Application Usage and Development:

In partnership with the Red Sox Foundation and the Massachusetts General Hospital and others, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) will create a Gov 2.0 portal for veterans and their families to fully access the services, information, and opportunities available to them in the state of Massachusetts. This portal will serve as a model for future government websites by creating a single interface which constituents can use to access the services of multiple agencies.

Computer Ownership and Internet Usage:

In partnership with the Massachusetts Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, MBI will make competitive sub-grants of $60,000 over a three year period to four community development corporations (CDCs) in economically depressed areas of Massachusetts. These CDCs will recruit small businesses and non-profit organizations, all with annual budgets that are less than $500,000, to participate in a technical assistance program, providing approximately 40 organizations with technical assistance training over the three-year life of the project. The technical assistance recipients will develop a staff and technology plan and receive specialized training, such as how to implement a technology curriculum in their programs or how to ensure data security. Technical assistance participants will also have the opportunity to receive a competitive subgrant to implement portions of their strategic technology plans. MBI will also subcontract with an independent evaluator to assess the project’s outcomes over the period of performance.

Data Collection, Integration, and Validation:

This project was originally funded for broadband planning activities and two years of data collection. In September of 2010, this project was amended to extend data collection activities for an additional three years and to identify and implement best practices.

Address File Development:

MBI is proposing two innovative and cost-effective solutions to create address point files to improve geocoding accuracy: 1) Focusing on 45 towns and census blocks greater than two square miles, MBI will utilize existing digital parcel data and real estate files to automate the creation of accurate address files; 2) MBI will implement a proof-of-concept model for crowd sourcing addresses across 35-45 towns, and will expand the work to all towns in the state after reviewing the effectiveness of the crowd sourced mechanism.