Time Warner Awards Stipend in Support of LGBT Communities

Time Warner Cable announced yesterday the latest stipend as part of its Research Program on Digital Communications, which engages scholars to increase understanding of the benefits and challenges facing digital technologies in the home, office, classroom and community.

The stipend announced today will support the following research initiative:

The National Broadband Plan - An LGBT Perspective, written in collaboration by the LGBT Technology Partnership and Jessie Daniels of Hunter College. The project will increase understanding of the broadband and digital communications needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities and provide recommendations on how government policy makers can address those needs and ensure inclusion of those communities in the full benefits of broadband.

Fernando Laguarda, director of the Research Program and Vice President for External Affairs and Policy Counselor at Time Warner Cable, said, "We are pleased to have this unique opportunity to contribute to a fuller exploration of issues relating to broadband and digital communications policy, especially with respect to LGBT communities whose needs have not yet been addressed by policymakers. We look forward to learning from this work and making further contributions to the communications and technology policy debate."

Christopher Wood, Executive Director of the LGBT Technology Partnership, said, "We are excited about collaborating with Time Warner Cable on this research and the opportunity to shed light on the digital needs of LGBT communities. LGBT communities have specific concerns that are not immediately obvious and differ from the concerns of other communities including issues associated with privacy, confidentiality, eHealthcare, public safety and cyberbullying. This research will focus on how broadband uniquely affects these concerns and LGBT communities within the context of the National Broadband Plan."

Today's stipend is the latest of awards made for the 2013 cycle. Awards were also made during 2010, 2011 and 2012. To date, the Research Program has made 21 awards to 29 leading researchers. The next deadline for stipend applications is November 1, 2013.

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender) Technology Partnership encourages the continued early adoption and use of cutting-edge, new and emerging technologies by providing information, education and strategic outreach for LGBT communities. We are a national, nonpartisan group of LGBT organizations, academic institutions and high technology companies whose mission is to engage with critical technology and public policy leaders for strategic discussions at all levels. The Partnership ensures that cable, telecommunications and high technology issues of specific concern to LGBT communities are addressed in public policy conversations.

The Time Warner Cable Research Program on Digital Communications awards stipends to foster research dedicated to increasing understanding of the benefits and challenges facing the future of digital technologies in the home, office, classroom and community. Individual researchers affiliated with universities and non-profits are eligible to apply for the stipends.