1. The campaign should specifically target technology non-adopters. 2. Determine the type of public awareness campaign that is appropriate for your community. By using established media, the campaign reaches non-adopters where they are. Public radio, broadcast and cable TV, utility bill stuffers, and print newspapers have been used to reach households of many types. 3. Develop and host a technology summit for residents and businesses to increase awareness of broadband value, service options, and the potential impact on quality of life. The technology summit should facilitate community partnerships between leaders in local government and the private sector, including non-profits and private businesses in the education, healthcare, and agriculture sectors, with the goal of ensuring that residents have at least one place in the community to use powerful new broadband technologies, and that this asset will be sustained over time. 4. Further, the technology summit should highlight success stories as evidence of the impact of technology. 5. Create a centralized technology portal/website that promotes local technology resources for use by residents. Resources would include calendars (promoting local tech events and showing available hours at public computer centers), online training resources, and local computer resources.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Non-profit organizations Libraries and schools Parent-Teacher Organizations Broadband providers with low-cost programs Senior centers Social service providers Local and county government
RESOURCES: http://connectohio.org/public-awareness-campaigns. mining needed speeds: http://fcc.us/2df8sIQ.
BENEFITS: 1. Unifies community stakeholders under one vision. 2. Highlights successes, opportunities, and challenges regarding community technology planning. 3. Develops ongoing dialogue improving broadband access, adoption, and use. 4. Economic development, jobs and improved quality of life, improved basic computer skills, increased use of technology in day-to-day operations of a community, and increased access to economic opportunities.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Launch a Digital Equity Initiative
GOAL: This initiative provides a foundation for overcoming the barriers to broadband adoption via outreach, awareness; access to affordable broadband services and devices and digital skills training.
DESCRIPTION: This initiative will help to sustain in-depth discussions around the adoption issue in the community by bringing together public-private partners.
With the data gathered through this technology planning process, leaders will be able to focus on specific studies and solutions that will have the most positive impact on the community.
There are several tasks the digital equity initiative can undertake depending on the needs identified in the community. Each task has its own implementation profile, but includes: developing a community-based technology awareness program, promoting low-cost broadband service offerings; facilitating digital literacy training; making available low-cost devices; and identifying and expanding wireless hotspots in the community.
ACTIONS: 1. Create a digital inclusion taskforce composed of public and private stakeholders. The digital equality initiative will seek programming that address the digital divide for groups without an Internet connection at home. 2. The taskforce will use this plan to create a vision for advancing broadband adoption and assign responsibilities. 3. The taskforce will oversee the implementation of projects that will advance the adoption of broadband technologies for all residents. 4. After implementation the taskforce will show results and shift plans in accordance with technology changes. 5. Economic development, new jobs, and an improved quality of life will be achieved when a community experiences increased usage of computers and the Internet; improved basic computer skills, increased use of technology in day-to-day operations of a community, and increased access to economic opportunities.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Non-profit organizations focused on technology Libraries and schools Public computer centers Local governments Private sector Broadband providers Local financial institutions and foundations
RESOURCES: Partners Bridging the Digital Divide helps communities establish robust digital inclusion programs: http://pbdd.org/. Dept. of Commerce guide to broadband adoption programming: http://bit.ly/2dfr77p.
BENEFITS: 1. Leverages community resources to create opportunities for the advancement of those being left behind in the digital age. 2. Unifies vision of community stakeholders. 3. Highlights successes, opportunities, and challenges regarding community technology planning. 4. Promotes an ongoing dialogue around improving broadband access, adoption, and use.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Digital Equity Promote Low-Cost Broadband Service Offerings for Vulnerable Populations
GOAL: Overcome the barrier to broadband adoption related to cost.
DESCRIPTION: Currently, several national and a few local providers offer special low-cost services for vulnerable populations, older adults and low-income families with children.
Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expanding its Lifeline program to allow Lifeline monthly subsidy to be applied to purchases of broadband service (as of December 2, 2016).
Administered by the FCC, the Lifeline program provides a $9.25 per month subsidy for the purchase of voice telephone service, including mobile, and broadband (as of December 2, 2016) by low-income households. This move would make low-cost service a reality for Lifeline participants.
