Mission statement
Bridging the digital divide in Grant County
Grant County is remote and sparsely populated — a frontier community of 1.6 people per square mile. The CyberMill exists to make sure distance is no longer a barrier to opportunity.
- Infrastructure
- Coordinate partnerships and resources to expand high-speed internet access.
- Education
- Support distance learning, mentorship, and adult skill-building.
- Innovation
- Accelerate remote workers, solo entrepreneurs, and new local businesses.
Grant County is a rural county located in Eastern Oregon. It is remote enough and sparsely populated to be considered a "frontier community" — a subset of rural with 1.6 people per square mile. The area is rich in history, cultural and natural resources, but experiences challenges in funding social, educational, and health services, which in turn has severe impact on its economy.
Grant County CyberMill is forming as a public benefit non-profit in order to explore ways to modernize the county's digital infrastructure; initiate, leverage, and coordinate technical and other partnerships, and raise or attract the resources necessary to develop needed infrastructure. Our volunteer board envisions being part of a public-private consortium capable of developing a network that can provide high-speed internet to many who are currently underserved by private sector providers.
Concurrent with efforts to expand availability of the internet, CyberMill will also provide a community hub and accelerator for remote workers, solo-entrepreneurs, those who want to work on their own, and those who desire occasional group interaction. The envisioned hub will encourage adult distance learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship, through providing the wifi, internet access, technology, workspace, and environment necessary for success.
This space is critical for the purpose of distance learning for higher-education students, as well as those adults working to increase their skill set. There are many households in Grant County without adequate access to the internet, or the proper equipment to utilize it directly.
According to Oregon RAIN (Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network), collaborative spaces like Grant County CyberMill enable "intentional collisions" where participants can interact and share ideas and resources where they otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity. Internships and brainstorming sessions will catalyze innovation and learning experiences, and mentoring will be efficient and viable given the co-location fundamental to this model.
Our goal is to provide access to education, mentorship, networking, capital, culture, and community by creating Grant County CyberMill in a 3-phase plan. For a modest, highly leveraged investment, the CyberMill will add an entire new dimension to Grant County's culture — enabling collaboration, possibilities, and sustainable growth.
