Background
With the passage of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, every state is required to develop a Digital Equity State Plan (known as the Digital Access Plan) which explores access to affordable broadband and digital devices as well as digital skill levels and cybersecurity practices for eight covered populations: low-income households, aging populations, incarcerated individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, people with language barriers, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural inhabitants. Within the plan, each state is required to then define measurable objectives that would address the digital divide for these populations.
What is the Digital Access Plan?
Colorado published its Digital Access Plan in early 2024, which explores the current state of digital access in Colorado, identifies and aligns statewide goals, and outlines strategies for implementing the Plan. The Plan was designed with Coloradans at its heart. The team received input from over 15,000 Coloradans through listening sessions and surveys in 2023.
Who is the Digital Equity Team?
The Digital Equity Team is led by the Office of the Future of Work in partnership with the Office of eHealth Innovation. The state’s digital equity infrastructure work is supported by the Colorado Broadband Office, which oversees Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and other broadband infrastructure funding.
- How to Get Involved
- Register to join the Digital Equity Stakeholders meetings.
- If you would like to be included in the list of organizations interested in digital inclusion efforts, and your organization does NOT already appear on the Digital Inclusion Location List, please fill out the Digital Inclusion Ecosystem form.
- Subscribe to the Digital Download: Digital Equity Monthly Newsletter!
- Digital Access Plan Timeline for Funding
Activity Anticipated Date Request for Applications (RFA) for Fiscal Access Partners (FAP) open January 2025 FAPs selected and assist Digital Equity Team with coalition RFA March 2025 RFA for county and regional coalitions open
RFAs for digital inclusion mini-grants are openMay 2025 County and regional coalitions are identified June 2025 County and regional coalitions receive allocations to develop digital access plans July 2025 If you’re interested in learning about Coalition and Fiscal Access Partner Funding, read the Frequently Asked Questions on Coalition and Fiscal Access Partner Funding.
- What Do Digital Inclusion Coalitions Do?
Digital Inclusion Coalitions are uniquely able to maximize the impact of digital inclusion efforts. This can be attributed to the three effects they create (deliberately or not) for their member organizations, participants, and communities: the Advocacy Effect, the Alignment Effect, and the Network Effect. The Digital Equity Team uses the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA)’s framework for the basis of Digital Inclusion Coalitions.
In addition to funding the creation of coalitions, Digital Equity Team will support coalitions in creating their voting structure and determining priorities, the state will provide the following backbone support including:
- Digital Inclusion Coalition toolkit
- Digital Inclusion Coalition Liaison support
- Fiscal Access Partner support
- Data
- Standardized marketing templates
- Advocacy support
- Identification of potential funding opportunities
- How Can Communities Create Digital Inclusion Coalitions?
Once Colorado receives its State Digital Equity Capacity Funding from NTIA, the Digital Equity team plans to release a Request for Applications (RFA) for fiscal access partners (FAP) to support Digital Inclusion Coalitions, either by county or economic development region.
Organizations and entities intending to apply for funding to be a fiscal access partner of a Digital Inclusion Coalition will:
- Be able to serve as a 501(c)3 for one or more coalitions, and oversee subawards and reporting on behalf of the coalition(s);
- Have previous experience working with organizations in the regions or counties they intend to serve;
- Help bring together community-based organizations, local governments, and businesses to form coalitions in partnership with Colorado’s Digital Equity Team; and
- Provide the work described in the RFA for 8% of the allocated funds for that county or region. Funding allocations for each county, region, and tribe are available in the linked spreadsheet.
The Digital Equity Team is also planning out additional, smaller funding opportunities for individual organizations providing digital equity services. More information will be made available on these opportunities in late 2025/early 2026.
Please let the Digital Equity Team know if you are starting to convene potential coalition members at digitalequity@state.co.us.
- How the Digital Access Plan Was Created
- In November 2022, the Office of the Future of Work received $897,000 in Digital Equity Act planning funds. These funds were used to create Colorado’s Digital Access Plan. The OFW worked close in collaboration with the Colorado Broadband Office, which also received Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) on the Digital Access Plan. Read the press release.
- From May through September 2023, the Digital Equity Team collected data, attended outreach events, convened the Digital Equity Committee, and Digital Equity Working Group to create the Digital Access Plan. The Digital Equity Team heard from over 15,000 Coloradans through surveys and listening sessions, and invested more than half a million dollars into Colorado community organizations and companies to shape Colorado's first Digital Access Plan.
- The Digital Access Plan draft was available for public comment from December 15, 2023 through January 19, 2024. The Digital Access Plan wias submitted to the National Telecommunications Information Association (NTIA) in March 2024 for approval.
