San Francisco Tech Connect

Background

Increasingly, access to the Internet is a necessity for doing schoolwork, finding and keeping a job, communicating, even reading the news. As the City of San Francisco moves toward building an affordable municipal wireless network, it is critical that this new infrastructure serve all of the city’s diverse communities. However, without appropriate training, local content and tools, many San Francisco residents will be unable to realize the full socio-economic benefits of the city’s planned universal wireless network.

Organization Mission

San Francisco Tech Connect, a program of the city’s Department of Telecommunications and Information Services, aims to promote digital inclusion by ensuring affordable Internet access, hardware, training and relevant local content to all by providing all residents with access and comprehensive tools, low-income and underserved citizens will be able to practically and successfully use the Internet in their daily lives.

Full Circle Fund Role

Beginning in early 2005, a member team partnered with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office to develop a strategy for digital inclusion in parallel with the city’s efforts to provide wireless Internet access through the TechConnect project.

The strategy had three parts:

• Develop high-profile outreach events to demonstrate the benefits of a broadband wireless network to the community
• Develop a long-term strategy for implementing and sustaining a best-in-class community wireless system from a technical and business standpoint
• Create a “brain trust,” an impartial, interdisciplinary group of experts to advise the city on this complex project

Impact

Working closely with San Francisco Tech Connect, the Full Circle Fund team has:

• Helped develop what is now the Mayor’s Tech Connect Task Force by organizing a Wireless Expert Council to assist the project in developing its Request for Proposal
• Executed a pilot laptop project in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood, including the sale of 75 low-cost wifi-enabled laptops and the development of multilingual training sessions and instructional materials. This pilot was the first wi-fi development in public housing in the U.S.
  • read article about the pilot - California Chronicle, May 15, 2006
• Gathered and reported the first hard data on the digital divide in San Francisco by conducting a comprehensive survey of over 500 residents in the Bayview/Hunters Point district
• Developed a strategic plan for the Mayor’s Office to scale Tech Connect initiative to include other events and additional communities in the future

NAME: San Francisco Tech Connect
LOCATION: San Francisco
WEB: sfgov.org
GRANT TERM: 2005-2006
TEAM LEAD: Anthony Lee

"Full Circle Fund is an exemplary organization that encourages young leaders to play a vital role in the narrative for positive social change in communities throughout the Bay Area. I am pleased to commend Full Circle Fund for its stewardship in connection with San Francisco's Project Homeless Connect - which now serves as a national best practice - and for all its philanthropic endeavors that go toward enhancing the quality of life for all our residents."

Mayor Gavin Newsom

City and County of San Francisco