The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s BroadbandUSA has released a new stakeholder outreach guide aimed at community leaders hoping to improve local broadband. The guide reviews strategies for stakeholder engagement and selection, outreach planning, and evaluating impact.
BroadbandUSA: Introduction to Stakeholder Outreach builds on BroadbandUSA’s mission to serve as a technical assistance resource for communities trying to build broadband capacity and increase adoption rates. The organization promotes collaboration as the primary means to achieve better broadband outcomes.
The guide breaks down the process of broadband stakeholder outreach and consensus building into steps to help communities self-evaluate and plan with purpose. Steps include creating a strategic vision, identifying and prioritizing partners, analyzing the capabilities and interest levels of stakeholders, and planning a marketing/outreach campaign.
This new resource will accompany the Community Connectivity Self-Assessment tool, which will be an online and interactive tool for communities to self-evaluate resources and gather information. In addition, BroadbandUSA is holding a webinar to discuss stakeholder engagement featuring Anne Byers and Kathy Johnson. Byers is the eHealth and Community Information Technology Manager for the Nebraska Information Technology Commission, and Johnson is the Director of the Broadband Development Office for Alabama Governor Robert Bentley.
The BroadbandUSA webinar is on Wednesday September 21st at 12:00 PM MT. Registration can be found here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/2578680599272392707
BroadbandUSA’s new guide can be found here:
https://www2.ntia.doc.gov/files/stakeholderoutreach_082616.pdf