Virtual Community Informaticist Training

If you are interested in empowering your community by using data, information, communication, and/or technology, consider becoming a Community Informaticist!

Never heard of it? We understand. The field of community informatics (CI) has been around since 2004; there is a Journal of Community Informatics; and most iSchools have university-level programs in CI. However, as an official job title, “Community Informaticist” has not really taken off. That’s because the communities that most need people with these skills, like those in rural areas and small towns, are the least able to pay well for them. Unfortunately, once people gain valuable skills, they often move to bigger cities to pursue better paying jobs. This contributes to a problem called “the brain drain”, the migration of talented, trained, and/or experienced people out of rural areas and small towns to more urban areas that are deemed more prosperous.

The CI Institute aims to help stop the brain drain! We believe that every community can be a great place to live, work, play, and raise families, but we recognize that many communities, especially in rural areas, have been left behind. Through our website and future radio station, we will provide training on how to use data, information, communication, and technology to improve your own community. You can both learn and apply CI skills “virtually” online without moving away from your home, family, and heritage.

Join the CI Institute as we follow the Rural New Deal roadmap to help you become a Community Informaticist to strengthen your community – no college degree required! Along the way, you will gain skills in grant writing, project management, public speaking, research, social media, and more. While you could use these community-serving skills to ultimately get a better paying job in the big city, we hope that you’ll grow where you’re planted.

Community Informatics matters because Communities Matter!