Training Compass: Digital Opportunities Intelligence Network

Introducing the Digital Opportunities Intelligence Network — powered by Project Compass (Merit Network). This working draft framework is envisioned to enhance decision-making capabilities by leveraging data-driven insights. We’ll explore the objectives, methodologies, and outcomes of this training initiative, to empower individuals and organizations to seize digital opportunities effectively.

Digital Opportunities Intelligence Network (DOIN): The “Policy Learning Machine”

DOIN is a next-generation decision support system designed to transform how we understand and solve the digital divide. It moves beyond static maps and spreadsheets to create a dynamic, predictive intelligence engine for digital opportunity.

It consists of three integrated layers:

1. The Compass (The Map)

Foundation: Built on the rigorous academic framework (Bauer et al., 2023: A Comprehensive Framework to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy) that defines digital opportunity across six dimensions: Contexts, Governance, Connectivity, Skills, Applications, and Outcomes.
Purpose: It ensures we aren’t just measuring “access” (wires in the ground) but the actual human impact and opportunity resulting from that access.

2. The Network (The Structure)

Technology: A semantic Knowledge Graph.
Function: It ingests and links vast, disparate datasets—census demographics, infrastructure maps, federal policy documents, and local stakeholder feedback.
Result: Instead of isolated data silos, it creates a web of relationships, allowing us to see how a policy change in one area (e.g., “Skills”) might ripple through to another (e.g., “Economic Outcomes”).

3. The Intelligence (The Engine)

Technology: Bayesian Networks and GraphRAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation).
Function: It operationalizes the “Policy Learning Approach.”
- It uses Gini coefficients to measure inequality gaps.
- It uses Hajek estimators to correct for data biases.
- It uses Bayesian inference to model cause-and-effect.
Power: It allows policymakers to ask “What if?” questions. (“If we invest $X in digital literacy here, what is the predicted impact on adoption rates compared to a subsidy?”)

In Summary: While traditional broadband maps tell you where the internet is, DOIN tells you how to maximize the opportunity it creates. It is the navigation system for the Digital Opportunity Compass.

References

Bauer, Johannes M.; Dagg, Pierrette Renée; Rhinesmith, Colin; Byrum, Greta; Schill, Aaron. (2023). A Comprehensive Framework to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy. SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4557340