What still remains to be done to bridge the gap between low-income communities and the power of information technologies? A new report by PolicyLink and BCT Partners explores the next frontier for digital divide policy: the innovation divide. Bridging the Innovation Divide: An Agenda for Disseminating Technology Innovations within the Nonprofit Sector discusses the challenges nonprofit organizations face in acquiring and harnessing the full potential of cutting-edge information and communications technologies. This report draws on case study research of 12 nonprofit "early adopters" of new technologies working within four different areas of practice: data analysis and use; policy advocacy; microenterprise development; and technology access and training. Integrating this research with insights from innovation theory, the report describes why nonprofit organizations face obstacles in accessing and using emerging technologies, illustrates how some entrepreneurial organizations have overcome these challenges to successfully integrate new technologies into their community building work, and outlines mechanisms for disseminating innovative technology solutions throughout the nonprofit sector. A five-part policy roadmap charts a strategic agenda for creating a more technology-infused nonprofit sector.

To download a copy of the report in PDF, visit http://www.policylink.org/research/BridgeDivide

Over 10,000 people turned out for Tavis Smiley's ninth annual State of the Black Union on February 10 in Jamestown, Virginia.  Nationwide, 15 million viewers tuned in for C-SPAN's live broadcast of the event, making it the most watched program on C-SPAN.  The event coincided with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown as the nation's first permanent settlement and the arrival of the first African slaves in America. Smiley and co-host Tom Joyner convened two panels that included Angela Glover Blackwell, Cornel West, Marian Wright Edelman, Cathy Hughes, Bruce Gordon, Malika Saada Saar, Tim Reid and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson; panelists explored the impact of African Americans on western culture and discussed current issues of importance to the African-American community, ranging from generational debates and universal healthcare to affordable housing and opportunity-rich communities.

Smiley also introduced The Covenant In Action, a companion text that describes activities inspired by last year's Covenant with Black America, and profiles young black activists who exemplify the quality of leadership that is emerging from the next generation. The Covenant In Action also includes a toolkit to help readers advocate for the issues described in the Covenant, as well as innovative and creative techniques to assist communities in getting started, connecting with one another, and moving Covenant issues into action.

Five of the panelists at State of the Black Union wrote thought-provoking blogs for the Covenant with Black America website, including Angela Glover Blackwell, whose post, "Are African Americans ready to mount the kind of struggle that is needed to take our movement for inclusion to the next crucial level?", addresses the notion that while we have made great progress in many fields, we must still increase our efforts to create a society where all can fully participate and prosper.  To read the blog and share your thoughts, visit www.covenantwithblackamerica.com

Where you live affects your health.  Regional, city, and neighborhood planning decisions influence eating habits (access to grocery stores and other outlets for fresh foods), physical activity (whether there are safe, convenient sidewalks, parks, or recreation centers offering exercise opportunities), air quality (where bus depots are sited or truck traffic is channeled), and more.  Over the past decade, researchers, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers from a variety of fields are increasingly collaborating to address the connections between planning and public health.

The City of Richmond, California is taking historic steps to incorporate health policy into its General Plan.  California requires each of the state's localities to formally adopt and periodically update a general plan that details long-term goals and development policies.  The general plan must include seven elements—circulation, conservation, housing, land use, noise, open space, safety and seismic safety—and can also address other key issues like recreation, infrastructure, and hazardous waste. 

As part of the updating of Richmond's General Plan, the planning firm MIG, Inc, is working with PolicyLink and several partners and consultants to create a health policy element that will identify strategies for addressing community factors that affect health. MIG is a Berkeley-based multidisciplinary land use planning and design firm that assists cities, counties and public agencies statewide engage communities and decision makers in community-based collaborative planning, policy and design projects.

This effort, supported by The California Endowment, is believed to be the first time a city's general plan will explicitly discuss and codify these critical issues as a separate policy element.

Since its inception in 1999, PolicyLink has focused on health as a key component of thriving communities and economic and social empowerment.  PolicyLink advocates for greater access to healthy foods in underserved neighborhoods; state, regional, and local policy solutions to improve air and environmental quality and fight asthma; and equitable planning and infrastructure investment that promotes healthier living and mitigates health disparities.    

For more information visit the following websites:  www.cityofrichmondgeneralplan.org, www.migcom.com.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking applications for its 2007 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement.  The award is given in several areas, including the recently-added Equitable Development category, and is open to public agencies or projects involving public-private collaboration.  For details and an application, visit http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm. 

The Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, offers a master's degree, an executive option of the master's degree, and a certificate in the study of nonprofit management.  Ranked in the top ten programs of this type by U.S. News & World Report, the Mandel Center is a partnership of four schools at Case; the Weatherhead School of Management, the School of Law, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

The Arthur J. Naparstek Scholarship Fund provides a merit-based full tuition scholarship for an out-of-state or international student working or volunteering in the areas of community building, neighborhood revitalization, or citizen engagement. This scholarship is for a full-time master's degree student starting in the fall of 2007.

Application deadline for the scholarship is April 13, 2007.  For more information call (800) 435-6669, email mcnoadmissions@case.edu, or visit http://www.case.edu/mandelcenter/grad/finance/fulltuition/

In recent years, transit oriented development (TOD)—typically defined as mixed-use commercial and residential projects sited close to public transit lines—has become a popular strategy to curb sprawl, connect residents to transit, and promote sustainable, walkable communities.  While TOD can bring much-needed housing and regional transit access to a neighborhood, developments lacking affordable housing and meaningful community input can have the unintended consequence of residential and commercial displacement.  In Massachusetts, a coalition of equitable development advocates is working to harness the benefits of TOD for low-income communities and communities of color. 

Action for Regional Equity (Action!) is a collective of organizations united to address disparities in affordable housing, transportation investment, and environmental justice. Coming off a successful campaign in 2005-2006 to mandate the state to measure the impact of its affordable housing investments, Action! representatives heard about resident concerns around the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) plans for transit stops along many of its busiest lines. "Some of us had been working for years to get the T to recognize the importance of getting our low-income and working class families access to jobs throughout the region," noted Marvin Martin, director of Greater Four Corners Action Coalition in Dorchester. "Suddenly, TOD 'arrived' and they were making grand plans without really involving our communities in the discussion about how and where the development should occur."

"For us, it was a bigger question than what kind of development should be at the transit stop," observed Meridith Levy of Somerville Community Corporation, a community just five minutes out of Boston on the Green Line. "It was a question of what would the future of development be for the entire community. We saw what happened at Davis Square. The T came through with no consideration of how to preserve affordability in the neighborhood, and virtually all the working class in the vicinity were displaced. And the T considered this a success. We cannot let the same thing happen at Union Square."

A diverse coalition of on-the-ground organizers, community based organizations, regional policy proponents, and state advocacy groups, Action! is working to chart a fresh approach to development near transit, one that reconciles the need for financial return, sound urban planning, and important social impacts.

The coalition's recent report, Building the Line to Equity: Six Steps for Achieving Equitable Transit Oriented Development in Massachusetts, lays out a set of principles for achieving transit development without displacement. Action! members highlighted the need for environmental justice, increased community control of housing, more strategic local economic development planning, and enhanced community benefit. "A lot of these opportunities are emerging because of the availability of public and community resources," noted Steve Meacham, lead organizer at Boston's City Life/Vida Urbana. "There needs to be commensurate return on that investment." Action! is continuing to work with state officials and community-based organizations to advance these principles through advocacy and demonstrations at transit stations facing displacement and development pressures throughout greater Boston.

To learn more about Action! and its TOD advocacy, visit http://www.policylink.org/BostonAction/