[Advisors] CIRA community improvement fund -- input needed

[Marita Moll]

Discussion for this list only -- please.

Hello folks.  I am happy to let you know (a bit in advance of any CIRA 
marketing campaign), that I have been asked to be a community 
representative on a new CIRA cttee that will "encourage community 
projects and education and research activities."  It will distribute a 
fair amount of money each year for projects  like digital literacy, soft 
infrastructure, internet governance, and security and stability.  The 
mechanics of this are just being worked out and I would feel a lot more 
grounded in my suggestions on how this could benefit some of our 
communities if I could go in armed with suggestions from actual people 
working in the field.

I'm asking for a bit of stargazing here, if anyone is up to it.  Let's 
think long term here -- how can such a fund support digital literacy and 
other community internet projects?

I am only one person on the committee of 8, but I don't think others 
have the kind of community practitioner connection.  So, I'd like to use 
that to our advantage.  There will be lots of competition out there for 
more visible and sexy projects -- but this is a chance for small 
communities to have a say. Let's see what we can do!

Marita