Series - Editorial Fellowship: digital transformation and technology for social impact

Neighbourhood association launches technology lending library in east Toronto.

Author Sharlene Gandhi
When the Centre for Social Innovation exited the Regent Park neighbourhood earlier this year, the Regent Park Neighborhood Association stepped in to pick up the pieces. However, questions remain about ongoing funding for community projects.

Why It Matters

Technology lending libraries โ€“ where community members can borrow hardware and access the internet โ€“ are helping to overcome the digital divide. But they are a relatively new type of organization. How can their impact be measured in the short and long term, and how can they continue to advocate for funding?

var TRINITY_TTS_WP_CONFIG = {"cleanText":"Neighbourhood association launches technology lending library in east Toronto.. This independent journalism on data, digital transformation and technology for social impact is made possible by the Future of Good editorial fellowship on digital transformation, supported by Mastercard Changeworks\u2122. Read our editorial ethics and standards here. Growing up in Toronto\u2019s Regent Park neighbourhood, Abdirahman Mohamed remembers sharing a slow internet plan with his large family.\u00a0 \u201cI had ten members in my family, and we were sharing an internet plan where we had ten megabits-per-second,\u201d he says.\u00a0 When the family recently transitioned to a gigabit-per-second internet plan, the difference in speed was immediately noticeable.\u00a

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