The Internet can connect us to the world from the comfort of our homes, but only if we have digital access. This requires not only a connection to broadband, but also an affordable internet subscription, a suitable device, and the skills to use it. Supporting this system is a digital infrastructure of sensors, hardware, and software called information and communication technologies (ICT) to collect, process, analyze, and store data, and route it among users. Together, digital technologies can help us expand our knowledge, improve service delivery, and facilitate new capabilities like e-commerce, remote work, computer visualization, and artificial intelligence. As a result, a growing number of communities are drafting digital equity and inclusion plans and working with internet service providers (ISPs) and the state and federal government to help make sure everyone has affordable access to broadband.

AI has the potential to help communities large and small across North Carolina. Communities have the chance to pilot and use AI technologies to increase productivity and save money. Examples include traffic signal management, property appraisal, and gunshot detection.

Affordable rental housing is by far North Carolina’s largest housing need, one that is especially severe for low-income households. The most expensive areas are Asheville, Raleigh, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, Currituck County, and Durham-Chapel Hill. In many rural and urban counties, more than 50% of renters are cost-burdened (i.e., they spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs).

Collaboration is at the heart of Carolina Engagement Week, bringing together campus and community leaders to celebrate the impacts of their partnerships across North Carolina. ncIMPACT and Carolina Across 100 were proud to partner once again on this third annual week of events, held from February 26 – March 1. Thirty-four events were held in 2024, including several events hosted at the UNC School of Government.  

North Carolina ranked as the 30th healthiest state in the nation in 2022. It ranked 38th in health behaviors, 30th in health outcomes, 22nd in socioeconomic factors, and 9th in physical environment (air and water quality, housing, transit).

North Carolina ranks in the top 10 states in the U.S. for the number of people 65 and older. Aging population issues include increasing healthcare costs, inadequate mental healthcare, social isolation, ageism, elder abuse, inequitable access to resources, the need for affordable and accessible housing and transportation, burdens on family caregivers, and caregiving workforce needs.

Effective social capital can be seen in everyday activities that build connections among people, from someone opening a door for a stranger to bringing a community together to solving a complex issue. Public service leaders must apply this knowledge of social capital to help build strong communities, grow trust, and establish a better future for all.

The Boy Scouts of America, through its current work and through the methods identified here, can make a meaningful difference in improving civic engagement and economic mobility in the United States through the development of social capital among participants. This organization and others can play an important role in strengthening America’s social fabric and building connections among an increasingly fractured population.

Network analysis reveals gaps via network density and fragmentation metrics and key actors via degree centrality and betweenness centrality metrics. This information can better inform public administrators on how to disseminate information about public health resources and services through after-school staff.

Utilizing social capital presents an innovative strategy for reigniting theater engagement, emphasizing a crucial question: Who constitutes our audience, and what entices their return?