The Smart Community Podcast

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a brilliant chat with Dr. Nathaniel Bavinton, the Innovation and Futures Manager at the City of Newcastle in NSW. Nathaniel and I discuss his background as an urban sociologist and social researcher and how his interest how cities impact cultures and societies has led to his work as a city strategist and sparked his interest in the Smart Community space. Nathaniel tells us about the Newcastle, including the revitalisation that is happening there, and how the community came up with their own 3-part definition for what a Smart City means to them. We discuss how Nathaniel sees Australia embracing Smart concepts, and the opportunities, outcomes and obstacles of knowledge sharing and collaborating with neighbouring cities and local governments. We talk about the way the City of Newcastle has responded to COVID, and how the digital transformation and behavioural changes that were already underway in the local government really enabled those responses. Nathaniel then tells us about Lean In New, the city app that is helping not only engage and support the community, but also providing economic stimulus to local businesses too. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of planning for future city needs with shared digital architecture and going beyond open data to open algorithms and open analytics. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Nathaniel on LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

Hello #smartcommunityfriends, I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community podcast that brings together multiple guest answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this year: •Jennifer Sanders from Episode 170 •Andrew Funk from Episode 157 •Melissa Dark from Episode 169 •Marco Marechal from Episode 165 •And finally Joy Taylor from Episode 154 The themes that come through in all of the guest answers are around inclusive local communities, community engagement and knowledge sharing in our Smart Communities. Several guests make the point that we need to be having real conversation about what people want and need, and inviting them to be involved in designing the solutions for their local communities. Bringing people along the journey is not easy, and of course this is all easier said than done. It's easy to say we need better community engagement but to make it happen is another thing. As Marco says, it can't just be an email survey, we have to go further than that and work harder than that. Those of us involved in these types of conversations and in the Smart Community space all the time aren't always aware how much the general public doesn't know about these kids of projects going on in their local area. But as we know, it's about the humans at the centre, not the technology, so if the humans aren't engaged then can we say the project is a success? Melissa Dark says, "you're never going to get the perfect solution that is 100% perfect for every person. But...we need to work out how we're going to best involve people in the process of creating those [solutions]." As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode, I have a brilliant conversation with Courtney Ehrlichman, the CEO at The Ehrlichman Group & Co-founder of RoadBotics. We recorded this interview in early June 2020. Courtney tells us about her background in urban studies, planning and transport and her passions for community, mobility and solving problems across industries. We talk about the concept of Universal Basic Mobility, and what a Smart Community means to Courtney, and why it's so important that technology is used as a tool to decrease divides and serve human needs. Courtney and I discuss how data can build wealthier communities and why efficiency is so important both from a local government economic development perspective, and from a citizen user perspective. We have a great chat about autonomous vehicle shuttles, and some of the moral, ethical and labour issues associated with them, as well as the other complex pieces of the mobility conversation, such as urban density, land use, housing affordability, employment options and lower-tech mobility solutions like active transport. Courtney tells us how she sees America embracing Smart Community concepts, the pothole detecting tech startup she co-founded, RoadBotics, and how she works with people. We finish our conversation discussing the emerging trends people aren't talking about of the food supply chain, and educating citizens on their privacy rights, as well as some of Courtney's favourite Smart Community resources. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Courtney via her website, LinkedIn or on Twitter Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Urban Strategist Zaheer Allam. You might remember I spoke with Zaheer earlier in the year in Episode 158 and when COVID-19 broke out I knew I wanted to catch up with him again. So this podcast episode is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic. We recorded this chat on the 4th of May, and since then Zaheer tells me he's doing fine, he's still doing lots of writing because borders are still closed, but work is slowly resuming. In this conversation, Zaheer tells us what the situation is like in Mauritius at the time of recording, what's changed such as working from home, flexible work options in general and the disruptions for Zaheer personally. We cover a big range of things all along the themes of how COVID has impacted every industry and brought to the forefront a lot of Smart concepts, such as the importance of data, digital literacy, community engagement and cross-disciplinary approaches. Zaheer tells us why systems thinking is so important in Smart Communities, always but now especially as we move into a post-COVID world. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to a digital economy, of localising supply chains, investing in resilient infrastructure and the democratisation of data. We finish our chat discussing the ways Smart Cities and Communities, including the 15 minute city concept, can help us build more sustainable, resilient, human-centred places to live, work and play. As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Zaheer on LinkedIn and find him on Facebook Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Sabrina Chakori, the founder of the Brisbane Tool Library. Sabrina tells us about her background in environmental economics and her passion for creating a sustainable society, as well as what sparked her interest in Smart Community concepts. We discuss why democratising the economy is so important and the need for other economic models and using metrics other than just GDP. Sabrina tells us about the Brisbane Tool Library and how it fits in the sharing economy, as well as what she's learned through the process. We explore the concepts of access versus ownership, abundance versus scarcity and the balance between localisation and globalisation. