Empowering Rural America - A New Model Emerges

By Michael Sotire

10/2009

(Page 2 of 4)

economic development. They are enabled to provide fee and subscription-based services to citizens, businesses and employers. High-speed Internet access provides a conduit for the provision of assessment, testing, certification, staffing and other human resource and workforce development services to all high-growth industries of the service economy, including the broadband technology sector.

Community anchor institutions and organizations, such as colleges and universities may be able to acquire status as approved E-rate service providers. In context, subscription fees paid by e-rate recipients to community anchor e-rate approved providers are considered reimbursable expenses, but this aspect must be carefully scrutinized for applicability based on specific criteria. Non-profit private schools, public schools and libraries can receive discounted telecommunications services through the E-rate program, which was established in 1997 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Universal Service Order implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The Order was designed to ensure that all eligible schools and libraries have affordable access to modern telecommunications and information services. Up to $2.25 billion annually is available to provide eligible schools and libraries with discounts under the E-rate program for authorized services. The E-rate provides discounts of 20 percent to 90 percent for eligible telecommunications services, depending on economic need and location (urban or rural). The level of discount is based on the percentage of students eligible for participation the National School Lunch Program or other federally approved alternative mechanisms. (Non-public schools and others not participating in the National School Lunch Program can use federally approved alternative mechanisms contained in the Improving America's Schools Act.

Another important component of this public/private model is the inclusion of Service Science education in the mix of online and classroom applications. Perhaps it represents the most compelling aspect of the vision that drives the social innovation and collaborative entrepreneurship behind the effort. Service Science, or its more formal designation, Service Science Management and Engineering, is primarily the result of IBM uncovering the fact that more than one-half of its revenue is now generated through the provision of services and the percentage is growing at a rapid pace. IBM recognized that, over time, they had converted their product offerings into a large-scale service and delivery system.

Mentor-Based Workforce Development

The WISP model provides a Web 2.0 technology platform for community-wide information exchange and knowledge-transfer that powers a unique mentor/protégé relationship among students engaged in STEM, Service Science and entrepreneurship education and includes job-seekers, employers and industry associations. The technology and applications were designed specifically for the WISP model by Internet Pathways and I-CAN Network. Service Science is an academic cross-discipline designed to produce students with the combined business and technology skills needed to enter today's workforce and ready to contribute immediately to their country's economic and innovation agendas. Jai Menon, IBM's vice president of technical strategy and university programs said, "We're finding that a combined education in business, technology, and social sciences is the right education needed for students to have the baseline of skills for innovation. IBM has been working with universities and other industry organizations to identify the skills needed in this ever-changing world economy."

In fact, the mentor/protégé component is being introduced as a major component of a process that will help to transform the public education and workforce investment systems with the assistance of an innovative wireless broadband deployment service and delivery strategy, made available through the WISP service mix. The public education and workforce investment systems are now well-positioned for the level of transformation that can produce the masses of essential talent required to advance, maintain and sustain the very systems from which they emanate.

The entire process provides a large measure of investment leveraging, cohesiveness and sustainability to diverse Recovery Act initiatives. Here is a relevant case in point.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the US

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