Helping businesses and nonprofits in small VT towns use online tools to spur economic development and improve disaster resilience.
VCRD helped bring Front Porch Forum to every town in Vermont through our eVermont Community Broadband and Vermont Digital Economy projects. This article expands on the history of this unique social network designed to build bonds between neighbors and make communities more resilient. ——————- By Andrew Liptak, as seen in The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/24/18129437/front-porch-forum-vermont-social-network-listserv-local-online-community (click the…
Aired on WCAX: http://www.wcax.com/story/26609277/improving-vermonts-digital-economy Watch the video here: http://www.wcax.com/story/26609277/improving-vermonts-digital-economy?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=10615461 WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports- In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, most of the visible damage was to Vermont’s infrastructure: roads washed out, bridges swept away and homes destroyed. A lot of the unseen recovery effort the last year and a half has…
Through both the Vermont Digital Economy Project (VDEP) and its predecessor, e-Vermont, we have worked to implement free Wi-Fi zones and hotspots in 33 Vermont towns. The guide below, created by the VDEP team before the project ended in Dec 2014, walks through the process of creating a WI-Fi zone, so as to allow other…
This article was written with insight from Tess Gauthier, Project Coordinator from the Snelling Center for Government and based on a presentation given at the Vermont Connected Summit. One of the services that provided great opportunity for enhanced communication within towns, and greater community resilience was the creation of municipal websites. Through the Vermont Digital Economy…
Click Here to Download a PDF Version of This Assessment Use this assessment to help you to think about what tools you are using, how you are using them, and what you could do to make your usage more effective or efficient. This assessment may also provide you with insight into areas where you might…
The Vermont Digital Economy Project was created by the Vermont Council on Rural Development to address vulnerabilities of Vermont business and communities that are not fully utilizing online tools. The project offered free support that sped-up flood recovery, spurred economic development and job growth, and improved community resilience to disasters. The project worked directly with…
Past Initiatives e-Vermont Toolkits Communities Webcasts Reports Stories Vermont Digital Economy Project Final Report of VCRD’s Vermont Digital Economy Project Project Guides 2014 Vermont Connected Summit Reports Stories Through our work, we have helped organizations and towns with our knowledge and experience. We want to make it as easy as possible for any community to…
Digital tools have the potential to revolutionize the operation of any organization, while at the same time befuddling even the most tech-savvy people. As the Nonprofit Adviser for the Vermont Digital Economy Project, I have had the pleasure of working one-on-one with more than 120 nonprofit organizations of all types, methodically evaluating their current use…
VCRD launched the Vermont Digital Economy Project to offer free support to speed flood recovery, spur economic development and job growth, and improve community resilience to disasters. The project worked directly with Vermont towns affected by 2011’s floods to help businesses, nonprofits and municipalities expand their use of online tools. Together with project partners, we…
Almost all of the digital tools that we have discussed in previous articles have focused on how to reach to reach a wider audience. But it is also important to consider two-way communication methods, so that people collaborating on a project, or united by their affinity for a cause can work together. In this article,…
