DCN Vision, Mission and Goals

Mission

The mission of the Davis Community Network is to strengthen the community by helping people understand and benefit from participation in the electronic information era.

Preamble

Today, information technology is creating new avenues for human enterprise. The Davis Community Network was established in the belief that people, even as they look outward to the world, aspire to a richer community life. To that end, we assume both an educational and a practical role in helping ourselves and our fellow residents embrace the new technologies. We hope in this way to foster energetic local culture and commerce, citizen involvement in public affairs, and access by all sectors of the community to the information and communication facilities needed to realize the promise of a new era.

Purposes and Scope

The Davis Community Network, a non-profit regional organization established in 1994, creates public-benefit partnerships with government, education, business and the community in order to:

• Ensure that people in the region benefit from opportunities the information age brings.
• Promote access to electronic information and communication resources for all, protecting individual privacy and supporting free expression.
• Develop and maintain public information resources that build a sense of community and reinforce democratic ideals.

Principles

• Shared knowledge is a foundation of democratic society.
• Information technology can enhance civic discourse and thus support democratic values and practice.
• Universal and affordable access to information resources and tools is essential to meaningful, equal, public participation.
• Privacy should be protected, and freedom of expression supported, in applications of information technology.
• Information technology should be applied to the ideals of both the individual and society.

Goals (in three prioritized groups)

1. • Develop and maintain a strong and sustainable organization.
   • Provide and/or facilitate the creation of telecommunications infrastructure, tools and network services.
   • Increase and improve the ability of individuals and organizations to access, utilize and contribute to the information necessary for effective participation in community and civic life.
   • Develop strategic partnerships with a broad range of regional institutions.
2. • Assist staff, teachers, parents and students in using the Internet to enhance all levels of education.
   • Respond to community needs and interests through the application of information technology.
   • Serve as a community based test-bed for the development of appropriate information technology systems and services pilot projects.
3. • Help to ensure that no one is denied effective access to the Internet.
   • Cooperate and share resources with other community networks.