Community Networking and Public Benefits

Abstract

This paper sets out to determine which investment decisions are likely to yield the greatest benefits from community networking. It will do so by first of all ascertaining to what extent the concept of "public benefit" arising from community networks has been addressed to date; this will take the shape of an exploration of the concept of social capital, followed by a discussion of whether or not ICTs help to generate positive social ties. Secondly, drawing upon the existing literature, the paper will attempt to create a "taxonomy of public benefits" by identifying both tangible and intangible indicators of both healthy and less healthy community networks. Finally, some recommendations will be made which identify some potential viable funding models that will ensure that the public goods aspects of community networks are optimized.