Towards Digital Inclusion and Community Empowerment

The What’s Up experience in Wisconsin

Leo Burd MIT Center for Civic Media

MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference – 2012.06.18

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What’s Up initiative South Wood County, Wisconsin

Potential Outreach

Population

45,803200 community organizations

challengesUnemployment rate: 8%

since 2005Medicaid increase: 75%FoodShare increase: 39%

37% of low-income families said they were not connected to the Internet

challengesUnemployment rate: 8%

since 2005Medicaid increase: 75%FoodShare increase: 39%

37% of low-income families said they were not connected to the Internet

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Signs located at: Walmart Job Center Food Pantry

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Signs located at: Walmart Job Center Food Pantry

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Paper Bulletins: Buyers Guide Job Center Food Pantry

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Community Hotline715-952-9020

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Community Hotline715-952-9020

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Community Hotline715-952-9020

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Lessons learned

Community foundations such as Incourage not only help us

understand how the region works.

They open doors to local organizations, provide credibility to the

project, guarantee the sustainability of the activities beyond the

initial pilots, and have little pockets of resources that play a

critical role whenever things evolve differently than planned.

Lessons learned

Community foundations such as Incourage not only help us

understand how the region works.

They open doors to local organizations, provide credibility to the

project, guarantee the sustainability of the activities beyond the

initial pilots, and have little pockets of resources that play a

critical role whenever things evolve differently than planned.

Lessons learned

Community foundations such as Incourage not only help us

understand how the region works.

They open doors to local organizations, provide credibility to the

project, guarantee the sustainability of the activities beyond the

initial pilots, and have little pockets of resources that play a

critical role whenever things evolve differently than planned.

Looking ahead

At the local level

• Promote local adoption

• Developing technical capacity to support What’s Up

• Keep enhancing the system based on community feedback

At the broader level

• Publish white paper

• Organize webinar to community foundations

• Replicate the experience to other regions

Looking ahead

At the local level

• Promote local adoption

• Developing technical capacity to support What’s Up

• Keep enhancing the system based on community feedback

At the broader level

• Publish white paper

• Organize webinar to community foundations

• Replicate the experience to other regions

leoburd@media.mit.edu

http://incourageevents.org/

http://incouragecf.org/

For additional information

Special thanks to

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