How Tennessee’s early start on digital equity is benefitting the Volunteer State

Tennessee’s digital skills policies are making the state a leader as full-blown implementation of the federal Digital Equity Act begins. National Skills Coalition spoke with staff members at the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) about what they’ve learned and what they’re planning.

A wide-ranging state plan that connects digital goals to education and workforce priorities

The state’s Digital Opportunity Plan stands out for the explicit connections it makes to existing state workforce and education priorities, which will help ensure long-term sustainability. In particular, the plan:

• Is explicitly aligned with the state’s workforce development goal of becoming the number-one state in the Southeast for high quality jobs.
• Describes how the state’s strategies will support small businesses and will “make rural areas more attractive for advanced manufacturing firms that require interconnectivity and a digitally skilled workforce to effectively operate in an Industry 4.0 world.”
• Connects the dots between the state’s goal of improving labor-force participation and the importance of helping workers build the digital skills necessary to obtain remote-work jobs.
• Clearly connects its strategy of helping students earn degrees and certificates to the state’s Drive to 55 This initiative aims to get 55% of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by 2025, and is also supported by the state’s Tennessee Reconnect and Tennessee Promise initiatives.

A lively community of advocates laid the groundwork for today’s accomplishments

Tennessee is home to nationally recognized nonprofit digital inclusion organizations such as The Enterprise Center in Chattanooga, and a robust community of activists who have been working on digital equity issues since long before Congress passed the Digital Equity Act in 2021. The state’s Digital Opportunity Plan identified more than 150 assets (nonprofits, etc.) that build Tennesseans’ digital access and skills. And in 2023, the #BlackTechFutures Research Institute chose Memphis as an inaugural city for the Black Tech Ecosystem Index.

This buzz of advocacy has helped drive more formal state policies. The 2017 passage of the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act was an early indicator of state officials’ interest in promoting broadband adoption and digital skills. The legislation established a partnership between TNECD and the Tennessee State Library and Archives, investing in an ongoing grant program to libraries to provide digital skill-building and related services.

Tennessee’s bold use of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds

Tennessee is unusual in having dedicated a full $500 million of its federal coronavirus relief funds to broadband programs. The state’s Fiscal Stimulus Advisory Group decided to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Recovery Funds to advance broadband access and adoption.

A portion of that funding — $50 million – was dedicated to broadband adoption and digital skills activities. “I came on board in September 2021, and [that] allocation had been formalized a few weeks before,” says TNECD’s Taylre Beatty. Her team quickly set out to gather information from the public about what was most needed.

“Across the board, the biggest areas were digital skills and workforce development,” she says. “We also knew people would need interim solutions while they were waiting for [the full rollout of] broadband.”

Public feedback via the state’s listening sessions affirmed their plans. “We heard a lot of [comments such as] ‘We need options for Tennesseans to work from home [or] learn the skills they need to go after the tech jobs,’” says Beatty.

Among the activities funded by TNECD are:

• Digital Skills, Education, and Workforce Grant Program (DSEW), which supports skilling programs that help individuals develop the technical proficiency required to navigate complex digital environments, participate in the digital economy, and drive innovation. This program also aims to develop a well-trained and diverse telecommunications workforce.
• Connected Communities Facilities Grant Program (CCF). Local governments and their nonprofit partners can apply for these funds to build new or rehabilitate existing community facilities to provide a variety of digital services, including broadband access, digital skills training, and workforce development, in one location.

From music to agriculture, investing in digital skills for Tennessee’s flagship industries

Like many states, Tennessee has a robust agricultural industry that in recent years has shifted toward technology-based tools. But lack of infrastructure remains a significant challenge. “I come from an ag background,” says Beatty. “It started to bother me in college when my classmates said they couldn’t go back to their family farms because they had no broadband.” As a result, agriculture is a focus industry for her office’s work on digital opportunity.

Another vital sector is arts and entertainment, centered of course in Nashville, aka the Music City. The state has recently allocated $3.5 million to support digital skill-building programs in the music industry.

State leaders are taking action to reach under-represented regions and communities

State broadband leaders view their role as helping to convene and connect digital inclusion advocates and partners across the state. To this end, the office is coordinating the Tennessee Digital Opportunity Summit, being held this month in Chattanooga.

Officials have also worked to connect partners on an individual basis, says TNECD’s Codi Drake. “Knowing where concentrations of nonprofit organizations already exist,” he says, “we have tried to focus our efforts on connecting potential partners to each other in areas where there aren’t as many organizations on the ground.”

“We are mindful of doing outreach to groups [that have a track record of success] in serving covered populations,” says TNECD’s Leah Mims, “and making sure that our timelines and application processes work even for smaller organizations.”

These populations include veterans, rural residents, and incarcerated individuals, as well as people of color. “Our Office of Re-Entry has a tablet program that is training people within correctional facilities, and we’re doing a lot of work with organizations working with re-entry populations,” says Drake.

State officials are very intentional about reaching all Tennesseans. “We audited our own DSEW grants to [ascertain that] covered populations are being served,” Drake says.