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Project Description
Objective: To report on and monitor the impact of broadband internet access in rural and remotes communities in British Columbia. We are focused on six areas: health, education, language, community (“social capital”), economics (business impact), and government services. NOTE: This project is now complete and this web site is up for archival purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact me (smith@sfu.ca).
In 2005 the BC provincial government committed to providing broadband access to all communities that had a public school, library or health care facility. The province, communities, and community members hoped to better understand the impact of their investment and efforts. These communities were the subject of our study, but we were interested in online survey responses from anyone in BC.
Given that many communities in B.C. are being connected for the first time, we have the unique opportunity to track and document the early impacts of broadband. We are seeking to understand the benefits, but also to understand the barriers to broadband implementation. We will compare early adopter communities with those where penetration is low in order to identify determining factors for successful implementation and use.
In addition, this study will provide a methodological tool that can be used to track the effects of government policy and provide guidance on how to learn what has worked and what has not. Findings from this research can be used to inform provincial policy and lay the foundation for future research.
The project has developed a methodology and analytical tools that can enable government and communities to gather quantitative and qualitative data over time. Data sources include usage statistics from government, health authority and educational servers and community networks. Data is also collected from surveys, interviews, and case studies. We have created a baseline data set that includes a range of socio-economic data for rural and remote communities in BC. This baseline data was collected from many sources and provides a new database of community information.
We used a variety of statistical/analytical methods to enable us to identify – where possible – not only correlations, but also causal links between broadband and outcomes. We focus on outcomes that are meaningful both for community members and policy makers, and on outcomes that have social, economic, and/or cultural significance to the communities and the province.
This research has been conducted in collaboration with leaders in the development and delivery of broadband in BC, with key informants in communities and with those who develop and deliver content.
Contact information: Dr. Richard Smith: smith@sfu.ca, 778.782.5116; Senior researcher Ellen Godfrey: ellen@ellengodfrey.com, 250.477.2817