Ameritech has awarded $25,000 to DePaul University to establish a Community-based Center for Small Business Modernization in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood that will help businesses improve operations and modernize information technology to increase competitiveness.

The center initially will target manufacturing firms, focusing on their e-commerce and Internet technologies, said Thomas Muscarello, DePaul’s director of external programs and professor at DePaul’s School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems.

“The decline in employment in manufacturing firms in the area—which has been reported by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, information technology needs assessments conducted by DePaul, and industry surveys—points to the need to increase firms’ competitiveness through technology,” Muscarello said. “Yet few of these businesses have made e-commerce and the Internet part of their operations, despite its growing importance for relationships with suppliers, distributors and consumers. A coordinated, comprehensive resource of technology and business know-how is lacking.”

Muscarello said the center will have four goals: informing businesses about the best business practices and information technology to help increase efficiency and competitiveness; assessing needs and developing individual modernization plans; assisting with process improvement, system selection and implementation, and employee training; and helping businesses work with economic development agencies and financial institutions to obtain needed funding.

To provide comprehensive services, the center will partner with community, government and funding agencies, industry associations and consulting and technology firms.

The center builds on DePaul’s long and successful presence in Humboldt Park, mainly through the DePaul/West Humboldt Alliance, West Humboldt Park Community Technology Centers Project and the Community-Based Service Learning program. These initiatives focus on youth development, improving quality of life, economic development and training people for computer careers and information technology job placement. “DePaul has significant and unique expertise in—and the infrastructure for—public service, workforce training, and economic, information technology and business development,” Muscarello said.

The grant to DePaul is part of the Illinois Community Technology Fund (ICTF), financed by Ameritech, which is awarding a total of $1.4 million to 40 nonprofit organizations in Illinois in an effort to narrow the digital divide. Funding is being distributed to organizations that have developed innovative programs to bring technology equipment and education to Illinois citizens, regardless of race, income or geographical location. The ICTF is an 11-member body comprising representatives from the Illinois Commerce Commission, Ameritech Illinois and other public, civic and non-profit institutions.

The grants were open to Illinois nonprofit corporations and associations and publicly funded entities, such as schools and libraries. Applications for funding were selected for projects that established a unique vehicle to bring access to advanced telecommunications services, such as DSL, to low-income and rural communities, as well as training programs to prepare people for today’s changing technology environment.

The ICTF is an important part of the SBC/Ameritech merger commitment, said Jim Shelley, president, Ameritech External Affairs. “Through the ICTF, Ameritech is able to reward inventive groups in Illinois committed to sharing cutting-edge technologies,” he said. “Supporting programs that bring increased technology and educational opportunities reflects our dedication to building stronger communities in all of the areas we serve.”

During its post-merger period from 2000-2002, Ameritech Illinois will provide a total of $7.5 million in grants and project funding to support efforts to improve consumer education and to help ensure the availability of advanced telecommunications services to all customers, through the ICTF and the Illinois Consumer Education Fund.