SDE works with the local community to develop, implement, and use a comprehensive analytic foundation for decision making and management.  

  • Establish a Local Community Sustainability baseline.
  • Involve students and provide them the tools and knowledge for participating in the data-gathering, analysis, and dissemination of the information regarding the community sustainability plan.
  • Demonstrate how a sustainability plan improves community economic development.
  • Establish a list of desired and expected long-term benefits.

Unleashing the Minds of Our Children

​SDE founders, Allan Jones and Bob James, had a conversation a few years ago about an inspirational comment they remembered from their mutual friend Jack Taub.  He told them, “It’s time to unleash America’s greatest untapped natural resource, the minds of all of our children.”  In pursuit of his vision, they created the Sustainable Digital Equity (SDE) Corporation to bridge the digital divide in inner cities and rural areas to achieve the goals of the Global Sustainability Initiative by developing local community STEAM programs. 

Getting technology into the hands of students is an important step, but it is not enough.  Students must feel comfortable using digital technology to solve significant real problems.  Every community faces sustainability issues.  SDE works with the local community to develop and implement an economic development and sustainability plan that relies heavily upon student involvement.  SDE provides each community a locally customized STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) curriculum.  

The Web-based resources required to transform to a nation of K-12 public school students thriving in STEAM already exist.  Bridging the digital divide by providing digital technology and hands on knowledge for tapping in to these resources will result in a transformation that will be the foundation for a sustainable innovation-based economy and a robust middle class.

In addition to the digital hardware, SDE provides an analytic framework for turning the local data into actionable information.  Former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld famously said, “… there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.  And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.”  Analytics provide insights into the unknown unknowns, allowing local leaders to better plan and manage their communities. 

Sustainable Digital Equity Corp. (SDE)