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of alternative economic models and ways to structure our communities. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Sabrina on Facebook or Twitter @SabrinaChakori or the Brisbane Tool Library website, Facebook and Twitter @BrizToolLibrary Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fantastic conversation with Kim Seeling Smith, the CEO of Ignite Global. Kim used to call herself a 'Future of Work' expert, but these days she says the future has arrived so she's become a 'Now of Work' expert. This is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests and although Kim is not a previous podcast guest she is a good friend of the Smart Community Podcast. In this episode, Kim and I discuss her background and her work, and how it's really accelerated with the current crisis. She tells us about her research on what people are learning from this COVID work-from-home experiment, and why we all need to take this disruption seriously, learn from it, and be as prepared as we can be for ongoing disruptions into the future. We explore the relationship between COVID, under- and unemployment, and the critical skills shortage, as well as what the workplace will look like post-COVID and what managers in particular have to improve in order to be effective in the workplace of the next decade. Kim tells us about her white paper on the difference between companies that fail, those that survive and those that thrive after crises and recessions, as well as how she has reset her business during this time. We finish our chat discussing what employees and employers should be thinking about now that the Now of Work has arrived. As always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Kim via LinkedIn or at igniteglobal.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a wonderful chat with Debbie Reynolds, AKA The Data Diva. Now you may remember Debbie was a guest on the podcast just back in March 2020, but we had actually recorded that interview in December 2019. So then when COVID-19 broke out I knew I wanted to catch up again with Debbie and this podcast episode another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic. So in this episode, Debbie and I discuss what she's been up to since we last spoke and how COVID has changed her work schedule. We cover the fact that there is an increased need for data privacy and cyber security expertise during this time while so many people are on the internet more, as well as the need for both digital literacy and data literacy. Debbie and I explore the convergence of our digital personas with our real lives, and how to encourage people to take advantage of the benefits of being online while being discerning about the risks. We also discuss the internet as a human right in Smart Cities and what the pandemic is exposing and amplifying about the problems and the opportunities that already existed in our communities, such as lack of internet access or the possibility of avoiding a commute by working from home. We finish our chat with Debbie sharing some of her tips and tricks on data and privacy, and the benefits of using our technology to stay connected in this time of physical distancing. As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Debbie via her website www.debbiereynoldsconsulting.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant chat with Johanna Kloot, the founder of sustainability software GreenKPI. Johanna tells us about her background as a pilot, plus how an illness and her mission of making the world a better place for her nephew led to her career as a sustainability consultant. We discuss what sustainability is, why Smart Cities and Smart Communities are so important and how Johanna sees Australia embracing these concepts. Johanna and I then discuss the projects she's working on and how GreenKPI came to be. She tells us about the 3 main barriers businesses face in implementing sustainability as well as how important it is to be engaging and empowering people working at the ground level-not just those in head office. We explore making sustainability accessible and the need for small to medium enterprises to be included, plus the three-pronged approach to sustainability integration across consumer, business and government. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of food and water security that people aren't talking about enough, and the challenges, opportunities and lessons learned in COVID around housing in cities. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Johanna on LinkedIn or via the Green KPI website Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a brilliant chat with Kim Houghton, the Chief Economist Officer at the Regional Australia Institute. Now this is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests and although Kim is not a previous podcast guest he is a good friend of the Smart Community Podcast. When we recorded this in mid April 2020, Kim was in quarantine in a hotel in Hobart. I am pleased to share an update that he is out of quarantine and everything is going ok. In this interview Kim and I discuss what COVID has exposed for us, particularly in regional areas, such as connectivity issues, lack of digital literacy and the re-emergence of the decade old conversation about the digital divide in regions. We talk about online learning tools and the wider implications of that for those who don't have reliable internet, plus the need for capacity and confidence building in digital skills for both young and old in regional and underserved areas. Given Kim was in quarantine at the time of recording, we also talk about the challenges of isolation, working from home and the power of digital connections, plus how we can make digital a tool that works for us, rather than being slaves to it. We finish our chat discussing the opportunities and challenges showing up in this crisis around the idea of regional resilience, plus why we all need to be mindful of Digital Etiquette. As this was not a normal