Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Evaluation Study. Case Study Report Round 2 C.K. Blandin Foundation Sustainable Broadband Adoption.

摘要

The purpose of this case study is to: Identify how the grantee maximized the impact of the BTOP investment; Identify successful techniques, tools, materials, and strategies used to implement the project; and Identify any best practices, and gather evidence from third parties, such as consumers and anchor institutions, as to the impact of the project in the community. This case study is primarily qualitative. ASR collected the information presented in this report during two field visits to evaluate the social and economic impact of MIRC. The evaluation study team originally met with members of the C.K. Blandin Foundation over a three-day period in September 2011, visiting four of the eleven Demonstration Communities and meeting with statewide partners. The communities visited included the City of Windom, Upper Minnesota Valley, Stevens County/ the City of Morris, and Kandiyohi County/City of Willmar. ASR conducted a followup site visit with the grantee from February 20-22, 2013. This site visit included interviews with representatives from five statewide partners and six Demonstration Communities, including Upper Minnesota Valley, Kandiyohi County/City of Willmar, and four not visited during the first site visit: Benton County, Grand Rapids, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Cook County. The Stevens County/City of Morris Demonstration Community was not able to meet during the site visit but provided information through email, and ASR conducted a telephone interview with the City of Windom following the site visit. This report further investigates the initial impacts uncovered during the first round of visits and identifies additional impacts that occurred in the time between the site visits. The results presented in this report reflect the evaluation study team’s observations at the time of the second site visit. This report includes both qualitative and quantitative components, and it serves as a basis for Interim Report 2, which will analyze data from fifteen case studies.