Digital Promise, also known as the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, is a non-profit organization originated by the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

as part of the 2008 re-authorization of the

Higher Education Opportunity Act The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) () was legislation signed into United States law on November 8, 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. Johnson chose Texas State University (then called " Southwest Te ...

. Its mission is to spur innovation in education to improve the opportunity to learn for all Americans. Digital Promise is an independent, bipartisan nonprofit, signed into law by President George W. Bush and launched in September 2011 by President Barack Obama. Initial board members were appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, whose department provided start-up funds and support with the goal of "supporting a comprehensive research and development program to harness the increasing capacity of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education, formal and informal, in order to provide Americans with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy." Digital-Promise-logo_800x200

History

More than a decade ago, the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

joined with the

Century Foundation The Century Foundation (established first as The Cooperative League and then the Twentieth Century Fund) is a progressive think tank headquartered in New York City with an office in Washington, D.C. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy r ...

to launch the Digital Promise Project, an initiative to recommend policies that could harness breakthrough technologies to advance the public good. Project co-chairs, former FCC Chairman

Newton N. Minow Newton Norman Minow (born January 17, 1926) is an American attorney and former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. He is famous for his speech referring to television as a " vast wasteland". While still maintaining a law practice, Mi ...

and former NBC News and PBS President Lawrence K. Grossman, published their project recommendations in a book titled ''A Digital Gift to the Nation.'' At the request of Congress, the Digital Promise Project, in partnership with the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

, developed a road map for transforming teaching and learning with technology in the digital age. This road map was the basis for Section 802 of the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, authorizing the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, also known as Digital Promise.

Digital Promise's Initiatives

League of Innovative Schools In 2011, Digital Promise launched the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of school superintendents. The League represents a wide array of school districts—large and small, urban and rural, low-income and middle-class. Overall, it consists of 93 districts and education agencies across 33 states. By working together on shared priorities and partnering with entrepreneurs, researchers, and education leaders, League districts are pioneering innovative learning and leadership practices.

Funding

Digital Promise was launched with public and private funding from sources including the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, Carnegie Corporation of New York,

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation aw ...

, and its range of corporate partners.

References

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External links

Official Website
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.