Digital Ready Community
The Digital Ready Community program empowers communities to increase civic engagement, trust, and local government responsiveness by leveraging digital platforms. A team of Purdue specialists and educators guides the community in forming a digital asset group (DAG), inventory digital assets, and draft a community-wide digital engagement plan. Deliverables include the formation of the DAG, DAG’s operational agreement and a community-wide digital engagement plan. The program lasts 6-9 months.
The Digital Ready Community (DRC) program guides community stakeholders/local champions, including local government, to help the community leverage digital platforms to increase civic engagement and trust as well as become more responsive to citizen’s needs.
Over the course of six-nine months, the digital assets group (DAG) and the Purdue team meet face-to-face for nine meetings and hold two webinars. Topics covered include:- Forming a digital assets group
- Program overview
- Trust 101
- Online assessment and vision
- Networking 101
- Internet safety and security
- Legal requirements
- How to write a DAG operational agreement
- Community survey
- Digital engagement plan and implementation timeline
Program takeaways
It can be a challenge getting communities to become aware and motivated to leverage digital platforms to increase trust, responsiveness and civic engagement. Through presentations, hands-on activities and planning facilitated by our Purdue trainers, communities become equipped to:
- Earn community’s trust and convey benefits of program
- Establish a digital assets group (DAG)
- Assess current online presence & reputation
- Discuss importance of online presence, netiquette, and legal considerations
- Design and implement a community-wide digital engagement plan
The digital assets group (DAG) is key for success of this program and consists of selected members of the community whose organizations have a form of online presence, such as a website, social media, blog, etc.
Target Audiences
- Emergency Management
- Police/Fire
- City Hall
- Parks Department
- Works Department
- IT Department
- Councilmen/Commissioners
- County Highway Department
- Treasurer
- Clerk
- Auditor
- Utilities
- Planning Commission
- Chamber
- LEDO
- Main Street
- Extension Educator
To learn more about Digital Ready Community, please contact:
Emily Del Real
Engagement Specialist
edelreal@purdue.edu
Team
The program fees include the workshops, report and plan templates, customized survey instrument and unlimited communications access with the facilitators for program period.
Indiana communities: The program can be delivered in person or online.
- In person program fee: $2,700
- Online program fee: $1,500
Out of State Communities: The program is delivered online only for out of state communities.
- Program fee: $1,600
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