Michigan’s Broadband Office Prioritizing Digital Equity Sustainability through a Proposed Digital Inclusion Fund

Michigan is once again leading the country with its innovation. This time, however, the innovation isn’t new technology—but a funding strategy that would catalyze new technologies, and ensure access to jobs, healthcare, education, and government services are available and accessible in perpetuity. Their innovative strategy—leveraging Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) non-deployment funds to establish a Michigan Digital Inclusion Fund is designed to sustain digital inclusion work throughout the state beyond the short-term federal investments. In their BEAD Volume II draft plan, the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) proposes using the majority of their non-deployment funds to establish a “Michigan Digital Inclusion Fund” so that “digital equity can be pursued, achieved, and maintained.” In other words—so Michigan’s digital equity efforts have a powerful tool for sustainability.