Broadband and other Technical Needs of Smaller Communities Presented by Brian Ormand Ed.D. Project Manager, NMSU June 10, 2016

NSF Regional Planning Grant An NSF grant for Regional Planning for Cyberinfrastructure is revealing the criticality of broadband and other technical resources to smaller communities in New Mexico. UNM, NMSU, and NMT are partners with regional colleges throughout the state to convene key stakeholders in regions all over the state to discuss the true impact of these resources to Economic Development, Delivery of Education, Support for Research, and Importance to Health Care. This session will discuss the status of these Regional Planning Events, and discuss a culminating event in Albuquerque later this year in November.

Cyber Infrastructure (CI) [A Definition]: Comprehensive infrastructure needed to capitalize on dramatic advances in information technology (e.g. networking (broadband), computers, and technical expertise).

UNM and NMSU A Long History of Collaboration

To Today…. Environment and Partnerships More complex Spirit of collaboration among Education Technology people still STRONG!!!

Espanola, NM – Mar 3 rd & 4 th 2016 – NNMC host Connecting Science, Education, and Economic Development  Science DMZs Design & Implementation / Deep Buffer Switches & TCIP Traffic Characteristics / Science DMZ Tools Technical network experts discuss new network technologies to solve researchers’ CI issues  Faculty Panel on Network Impacts Faculty present research and discuss anticipated positive impact of recently won NSF grant “e-Science” and how it conceptualizes the network as an instrument  Network Related NSF Grants – Update  Rural Connectivity 101 Panel K-12 leaders, higher education leaders, and students discuss value of CI to their community  New Partnerships Panel Econ Develop, Higher Education, & State Government explore potential partnerships for CI  Regional Planning Approaches Panel Regional leaders in Econ Develop, USDA, and City leaders discuss possible collaboration

Silver City, NM – Mar 3 rd & 4 th 2016 – WNMU host Connecting Science, Education, and Economic Development  Business & Economic Development Economic Development leaders discuss importance of CI to their regions  Government & Health Care CIOs and network managers from these industries discuss CI applications & challenges  Education Leaders in K-12, higher education, distance education, etc. discuss CI importance  Telecomm Providers Commercial providers of network connectivity discuss CI applications & challenges  Research and Education Research faculty and STEM educators discuss how CI is important to their work  Campus network infrastructures  CIOs, Network managers, etc. describe CI plans for their campuses, the community, & beyond  Implementing Science DMZs and CI support for researchers  Technical network experts discuss new network technologies to solve researchers’ CI issues

Portales, NM – Apr 2016 – ENMU host Connecting Science, Education, and Economic Development  Business & Economic Development (Telecomm Providers) Importance of CI and CI expertise for the community Plans to extend and improve CI for the region  CI for Education (CIOs, network managers, etc.) Designing research and STEM support Improving campus infrastructure Collaboration between institutions  Grant Workshop (for ENMU faculty & academic leadership) Successful NSF Cyber Infrastructure proposals presented and discussed Discuss impact NSF grants will have on targeted campuses, communities, & state  ENMU – STEM Faculty Discussion of Cyberinfrastructure How it supports research and STEM education

UNM/NMSU Sharing, Mentoring, Support Yields NSF Grant Success  UNM/NMSU & Partner Institutions – Regional/Statewide CI Planning $150K -- ( )  UNM – Establishing a dedicated Research Network $500K -- ( )  NMSU – Improving Technical (CI) Support for Researchers $400K -- ( )  NNMC – Improving CI for Research & STEM education $350K -- ( )  WNMU – Improving CI for Research & STEM education $350K -- ( )

Lessons Learned – (So Far) 1 of 2  Research universities can provide the expertise that smaller institutions lack in the area of planning and optimizing technology  Expertize of CI highly sought in rural areas (they wanted to learn more about the potential advantages of improving their CI (chicken/egg issue)  Broadband CI cost and availability better for some rural areas (e.g. Portales) verses others (e.g. Silver City) and planning events open up new possibilities  Interest in remote and cloud services but need trusted CI experts to help navigate an increasingly complex environment of choices

Lessons Learned – (So Far) 2 of 2  Various barriers to collaboration on CI need to be overcome for the benefit of people living in rural communities Color of money – Questionable restrictions on funds restricting investment in shared community CI resources Barriers to educational institutional partnerships K-12 / IHEs / Libraries  Sometimes the technical problems are minor and getting in the way of growing to more advanced use of CI resources  Economic Development depends on focus on improving CI in communities  Regional planning for CI that brings together stakeholders from different sections can open up new conversations and create new solutions

Future Regional CI Planning Events NNMC Nov 2015 WNMU Mar 2016 ENMU Apr 2016 Flagstaff, AZ Navajo NAU Jul 2016 NMHU Sep 2016 Indian Cultural Center in ABQ Aug 2016 Wrap Up NM TIE Nov 2016