Infrastructure is having a moment. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on a $1 trillion bipartisan plan to rebuild roads, bridges, electrical grids, and other forms of physical infrastructure while also considering a massive budget bill that would address a host of social-policy challenges, such as climate change, health, and education.
While policy makers grapple over what should and shouldn’t be included in the two pieces of legislation, philanthropy needs to take advantage of this rare opportunity and champion a new definition of infrastructure — one that builds a theoretical bridge between our social-impact work and the infrastructure all communities need to thrive.
In philanthropy, we often see our strength as funding community-sustaining efforts and institutions, such as libraries and after-school programs. But the success of these projects shouldn’t only be about creating new physical structures or individual social programs, but also about how well such work connects the physical, digital, and social domains. We call this multidimensional infrastructure — a framework for working with government leaders to rebuild our crumbling physical infrastructure while tackling the greatest challenges of our time, including wealth inequality, racial injustice, and climate change.
What does this approach look like in practice? Consider the local library. More than just physical spaces filled with books, libraries have become hubs of civic engagement, job-training centers, and internet access for those who lack it at home. By funding new or expanded libraries, foundations can leverage a physical infrastructure asset to enhance social infrastructure and improve access to the digital world.
That’s what the Vermont Community Foundation did last year when it partnered with the Vermont Department of Libraries to provide broadband in libraries across the state. With the addition of air purifiers and social-distancing measures, the libraries became safe physical spaces for workers sent home during the pandemic who lived in areas with poor or no internet access.
During the past decade, efforts of this kind have emerged in libraries throughout the United States, offering a model for what a multidimensional approach to funding infrastructure can look like. In Austin, Tex., library staff members created a vocational class to teach welding to out-of-work residents looking for higher-paying jobs. In Omaha, libraries partnered with regional tech companies to teach digital skills to residents. The project helped spur a tech-worker boom in the area.
Going Beyond Broadband
Similarly, investing in broadband in rural communities shouldn’t stop with modernizing the digital infrastructure. When Red Wing, Minn., received fiber-optic internet through a public-private partnership, a local nonprofit, Red Wing Ignite, sprang into action. It opened a co-working space with free internet access, provided business classes and mentors for budding entrepreneurs, and even connected business owners to potential investors. New broadband was just a catalyst for the community to help residents learn skills, create new jobs, and even attract new capital.
Organizations like the Center on Rural Innovation, or CORI, are working with communities throughout the United States to think holistically about how to better use digital infrastructure in this way. The CORI Innovation Fund, which invests in tech start-ups operating in rural locations, will need continued philanthropic support to expand and create social and physical infrastructure projects that take full advantage of a possible increase in federal funding. Investments in multidimensional infrastructure strategies like these can help communities in economic decline revitalize their workforce and economies.
Smart Cities
At an even more aspirational level, nationwide investment in infrastructure could help spark the rise of so-called smart cities, which use technological innovations to build more inclusive and livable communities. Supporting such projects should not just be the work of venture capitalists. Philanthropy has an important investment role to play here, too.
The groundbreaking work of Uncharted Power is a good example. The start-up aims to replace traditional sidewalks and roads with tech-enabled modular panels, or pavers, that can accommodate more resilient electrical grids, water pipes, and broadband; collect data to help improve pedestrian and driver safety, and allow for more efficient energy consumption and delivery.
The company launched a pilot program in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., last fall, with funding from the Siegel Family Endowment, which I lead, and the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley. Sidewalks have already been replaced with modular pavers in one of the city’s districts, and the company has worked with local nonprofits to seek community feedback on how to ensure that these digital connections are used in ways that best serve all city residents.
With a potential historic influx in federal funding on the horizon, grant makers need to be prepared to advise and work alongside communities across the country to take full advantage of this moment. By approaching the design and funding of public infrastructure projects in a multidimensional manner, philanthropy can literally and figuratively help pave the way toward more equitable and sustainable communities.
