Electronic Networks and Civic Life: A Longitudinal Study

This proposal extends a prior NSF-funded study of the impact of a community-based electronic network linking citizens in the city of Grand Rapids in rural Itasca County, Minnesota. In 1995, Grand Rapids initiated planning for a community-wide electronic network. Implemented in late 1997, GrandNet's goals included increasing the community's access to the national information infrastructure, reducing residents' disparities in access,increasing information available to community members, and facilitating the sharing of data and information among the partner organizations. The GrandNet Project now encompasses both GrandNet and ItascaNet, an expansion of GrandNet to surrounding Itasca County. This study addresses several very broad issues. The first is to identify what distinguishes a community that attempts to develop a community-wide, non-commercial network with broad-based citizen access from one that relies entirely on market economics and makes no effort to address issues of equity or civic life. One potential answer resides in the social capital literature: communities with greater social and human capital attempt to provide collective rather than individual applications of information technologies. A second issue is to assess the consequences for political, human, social, and economic resources of developing a community-wide civic network. Compared to a similar community lacking such an effort, what in economic, political, and social life is improved? Finally, the project will focus on three fundamental values an electronic community can affect. Regarding equity of resources, it will address whether an electronic community alleviates or exacerbates urban-rural differences in economic opportunities, technology use, educational resources and health care. Second, it will examine equity of opportunity within the community. Over time, how are special subgroups (senior citizens, at-risk children, Native Americans, and the economically disadvantaged) affected by the implementation of an electronic network? Third, given national trends of increased citizen apathy and decreased civic participation, how may an electronic community affect community bonds? Can a communications system lacking face-to-face interaction strengthen community ties? Alternatively, would increased information flow between local government and citizens encourage or weaken citizen support and participation? To assess these issues, the project will compare GrandNet in Grand Rapids with a control town lacking such a community-wide network (Detroit Lakes, MN, which was selected by a rigorous cluster analysis coupled with qualitative analysis of the characteristics of several communities and counties.) The control community does not lack technology development efforts, but it does lack a public-oriented community effort. This allows a comparison of GrandNet's effects with a community that is experiencing the kind of technological change that Grand Rapids and Itasca County would probably experience were it not for the efforts of the GrandNet partners. The prior work has shown that, in the control town, computer access and use is a function of economic resources, whereas in Grand Rapids, access and use are rather strongly affected by political and civic as well as economic resources. This project will collect additional baseline and follow-up data to compare ItascaNet in Itasca County with Becker county (home of Detroit Lakes) in order to discern whether changes in attitudes and behaviors reasonably can be attributed to GrandNet. Baseline and follow-up information will be collected and analyzed for both counties, including surveys and aggregate demographic and economic statistics. During year 1, the team will administer mail surveys in Itasca and Becker counties. The year 1 survey will be a baseline assessment of ItascaNet and a time 2 follow up of the fall 1997 baseline survey of the city of Grand Rapids. Researchers will also conduct a series of focus groups with citizens and community leaders, as well as longitudinal panels comprised of members of three special populations (seniors, at-risk children and adolescents, and Native Americans). To supplement the data from the general- and special-population surveys and focus groups, the team will collect aggregate statistics for Minnesota cities and counties for a number of demographic and economic characteristics and conduct interrupted time series analyses. In year 2 data collection will be a county-wide survey in the spring of 2001 that represents a time 3 Grand Rapids assessment and a time 2 Itasca County assessment. The researchers will continue to conduct focus groups and small-scale surveys with members of the special populations. In Year 3, the focus of the research effort will be a county-wide survey administered in the fall of 2002, which will provide a fourth assessment of the impact of GrandNet and a third assessment of the impact of ItascaNet on the community. The project will be able to track changes that occur over the first five years of the network's existence. Results will be presented at meetings and symposia, and in articles and other publications.