MIC Center to Receive $1.2M Grant from City of Philadelphia to Support Digital Empowerment
The grant is a part of the City’s Biden-backed initiative for greater access to technological resources in Philadelphia.
The Media, Inequality & Change (MIC) Center at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Broadband Research (PBR) Institute will partner with the City of Philadelphia to evaluate and support their initiative to create a more digitally empowered city.
MIC’s $1.2M grant is a part of the City’s approval and recommendation for a five-year, $11.9 million grant from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Innovation Administration (NTIA), backed by $1.25 billion in funds authorized by the Digital Equity Act.
The funds will go toward reporting on and assessing the impact of grant-funded activities, facilitating data collection, and providing strategic plans to support grant programs around broadband access. Evaluation from MIC and its PBR Institute will focus on the economic impacts, education and healthcare implications, social and civic engagement, and community access around internet technology.
"It's vitally important that all Philadelphians are able to fully participate in society, which requires guaranteed access to reliable and affordable broadband services,” said Victor Pickard, Co-Director of MIC and C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy.
Pickard added that the MIC Center and PBR Institute are looking forward to conducting in-depth empirical research to evaluate local internet initiatives. “It’s important to evaluate so that such programs can successfully intervene against predictable market failures in broadband services.”
MIC, a collaboration between the Annenberg School and Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information, explores the intersections between media, democracy, technology, policy, and social justice. The PBR Institute, a joint research group with Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University, focuses on digital equity. Since its launch in 2023, the PBR Institute has analyzed internet access in underserved communities in Pennsylvania as a whole, looking at cost, infrastructure, policy, and access.
Together, they are a part of four government offices and 18 local non-profits and universities who will work with the City’s Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) to provide better internet resources, digital training, and access to devices for communities in Philadelphia.
“We are thrilled to be able to build upon our work helping Philadelphia residents access internet, devices, and the digital skills required in today’s world,” said Juliet Fink Yates, Broadband and Digital Inclusion Manager at OIT. “This funding will tie together several systems across the City making it easier for residents to get the support they need to be prepared for a digital future.”
