Our Work
Broadband 101 – How did we get here?
The reasons why broadband service has not reached all regions of the state and country are varied and complicated. Population density or rurality, infrastructure expense, data limitations, and legal structures all play a part, depending on the location. This article covers some explanations of why access remains low in some areas and among some populations.
Broadband 101: Broadband Defined
This article defines broadband, types of broadband infrastructure, technology and speed, internet for all (digital equity), and spells out organizational acronyms you may run across while learning about broadband.
Identifying Your Broadband and Digital Equity Goals
Having your broadband planning committee identify broadband and digital equity goals is an important part of the broadband planning process. Here is a guide to identifying your vision and goals.
Organizing for Community Broadband Planning
Building a strong broadband team is an important first step in your community’s broadband efforts. This part of the toolkit provides tips, processes, and actionable steps you can take to move your community’s broadband efforts forward.
Data and Community Engagement
This August 7, 2023 Lunch-n-Learn session highlighted data your community may need to collect and review for your broadband planning efforts.
Funding renewable energy and energy efficiency on your farm
Improving energy efficiency and generating renewable energy on the farm can significantly reduce energy expenses over the long term. Thanks to new and expanded funding, agricultural producers can now significantly reduce the upfront cost for clean energy projects on their farms. This article introduces three programs to fund renewable energy systems (RES) and energy efficiency improvements (EEI): Rural Energy for America Program (REAP); Focus on Energy; and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE).
Residential: Clean Energy Funding Series
On this Clean Energy Funding Webinar you will learn from our expert panel about the various paths to obtain federal funding for your home energy improvements statewide and when they might be available, state funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy that can help fund and supplement federal rebates, and about electrification options, especially heat pumps.
Organizing For Community Broadband Planning
Build a strong broadband team – learn tips and processes from Extension community building experts during this interactive workshop. This webinar provides tips, processes, and actionable steps you can take to move your community’s broadband efforts forward. You will learn and practice tools to: Develop and convene your core project team. Identify and engage community stakeholders. Draft a regional broadband vision and goals. Identify key barriers and opportunities related to “Internet for All”.
Using Labor Market Information to Address Rural Workforce Challenges
This webinar highlights several rural workforce challenges and the role that university extension can play in addressing these challenges. It also introduces the Future Opportunities for Rural Workforce and Rural Development (FORWARD) curriculum designed by the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) at Purdue University and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU)—a curriculum intended to support extension professionals in their efforts address some of these rural workforce challenges. The webinar gives particular focus on how labor market information (LMI) and other types of socio-economic data can be more effectively woven into rural workforce planning efforts.
Equity / Justice40: Clean Energy Funding Series
In this webinar you will learn about the seven Justice40 investment areas, what is required to fulfill Justice40 requirements, how to prepare to address it, tools to use, and resources to assist you.
The Economics of Downtown Revitalization: Putting Some “Oomph” Behind the Numbers
This webinar answers a handful of essential questions: What is downtown revitalization, and why does it matter? Why is it important to quantitatively evaluate revitalization efforts (such as the Main Street Program)? What are some of the challenges involved with the evaluation of downtown revitalization?
Clean Transportation: Clean Energy Funding Series
In this webinar, you will learn the types of clean transportation funding available to businesses, governments, schools, rural areas and tribes, organizations, and individuals and what you need to do in advance to be ready to apply. You will learn about business funding for EV charging, Drive Clean rural assessments, as well as strategies to apply for electric school buses and electric city buses in Wisconsin. Clean transportation funding can be in your future, we’ll introduce you to resources to assist you.
