Last Update – January 2025: In this update, we refreshed all digital access data in the roadmap and updated goals and projects.
Even if residents can get online with an internet connection and a device, they may not have the skills or understanding necessary to fully participate in the digital world. These digital skills, according to the American Library Association, encompass the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.
If residents aren’t familiar with operating systems, file organization, safe internet practices, work-related programs, internet browsing, e-mail, or social media, they are greatly limited in how they can use the internet to learn, connect, and grow. Without this familiarity, residents may also not know what they can gain from digital resources, contributing to disinterest in broadband service or a device. To bridge the digital divide in our community, promoting digital skills is essential.
South Bend’s Current State of Digital Skills
Because statistics on digital skills are limited at the local level, in 2022 the City launched the first South bend Digital Literacy Survey to understand residents’ comfort with 19 essential digital skills. These skills ranged from navigating windows on a computer and downloading content to working with spreadsheet and presentation tools. In 2023, we published an interactive dashboard that reviews our survey results as well as a Medium blog discussing its implications for digital equity in South Bend.
With responses from 305 residents, our survey found an average proficiency score of 72.72%, meaning that, on average, residents were at least somewhat comfortable with about 14 of the 19 tasks we asked about.
We also see that 33 respondents (10.8%) were comfortable with 1 or fewer digital tasks in our survey, while 118 respondents (38.7%) were comfortable with all or nearly all tasks in the survey. While most residents have a high level of digital skills, a significant proportion may be complete digital newcomers.
Taking a look at comfort level by each skill included in the survey, we see that many basic tasks see varying levels of comfort. Spreadsheets, presentation applications, and collaborative documents are least likely to be “very comfortable” for residents. Despite their increasing importance since the start of the pandemic, videoconferencing and online banking are among the tasks residents are most likely to be “very uncomfortable” with, and only 43% of residents are “very comfortable” using online government services.
These results can inform digital skills training programs in the community, and also suggest that maintaining analog and in-person communication alongside digital services within our government is critical to serving all of our residents.
Finally, our survey showed that older residents are likely to have lower level of digital skills proficiency.
Especially as an AARP Age-Friendly community, South Bend is committed to better connecting our older residents to help them more fully thrive.
In addition to older adults, the Department of Education reports that people of color, those without education beyond a high school degree, and those with disabilities tend to see lower rates of digital skills proficiency on average. As we work to promote digital equity, it is critical that we target our efforts to serve these communities.
Digital Skills Goals
Most recent updates: July 2023
- Survey 300 residents in the first citywide Digital Literacy Survey with published estimates on digital skills proficiency by the end of 2022.
- Complete! See below for updates.
- Host a minimum of 20 events per year deepening residents’ digital skills at the South Bend Technology Resource Center through 2025.
- Explore philanthropic and ongoing grantmaking models to sustain digital skills programming for community partners.
- The City has supported a new partnership between La Casa de Amistad and the St. Joe County Public Library to provide digital skills training to the community. See updates below.
- Capitalizing on federal funding opportunities, pilot a digital navigator program using the City’s Outreach Team to help residents access online resources and learn digital skills around the community by 2024.
- South Bend has been awarded $193,000 to promote the Affordable Connectivity Program through digital navigators. See updates below.
What we’re doing now:
To reach these goals, we are engaged in projects and making commitments listed below. Please refer to this page often for updates as our efforts progress and we launch new initiatives.
Digital Skills Programming at the Technology Resource Center
Digital Skills Programming at the Technology Resource Center
- In addition to providing residents with free high-speed internet and devices for public use, the Technology Resource Center is the City’s home for digital skills training.
- Since 2022, the City and enFocus have hosted more than 80 events at the Technology Resource Center. Many of these events focus on deepening residents’ comfort and skills with tools like spreadsheets, design software, surveys, and government data. The space is also open to community partners looking to promote digital skills or technology access.
- The TRC is also home to South Bend Code School youth programming, with scholarships sponsored by the City. South Bend Code School provides students with an introduction to coding and applied digital skills through award-winning after school programs.
- Click here to learn more about the Technology Resource Center and visit the TRC Eventbrite page to explore upcoming programming!
Surveying Residents’ Digital Skills
Surveying Residents’ Digital Skills
- To address the limited availability of local data on digital skills and better understand the needs of our residents, we launched South Bend’s first Digital Literacy Survey.
- In addition to the above online form, residents (especially those without internet access) could complete paper surveys at every St. Joe County Public Library location, as well as in community centers throughout South Bend.
- Results from South Bend’s first citywide Digital Literacy Survey are published on the Open Data Portal. We have also published a full dashboard of insights from the Digital Literacy Survey, as well as a Medium blog explaining our process and the results.
Exploring a Digital Navigator Model
Exploring a Digital Navigator Model
- Digital navigators, individuals who walk with residents through the different steps in the process of getting online, can be critical in promoting digital equity in a community.
- Currently, the City of South Bend Outreach Team works to connect residents with local, state, and federal resources or assistance programs. As the Outreach Team engages with residents, they help them navigate available resources with a holistic approach to access.
- By 2023, we plan to leverage the Outreach Team to serve as digital navigators for residents, helping them access digital resources and learn digital skills.
Update, March 2023: South Bend has won $193,000 in federal grant funding to promote the Affordable Connectivity Program through digital navigators. As we consider how we can best implement digital navigators in South Bend, we will learn from this use case.
Supporting our Partners
Supporting our Partners
- Especially as residents look to trusted community organizations for resources, we are eager to leverage the work of our partners to promote digital skills training.
- The St. Joe County Public Library (SJCPL), with 9 locations in South Bend, offers assistance with digital tasks and is exploring new digital skills training programs with community organizations.
- La Casa de Amistad, in partnership with SJCPL and Comcast, has launched a growing program providing basic and advanced digital skills in a bilingual format. After completing a 12-week course, students receive a computing device (for the basic course) or an additional computer accessory (for advanced courses).
- Bendable, a free online learning resource offered through the library, helps residents learn about a variety of topics from local and national sources. Bendable provides free courses on basic computer and internet use, as well as over 100 additional topics like presentation software, safe practices online, and many more.
- South Bend Code School offers courses for school-age students and adult learners around applied tech skills, coding, and careers in STEM. Scholarships for youth programming are available with support from the City.
- Especially as new funding becomes available for digital equity programming, we will work with community partners to explore how the City can best support and sustain their digital skills programming.
Continue to explore our Digital Equity Roadmap below for additional initiatives and resident resources!