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Task force refines 'digital skills and sustained affordability' definition and lists near‑term actions
Summary
Breakout groups adopted a two‑part definition—empower residents with entry and advanced digital skills; sustain individual affordability and future network upgrades—and proposed quick wins: fund and coordinate digital navigators, expand library staffing for classes, engage legislators, and map existing programs.
At the Feb. 18 meeting the Governor's Task Force worked in breakout rooms to refine a task force definition and identify short‑term actions to improve digital skills and sustain affordable Internet access.
Patrick Nearing of UW Extension led the session and presented a revised two‑part definition the group accepted in draft form: (1) empowering residents by removing human barriers through tech training—including comfort with technology, entry‑level skills such as email and online forms, and advanced skills including AI and cybersecurity—and (2) ensuring sustained affordability through proactive oversight, legislative funding, infrastructure capacity planning and mechanisms for ongoing affordability for individuals so that the cost of staying current does not become a new barrier to access.
Breakout groups proposed several quick wins for the next 12 months: exploring whether BEAD or other broadband funds can support digital navigator positions and skills training; encouraging libraries to staff digital‑skills classes and provide one‑on‑one help; recruiting high‑school volunteers to assist with training; mapping existing digital‑skills programs across the state to identify gaps; and keeping legislators engaged by highlighting success stories and return on investment.
Task force members stressed partnerships with libraries, UW Extension, United Ways, ADRCs, workforce boards, school districts and health care providers. Groups also recommended cross‑training community health workers as digital navigators to connect patients to subsidized programs.
Why it matters: The task force is moving from diagnosis to action—defining what success looks like and identifying implementable short‑term steps that pair training and affordability with infrastructure investments.
What’s next: The task force will continue word‑smithing the definition and will focus its next meeting (March 18) on future‑proofing infrastructure and oversight.