ACTIONS: 1. Research low-cost offering in the community. Visit http://everyoneon.org/ to find local low-cost, high- speed Internet offers by ZIP code or contact local providers listed in this plan to determine their offerings. 2. Schedule community meetings (or summits) to discuss the opportunity to serve non-adopters who are experiencing a cost barrier to adoption. 3. Advertise low-cost offerings via government and other community organizations websites via the digital equity initiative.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Non-profit organizations Libraries and schools Parent-Teacher Organizations Broadband providers with low-cost programs Senior centers Social service providers Local and county government.
RESOURCES: ity tool to check the reasonability of local broadband prices: http://fcc.us/2d6QBY5. Universal Service Administrative Company: http://www.lifelinesupport.org/ls/changes-to-lifeline.aspx. Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers: https://www.fcc.gov/general/lifeline-program-low-income- consumers. Carrier-based programs Include: o Access from AT&T: https://www.att.com/shop/Internet/access/#/ o Spectrum Internet Assist (Charter): https://www.spectrum.com/browse/content/spectrum-Internet- assist o Comcast Internet Essentials: https://www.Internetessentials.com/
BENEFITS: 1. Availability of low-cost services will help vulnerable populations overcome the cost barrier to accessing the Internet.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Digital Equity Facilitate Digital Literacy Training in Partnership With Communication Organizations for Vulnerable Populations
GOAL: Overcome the skills barrier to broadband adoption.
DESCRIPTION: Create a partnership between libraries, schools, senior centers, broadband providers, and other community organizations to offer basic digital or leverage training resources currently available.
These training resources consist of computer labs where in-person training can be hosted and training courses are already being provided.
Additionally, the training programs can leverage free content widely available online for deriving curriculum or new learners that are able to handle self-paced training. Training facilities can also be used to support local community technology advances. For example, as more and more services become automated, the training program can be used to update residents on technological changes that impact them.
ACTIONS: 1. Reach out to neighborhood influencers including churches, community centers, schools, libraries, after-
program. 2. Identify and/or outfit a suitable training facility with a sufficient number of computers, software, and broadband connectivity. It is important to ensure that the facility has hours of operation that are conducive for the target audience. 3. Identify training instructors. There are three potential sources for instructors: volunteers, hired instructors; and local instructors from existing programs. Once identified, instructors must be provided adequate resources and training in order to effectively train others. 4. Training should include online safety and cybersecurity measures in order to protect children and sensitive information. 5. Facilitate and support outreach and awareness efforts. It is very important to understand the target population because failure to reach them with appropriate messaging about the training may result in minimal interest and low attendance at the training sessions.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Non-profit organizations Libraries and schools Community and senior centers Private-sector technology companies, (e.g., web developers, device repair, etc.)
RESOURCES: The Drive digital learning hub provides ready access to a variety of digital literacy training programs: http://driveyourlearning.org/. Online portal to digital literacy training: www.digitalliteracy.gov. Harbor, Inc. launches digital training: http://bit.ly/2daIuG1.
BENEFITS: Improved digital literacy skills among targeted groups improves broadband adoption, allowing further inclusion in the digital economy.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Facilitate a Community Technology Summit
GOAL: A technology summit should bring together community stakeholders to develop a dialogue about how public and private stakeholders can collectively improve broadband access, adoption, and use.
DESCRIPTION: Develop and host a technology summit for residents and businesses to increase awareness of broadband value, service options, and the potential impact on quality of life.
The technology summit should facilitate community partnerships between leaders in local government and the private sector, including non-profits and private businesses in the education, healthcare, and agriculture sectors, with the goal of ensuring that residents have at least one place in the community to use powerful new broadband technologies, and that this asset will be sustained over time. Further, the technology summit should highlight success stories as evidence of the impact of technology.
