Kerr-Tar Region’s Digital Inclusion Planning
Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments was awarded funding from BAND-NC [https://iei.ncsu.edu/band-nc/ ] to support the five-county region in developing County Digital Inclusion Plans and a Regional Digital Inclusion Plan. Our Focus Areas: 
1. Affordable, robust broadband internet service
2. Internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user
3. Access to digital literacy training
4. Quality technical support
5. Applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency
Outreach Efforts: Survey outreach was conducted on social media, in partnership with local governments, and through in-person events to support the statewide effort to better understand the needs of our community. The direct link to the survey is NCBroadband.gov/Survey
Data Collection: Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Government’s Regional Project Manager, Amanda Lewis, hosted stakeholder meetings within each county. These engagement sessions with local government, internet service providers, and community partners allowed for each County Digital Inclusion Team to develop their unique Vision, Mission, Values, and Goals for the communities they serve. Once a general scope of work for each county was developed, additional information was gathered from the NC OneMap [http://www.nconemap.gov ] resources, Census.gov, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the state-wide survey. All of this data was used to create a tailored Digital Inclusion Plan for each county. Once all five counties have published their plans, these will be combined to create the Kerr-Tar Regional Digital Inclusion Plan.
Franklin County – [In-progress]
Granville County – https://www.granvillecounty.org/790/Digital-Inclusion-Plan
• Granville County Digital Inclusion Team: Terry Hobgood, Will Robinson, & Lisa Dendy formed the county team. They provided information, met with the COG regularly, and generally supported the project for Granville County.
Person County – [In-progress]
Vance County – [In-progress]
Warren County – [In-progress]
Kerr-Tar Regional Digital Inclusion Plan – [In-progress]