SSHRC Insight Development Grant

In addition to Dr. Shiri and Dr. Rathi's SSHRC Insight Grant, SLIS faculty members Dr. Michael B. McNally (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Dinesh Rathi (Co- Principal Investigator) have been awarded $73,777 by SSHRC's Insight Development Grant for 2014-15 for their project titled: Implications of Broadband Policy on the Digital Divide between Communities. The project aims to identify which policies are most effective for increasing broadband penetration rates in rural and remote communities, with the aim of developing policy recommendations for reducing the digital divide in Canada. Facets of the project include: a) analyzing past, present and proposed Canadian federal and provincial broadband policies aimed at connecting rural and remote Canadians; b) comparative policy analysis with a purposely selected group of countries (Australia, Argentina, India, South Korean and the United States); and, c) interviews with rural internet service providers to gain understanding of what policy mechanisms are most effective for encouraging rural broadband service delivery. A notification of the award can be found on the SSHRC website at: http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/results-resultats/recipients-recipiendaires/2013/idg-sds-eng.aspx