When we heard about UK Government support for centres, we asked Peter Miller, former Network Director for the US Community Technology Centers' Network to provide some history and insights. Here's his letter. Dear British community technology colleagues, comrades, and associates, It's exciting news, learning about the £252m in funding that is being made available by the government to establish 700 ICT (information communication technologies) Learning Centres across England over the next two years. Especially in contrast to our own federal Community Technology Center (CTC) program (US$10M in 1999, US$32M this year, with a campaign going on for US$100M in 2001, http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/CTC/), this gives us an occasion to be humble. The truth is, though, that whatever the competitive spirit about such things, we all stand to gain from each other's work. CTCs have been going up in the U.S. since the early 80's, most dramatically over the last decade and right now, and today an estimated 3,500 CTCs are housed in a wide range of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or, as we refer to them more commonly over here, community-based organizations (CBOs). CTCs can be found in stand-alone centers and store fronts, churches and other faith-based community groups, youth organizations such as YM and YWCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and 4-H clubs and other rural programs, settlement houses, social service and community action agencies, museums, libraries, after-school, literacy and arts programs, parks and recreation centers, community cable television access centers, government-supported housing developments, and other similar venues. CTC programs are growing because they have been proven to be effective for individuals and organizations in bridging the digital divide. In a recent survey of more than 800 low-income users of existing CTCs, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, nearly 90 percent reported that the center had made a difference in their work, educational, recreational, and civic lives -- improvements in their confidence, their outlook on life, and their future prospects. CTC participants are generally more likely to pursue additional education, demonstrate an increased interest and involvement in civic affairs, and generally exhibit an increase in overall confidence and life skills mastery (see http://www.ctcnet.org/impact98.htm; also http://www.benton.org/Library/Low-Income/). The more CTCs develop, the more likely we are to have programs that document these results. From this experience, we've learned that early organizing and developments key. This is fundamentally a non-technical activity that rests upon enthusiasm and interest, organizing and outreach capacities, and a sense of possibilities, and has very little to do with technology itself. On the whole, this is not a good time for low-income and low-literacy people and programs in the United States. But technology development is the prime arena where the organizations that have been established to deal with the problems in these communities and the individuals who are actively involved in these struggles find new resources and a sense of excitement for their work. And it is community organizations and activists who are key. As one of the sayings goes: It is much easier to add technology to existing community centers than it is to add "community" to technology facilities. Gathering the stakeholders, those who can contribute to and benefit from the establishment of a CTC, and developing a vision of possibilities are the fundamental steps in getting off to a good start. Though CTCs can vary widely in terms of vision, size, equipment, and programs, successful ones do follow this common development process to various degrees, deliberately or not. It makes sense to build upon this experience, and there is a CTC *Start-Up Manual* that's available for no cost at http://www.ctcnet.org/toc.html. Chapters 1-3, covering the planning process, mapping community resources, and developing a program focus should be especially helpful to those who are just starting. There are growing collaborations between community networks and CTCs and between both sides of the Atlantic, and we should continue to build upon them. But perhaps the strongest collaborative ties are those to be found right in one's own neighbourhood and community. CTCs grow like mushrooms -- the more there are, the better they develop. And more than being competitive, since there is such a wide variety individual possibilities, development is actively nourished by the presence of others doing similar work. Options are very rich -- complementing existing before- and after-school, seniors, environmental, nature, arts, recreation, and workforce development programs; being used as the basis for new programs and partnerships with other community agencies and businesses; providing stand-alone, open access programs, classes, and the like. In areas where there are many CTCs, neighbourhood technology councils are developing as one of the next steps in further growth and coordination. We in the U.S. are anxious to follow and learn and will be pleased to be actively involved in joint programs which will benefit us all. We look forward to a successful program for the U.K. best, ----Peter Miller, peterm@igc.org Peter Miller, Community Technology Consulting, has been involved in establishing and developing community technology centers for more than a dozen years, and from 1994-1998 was Network Director for the Community Technology Centers' Network (http://www.ctcnet.org) as it grew from 11 to over 300 affiliates. His letter is based upon his presentation on "National and Local Strategy Tips for Establishing Community Technology Centers" for the Bridge Builders' Conference...Over the Digital Divide, held in Wilmington, Delaware, February 17 and 18, 2000 (http://www.ctcnet.org/mira/bridgingworkshop.htm).