Introducing the Digital Opportunities Intelligence Network - Powered by Project Compass. This framework is designed 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., TPRC 2023) 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.