Summary:
Neighborhood Networks (NN) is a program that encourages property owners, managers, and residents of HUD-insured and -assisted housing to develop computer centers where residents can learn job skills and become more economically self-reliant.

Purpose:
NN was created to increase access for residents of HUD-insured and HUD-assisted properties to Internet opportunities. Disadvantaged Americans experience significant societal barriers that limit their access to computers and the Internet. These barriers will likely grow larger without policy intervention. Neighborhood Networks seeks to enhance economic self-reliance of people who receive rental assistance.

Neighborhood Networks is not a grant program but rather an umbrella concept under which a variety of public and private organizations and housing developments can link residents through computer networks for job-related, educational, and other community purposes.

Type of Assistance:
The program encourages the establishment of NN computer technology centers for residents of HUD-insured and -assisted housing. At the centers, adult and child residents can learn computer and job skills; telecommute; develop microenterprises; access information on employment, health, and community resources; and participate in online civic and government forums. The direct result is increased resident self-sufficiency, employability, and economic self-reliance. Indirectly, such community networks strengthen neighborhoods and enhance real estate investment.

Equipment selected for the computer technology centers should maximize compatibility with local school systems and minimize the likelihood of obsolescence within an 18- to 24-month period. Software can include programs for educational multimedia, education and job training, and telecommuting. The NN center should also include at least one community Internet service provider account with access to the World Wide Web, electronic mail gopher, file transfer protocol, and telnet sites.

Housing project owners must devise a plan for each center that budgets hardware, software, set-up, and operating costs. Although HUD cannot fund each center's planned costs, it will encourage the owner to seek cash grants, in-kind support, or donations from State and local governments, educational institutions, private foundations, and corporations. Owners should develop strategic partnerships with other community organizations that may supplement funds, equipment, or space. Owners may also consider borrowing funds from a financial institution, as long as the loan is not secured by the property and does not lead to unapproved rent increases. HUD may allow owners to use certain provisions of their overall HUD assistance--budgeted rent increases, for example--to cover the costs of establishing a center.

Eligible Grantees:
All HUD-insured and -assisted housing projects are eligible to establish Neighborhood Networks centers. These include project-based Section 8 and Sections 236, 221(d), 202, 202/8, and 811 housing, as well as housing sponsored by States or local housing finance agencies that also have Section 8 assistance. HUD's Office of Housing also encourages projects to develop partnerships with nearby public housing.

Eligible Customers:
All residents of HUD-insured and -assisted housing projects can benefit from the services of Neighborhood Networks centers.

Application:
An interested owner of a HUD-insured or -assisted housing project can apply to establish a Neighborhood Networks center by submitting an NN plan to the Asset Management Branch of its local HUD field office.

Technical Guidance:
The Neighborhood Networks Program is administered by HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing. For more detailed information, see Chapter 9, "Neighborhood Networks," of The Management Agent Handbook (HUD Handbook 4381.5), which is available on the Internet at HUDClips or by mail from HUD.