- Colorado's Digital Access Plan has been approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The plan will be used to guide the state's digital inclusion work with $12 million in State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Funds over the next five years. The Digital Equity Team’s application for capacity funds is currently in the curing process with NTIA.
- Data Sources for the Digital Access Plan
Summary of Data Sources Used
To develop meaningful strategies to close the digital divide in Colorado, the Digital Equity Team needed to hear from Coloradans themselves. To ensure the voice of Coloradans and the covered populations remained the north star for the Digital Access Plan, the Digital Equity Team employed several data collection efforts, including:- The Statewide Digital Equity Survey.
- The 2023 Colorado Health Access Survey.
- The Sterling Correctional Facility PRIN Report.
- Listening sessions with covered populations.
Funding Community Based Organizations
The Digital Equity team funded 22 community-based organizations across the state, chosen based on the covered populations they serve and their reach within the state. These contracts made up 45% of Colorado’s total budget, for a total of almost $400,000. The community-based organizations disseminated the Statewide Digital Equity Survey and conducted listening sessions with their communities. They also gave feedback on digital tools, program models, and other interventions to build digital equity, and they participated in Colorado’s Digital Equity Committee meetings to guide the Digital Equity State Plan's development.Statewide Digital Equity Survey
This was a statewide survey used to collect baseline data from Coloradans and all the covered populations on digital skills levels, internet use, affordability of internet subscriptions, and more. It was available in 22 languages online and available on paper for those who could not complete an online survey. Community-based organizations the Digital Equity Team contracted with provided space in their buildings and classes for community members to take the survey, gave survey-taking assistance, and provided paper versions for those who needed them.The survey was open between July and September 2023 and received 5,758 valid responses, achieving an 89% completion rate. In addition to working with community-based partners to disseminate the survey, the Digital Equity Team collaborated with Comcast to air a 30-second public service announcement to all Xfinity cable subscribers and a Spanish version that aired on Telemundo. In addition, the survey was advertised in 15 newspapers serving rural communities ranging from Park County to Sedgwick County.
Ninety percent of survey respondents belong to one or more covered populations. The top languages people responded to the survey were English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese/Traditional Chinese. All covered populations are overrepresented in the survey data, except for rural residents. Key findings include:
- Affordability is the most significant barrier to broadband adoption.
- Many Coloradans, disproportionately individuals experiencing homelessness, those with limited English proficiency, and immigrants, have only a smartphone for accessing the internet at home.
- Coloradans, especially individuals belonging to a covered population group, have a high degree of interest in classes or opportunities to improve digital skills.
- Many Coloradans are unfamiliar with the cybersecurity measures needed to stay safe online.
- More than half of respondents rarely or never use the internet to apply for or use public benefits.
2023 Colorado Health Access Survey
The Digital Equity Team also added six questions relating to digital skills and cybersecurity to the 2023 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS). The CHAS is run by the Colorado Health Institute, and more than 10,000 households in the state have participated every other year since 2009. The survey provides a credible source of information about key trends and challenges facing Coloradans that is unavailable through any other source.The results of the CHAS were analyzed by each of the covered populations. This information was used with data gleaned from the Digital Equity Team’s Statewide Digital Equity Survey and listening sessions to create baseline numbers for each measured objective and covered population. A total of 9,961 respondents completed the Colorado Health Access Survey between March 3, 2023, and September 4, 2023.
The Digital Equity Team plans to leverage the CHAS in future years to measure progress on the measurable objectives rather than rolling out a separate statewide survey effort.
The Sterling Correctional Facility Prison Research and Innovation Network Report
The Digital Equity Team couldn’t survey those within correctional facilities directly due to challenges in finding an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Therefore, survey data from the Colorado Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) research team was leveraged. In Colorado, the PRIN is a voluntary partnership between Sterling Correctional Facility and a University of Denver research team that collaborates to improve outcomes for incarcerated people and correctional staff using data and collective decision-making. Its 2023 report is a culmination of a population-level survey of incarcerated people and more than 120 hours of in-depth interviews. The data was collected between March and October 2021.Listening Sessions
18 of the 22 community-based organizations funded held listening sessions with covered populations between July and October. This was helpful in capturing authentic thoughts and perspectives from community members that otherwise may have been filtered if someone from the state government had facilitated the listening sessions. Over 430 people participated in 46 listening sessions (37 in-person and nine virtual), representing every covered population in the state's urban and rural areas. Participants were asked about:- The impact of the internet on their lives.
- Where they access the internet.
- Barriers to access and challenges using the internet.
- Awareness of online privacy and security.