The North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center (NCJCD), through its NCexChange program, and three statewide partners, will test the Community NETworker model (developed under an FY1994 TIIAP planning grant) in several low-income North Carolina communities: City of Greensboro; City of Rocky Mount; Martin, Washington, Tyrell, and Beaufort Counties; and Swain County. Locally-based Community NETworkers will work as intermediaries to help nonprofits, local governments, and small businesses create local networks, allowing them to collaborate more effectively on economic development projects, improve delivery of client services, become more accessible to community residents, and more effectively use state and national resources. NETworkers, in cooperation with statewide organizations, will help local organizations build local capacity and create a self-sustaining support system. At each site, the NETworker will recruit as project participants 15-20 community-based organizations and local government agencies, and 8-12 small businesses. Each local system will include the public library, cooperative extension office, and regional field office of the state Division of Community Assistance. Each site will also link to 13 key statewide resource organizations. Private sector Internet service providers will provide connections to NETworkers and end users.
A recent survey by the North Carolina Rural Center showed that 72 percent of local governments and 92 percent of non-profits would use electronic networks if they had the necessary training and support. The NCJCD will provide this training and support, allowing organizations to communicate among themselves and act as information conduits for state agencies and resource organizations such as the North Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition, the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute, the Institute of Minority Economic Development, the Association of Community Development Corporations, North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, Community Reinvestment Association, the Office of County Commissioners, and the League of Municipalities.
Partners include the North Carolina-based Center for Community Self-Help, the North Carolina Department of Commerce's Division of Community Assistance, and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. The project will also involve the Aspen Institute's Rural Economic Policy Program, the North Carolina Institute of Government, and Irwin Henderson Associates, an expert on community economic development. NETworkers will also receive consultation on the use of Geographic Information Systems mapping techniques to demonstrate the needs of their communities.
