Making sense of rural development in the 21st century — the digital capital upgrade.
Futures of Rural Series
When I started my Ph.D. research, an important question came up: How does the Internet impact rural development? Since the Internet emerged full force into the public realm in the 1990s, there has been a lot of research outlining the importance and potential of the Internet for rural development. I have written on this issue in reports,book chapters, presentationsand blog posts including the next wave of digital technology facing ruraland the opportunity of digital youth. This question is essential today and will become even more critical in the future of rural.
What are Community Capitals?
As I began my Ph.D. research, I needed a more comprehensive model or framework to guide my research on rural development, and I turned to the community capitals framework. The community capitals framework is a group of connected community assets or strengths that can be harnessed by communities for development. These assets are identified as capitals to reinforce that communities have a variety of resources at hand to harness for successful development. While the particular combination of capitals will vary depending on the community and the issues/projects, these are the primary resources available for development. There are seven of these capitals and include:
The community capitals framework identifies seven core resources that communities can harness as they adapt and thrive. A great overview of community capitals by another researcher at the Rural Development Institute can be found in this poston Medium. In today’s digital society and knowledge economy, the question arises, where do digital assets fit into this model?
How does digital fit in?
With the Internet being only 20 years old in many rural places, the body of research and understanding of digital assets in rural communities is new as well. As I was starting my Ph.D. and beginning to explore this idea further of digital assets, some valuable research emerged from community development scholars in Scotland. Researchers there have explored the concept of digital capital to understand how it fits within the community capital framework. They defined digital capital as
‘the resources and benefits that can be utilized by communities from Internet infrastructure to online information, modes of communication and tools to digital literacy and skills’ (p 6).
I had adopted this definition of digital capital as a core idea within my Ph.D. research. I have set out to understand what digital capital looks like in rural communities and how we can build this capital together. In today’s rapidly evolving technology, digital technologies and skills should be an essential component of any development initiative or project in rural communities, and it stands to reason that this digital capital will be critical for building resilience within the 21st century.
What have I found so far?
In exploring the idea of digital capital I quickly realized its relation to the other capitals fell into two main options: (1) A new and separate asset to be included in the capitals framework; or (2) an ingredient that is increasingly critical in each of the capitals.
I originally started with the belief that digital capital would follow the first path, a separate capital that rural communities needed to embrace and tap into to adapt to the increasingly digital society. However, my Ph.D. research, in combination with community research at the Rural Development Institute, has revealed that digital technology, skills and utilization weave throughout most of the community capitals. I have come to realize and believe that digital capital is a critical ingredient within each of the capitals in the framework.
Digital Capital across the Community Capitals Framework
Rural communities have been and want to use digital technologies on a wide range of community efforts. Through my research, I have come across compelling cases of the impact of digital on the various capitals.
HUMAN: Digital tech is regularly used for learning and entertainment in rural communities. I regularly hear that rural residents are looking up items online and exploring how-to videos on YouTube. Like their urban neighbours, rural citizens are also consistently using streaming services like Netflix for entertainment.
SOCIAL: Technologies are essential now for communicating and staying connected in rural regions where people are spread across large distances. Rural youth have shared stories about using Facebook Messenger to organize grad committees and plan school festivities. Rural residents are also keeping in touch with families near and far via social media, texting and video calling apps.
FINANCIAL: The online world provides new markets for rural residents, including youth. Rural youth go online to browse and shop for a wide range of products — they look both locally and virtually (Amazon) for these items. Youth described how important it was to be able to check that stores in nearby cities have the products they are wanting before driving 1–2 hours to shop.
BUILT: Wires and towers are critical for rural communities to be able to harness the opportunities of digital. Digital infrastructure is a top priority for rural communities in all of the communities I have visited. Unfortunately, most communities having insufficient and expensive access to Internet and cell service. I also heard how rural schools have a substantial role to play in students accessing digital technologies. Some schools provided youth with essential connectivity and digital devices which was especially important for those youth who had poor access at home. Unfortunately, there are also examples of schools that deepened the digital divide for rural youth by blocking content and access to the Internet.
These examples and others have informed my understanding of digital capital and the role it plays in rural development. In today’s world, digital resources are not just helpful, they have become necessary to be able to harness the other community capitals. Social capital today is facilitated by online communication from email to texting to social media. Finding information and entertainment online has become the norm, as has online shopping. Digital capital is more than important; it is a foundational aspect for each of the community capitals and needs to be understood as such by community leaders, policymakers and organizations focused on helping rural communities survive and thrive in the 21st century.
Quote taken from: Roberts, L. & Townsend, L. (2015) The Contribution of the Creative Economy to the Resilience of Rural Communities: Exploring Cultural and Digital Capital
Emery, M. and Flora, C. (2006). Spiraling-up: Mapping community transformation with community capitals framework.