ACTIONS: 1. Create community partnerships. 2. Identify funding sources and hosts. 3. Identify suitable speakers. 4. Develop relevant content.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Community leaders/organizations County/City government Broadband providers Citizens Schools, districts, higher education Libraries Businesses/IT professionals/technology companies
RESOURCES: The Texas A&M University System Technology Summit http://techsummit.tamu.edu National Telecommunications & Information Administration https://www.ntia.doc.gov/other- publication/2015/Nesummit Michigan Broadband Conference in review: http://connectmycommunity.org/project-view/michigan- broadband-conference-in-review-the-human-impact/. Iosco County Summit Showcases Business and Technology Growth: http://connectmycommunity.org/project-view/iosco-county-summit-showcases-business-and- technology-growth/
BENEFITS: 1. Highlights successes, opportunities, and challenges regarding community technology planning. 2. Develops ongoing dialogue around improving broadband access, adoption, and use. 3. Unifies community stakeholders under one vision.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
Implement Cybersecurity Training
GOAL: Ensure that community members are aware of how to navigate the Internet safely.
DESCRIPTION: Create a program designed to help community members who are using the Internet to identify and avoid situations that could threaten their safety, threaten business or government networks, compromise confidential information, compromise the safety of children, compromise identities and financial information, or destroy reputations.
There are many risks, some more serious than others, when using the Internet. Among these dangers are computer to attack others, someone stealing credit card information, sexual predators making advances at children, and criminals making unauthorized purchases.
Unfortunately, there's not a 100% guarantee that even with the best precautions some of these things won't happen, but there are steps that can be taken to minimize the chances.
ACTIONS: 1. Partner with a local library or community center to offer security awareness training initiatives that include classroom style training sessions and security awareness websites and information booklets. 2. Trainers could include technology advocates, private businesses specializing in cybersecurity, web development, etc., local law enforcement, and others. Additionally, financial institutions often have cybersecurity training and curriculum for their members that could be leveraged to help the entire community. 3. Cybersecurity should be addressed to both residents and businesses. 4. Some libraries and organizations may already have cybersecurity training established. These programs can be expanded in content and availability to the community. 5. Awareness training can also be used to alleviate anxiety for community members who are not using the Internet because of fear of cyber threats.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Libraries and library co-ops Schools Non-profit organizations, particularly those with a technology focus Businesses specializing in web security and identity protection Local financial institutions Law enforcement
RESOURCES: Internet Safety: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/internetsafety/ Cyber Safety: http://ikeepsafe.org/educators_old/more/c3-matrix/cyber-safety/ Digital Citizenship: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/digital-citizenship. Digizen: http://www.digizen.org/ Better Internet for Kids: https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/. How School Librarians Can Assist You: http://www.ala.org/aasl/parents/internet. CyberWise: http://www.cyberwise.org/
BENEFITS: 1. Improved understanding of how to prevent and deal with cyber threats. 2. Better understanding of how to keep personal information safe online and what to do should it be compromised. 3. Better, community-wide, digital citizenship.
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Connected Community Engagement Program: Youngstown-Mahoning County, Ohio Community Technology Action Plan
K-12 Education - Offer Professional Development Programs for Teachers on Classroom Applications
GOAL: Ensure that educators have the skills needed to integrate technology into the classroom.
DESCRIPTION: Provide professional development and opportunities for staff to gain skill in integrating technology into all content areas and utilizing technology for instruction. To ensure proper training is being offered, technology standards should be created to guide professional development and should provide guidance on strategies and content appropriate for developing skills and proficiency in utilizing instructional technology at all levels. Instruction starts with keyboarding and online academic resources beginning in primary levels through increasing complex skill development and projects and research through graduation.
In addition, school administrators should be encouraged to provide support for the development of a web- based professional development and administrative support program for educators. eTech Ohio, for example, -stop shop for providing planning, support, and information about grants, subsidies, and resources for administrators and technology support staff.
ACTIONS: 1. Develop technology standards and guide professional development. 2. Encourage teachers and school districts to create clear visions of what an ideal classroom with integrated technology looks like. Individual teachers can design their own technology growth development plans by outlining their expectations for the school year. 3. Build an on-campus and/or online professional learning network. 4. Funding for professional development could be strategically allocated to encourage experimentation with supportive technologies in addition to, or perhaps in lieu of, more traditional onsite assistance. Conversely, the school district could invest in a full- convenient solutions to technical queries.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: Federal, state, and local education departments and districts Curriculum directors Higher education School board members and committees Teachers and students
RESOURCES: Office of Educational Technology: https://tech.ed.gov/#.
BENEFITS: 1. Encourages hesitant teachers to use technology in the classroom.
Enables educators to update curriculum to reflect technology integration.
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