PTC09: How Intelligent Communities Collaborate to Develop Successful Private/Public Partnerships and Funding Models for Broadband

January 20th, 2009 by judi

Here is the description for this session. Moderator Louis Zacharilla will talk with Jay Gillette, Wes Rosenbalm, and Brad Woodside. I’m looking forward to this session.

What intelligent communities are doing to build the new “railroad.”

LZ: What is an intelligent community? A town, city or metro region that has (crisis or wisdom) come to understand the challenges, and has taken steps to create an economy capable of seizing its opportunities.

All Roads Lead to (your community here). Our lives are where our homes are.

Broadband economy: Community Opportunities. Every community has oportunities to use broadband for economic, political and socila development. Global trade opportunities, innovation becomes as important as location, resources or capital. Global community of vendors, search for education and culture, etc.

Community choice: taking advantage of broadband opportunity requires prolonged, conscious efforts to adapt: collaborative efforts between public, private and non-profoit sectors, identify challenges and development of strategies, edu and consulting, leadership from others.

Virtuous cycle: broadband access : knowledge workforce (what types of jobs are being created?) : innovation : digital inclusion (possibility to close digital divide) : marketing and advocacy (tell the story).

Indicator #1: broadband

Why governments get involved: overcome a broadband gap (market failure, prices, poor quality service), fill a broadband hold (unwired locations), or make a “broadband statement (community that “gets it”). Intervention: policy, networks for govs, public-private partnerships (and two others, but covering the latter).

Jay Gillette: Successful Intelligent Community Development: Leadership. Vision, Technology

Theory guides practice and practice corrects theory.

Topics: 1. successful economic and community development: people using tech catalysts to achieve community goals. 2. A positive negative example (Hays USA Info City Iniative), 3.Leadership is the key, 4. Develop an inspiring vision, and 5. Conclusions.

Successful economic and community development: focus on economic and community development, not just eco-devo. Thrive, not survive: not just biz as usual, three sector approach: gov, biz and civic. Succeed: no sector can go it alone, build economic foundation for community structure on top. Prosper: use tech catalysts to achieve the community’s goals; quality of life attracts knowledge workers, technology infrastructure and apps.

Hays USA Info City Initiative: early attempt at an intelligent community iniative, great project that produced small lasting change. University/rural trade center, vision of “smart city” through info technology. Good participation from IT professionals (rest of community missing). Set-back: Meetings resulted in unrelated election caused halt to project, leadership changes, Info City initiative scaled back to sharing gov IT resources (fill pot holes), gov shakeup. People need knowledge of future stakes, start at home with vision first.

Leadership is the key: significant, supported, sustained. Lessons relearned (matters at all levels). Top: anchor tenants, power elites in social networks. Lower levels: effective gov leaders, visionaries and champions, must truly lead. Leadership by 3S model: significant (power level, supported by tech & other communities, sustained over time.

Develping an inspiring vision: three key words for tech-based community advance: Develop (vision), Develop plans, and develop the vision to insprire, thrive. Not filled potholes, show the finished vision.

Conclusions then Recommendations: 1. Leadership is a social influence phenomonon. Leaders must be creative convincing, communicate well. Followers must get it, go with it, make it their own. Rec: build the community thru coalition of sectors. 2. Vision can embody our tech-based future as bright info renaissance, requiring us to be renaissance men and women, confident people, educated and competent, collaborating together. Rec: develop an inspiring vision, appropriate to your own community, in a supportable plan. 3. tgech provides a foundation for community structures and quality of life. Red; plan for evolving tech as catalyst for achieving community goals, not as end.

(His Worship) Brad Woodside: longest serving mayor of Fredricton. Partnership in builiding broadband. Wanted to move on their timeline, not industry. Canadian broadband is highly regulated. City council prioritized, perfect size to collaborate (“enovation?”) (commercials playing in background) Muni-wifi based fredEzone gave public wifi. Start up costs recovered, network costs recovered, now profitable and reduced community price point.