podcast interview, Kim didn't tell us how we can connect with him but you can find him on LinkedIn. As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Kim on LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Rachel Smith, who is a previous podcast guest, and also a transport planning and demand management consultant. This episode is actually the audio from the video interview I did with Rachel, which is part of the series I've been doing on YouTube catching up with previous guests during this time of much change in the world. So if you want to see those interviews you can head on over to our YouTube channel to catch up with what previous guests like Ryan McManus, Debbie Reynolds, Sally Illingworth, and Jonathan Reichental have been getting up to in the last few months. In this episode Rachel and I chat about the work she does in demand management and why it's important to Smart Community approach, plus what crises can show us about how we can use resources in Smart ways. We discuss what COVID has exposed about the way people live, and the relationship between consumerism and mobility/transport. Rachel and I also talk about why it's so important to have foundational systems that underpin the sexy tech solutions like Mobility as a Service, as well as involving end users in designing the solutions so we're not just giving more options to people who already had options and continuing to leave out the people with the most at stake. We cover the reasons we should be communicating technical things and important decisions in plain English to the public, how we can encourage more informed and engaged citizens, and the power of government directives to shape public behaviour. Rachel also tells us what she learned from her research and the three things required for human behaviour change. We finish our chat discussing why we should forget our fear of failure and put our best and most innovative ideas for post-COVID life forward so we can shape the future. Because this wasn't a usual podcast interview, Rachel doesn't tell us where to connect with her at the end of the episode, but you can find her on LinkedIn or at her website, and the links are in the description of this episode. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Rachel via LinkedIn or her website cyclingrachelsmith.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a fabulous chat with Luke Stow, the CEO of Alchemy Solutions, which is an Australian company that specialises in helping organisations make shifts with emerging technology, but they come at it from a people centric perspective. Luke tells us about his background as a technologist and why he's passionate about how technology can enable our businesses, communities and lives. We recorded this just as the COVID crisis was ramping up here in Australia and lockdowns were beginning, so that gives you a little bit of context for our conversation. We talk about how lockdowns are highlighting the opportunities and challenges of connectivity and the impacts of COVID responses on the digital divide, work-life flexibility, health prevention and treatments, as well as many aspects of our culture. Luke and I discuss the robust conversations that are needed around privacy and data during and after this crisis, and the need for us to intentionally choose the 'new normal' going forwards. Luke also tells us about the projects he works on with Alchemy Solutions and what he learned from a Hong Kong project about the power of knowledge sharing in Smart Communities. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends in health, technology and privacy, and the power of human connection and sharing real stories, now more than ever. As always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Luke on LinkedIn or at luke.stow@alchemysolutions.com.au Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a fascinating chat with Charlie Hamer, the CoFounder of Public Sector Network. Charlie tells us about his background in computer science, environment and events, and how he ended up starting the Public Sector Nector community platform. He has a passion for technology and the environment, and for facilitating connections so he tells us about why he started PSN and the reasons they expanded from Australia to the US, Canada, New Zealand and soon the UK as well. Charlie tells us what sparked his interest in the Smart Community space, and we discuss what the terms Smart City and Intelligent Community mean, as well as how the movement has been maturing over the last few years. We cover how Charlie sees Australia embracing Smart concepts, and what he's seen in Canada as a result of the Smart City Challenge that was run by the Canadian government there. We discuss how to balance funding and marketing with the real substance of Smart Community projects, and the importance and power of sharing real stories and giving a voice to smaller, regional projects. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of privacy, data security and the waning trust in government, which is even more relevant now than when we recorded this a few months ago. Charlie's episode was the last in my bank of interviews recorded before the pandemic began really impacting the world, so in the weeks to come, we'll start sharing a mix of quote unquote "normal" episodes where I ask guests all the usual questions, the audios from some of the previous guest Covid-19 update interviews I've been doing on YouTube - By the way, remember to head on over to our YouTube channel to catch up with what previous guests like Ryan McManus, Debbie Reynolds, Sally Illingworth, Jonathan Reichental, Rachel Smith and more have been getting up to in the last few months. And of course like Charlie and I discussed in this episode, if you have a real story to share about a Smart Community project that's making a difference, particularly if it's a smaller project or from a regional or rural area, I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch at hello@mysmart.community As always, we hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we've enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn or at charlie@publicsectornetwork.co Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I had a fantastic chat with Jamie Leach, a Data Technologist and the the CEO and Founder of Open Data Australia. She has an extensive background in project management, finance, technology, and defence, as well as leading data and technology companies through capital-raising and global expansion. A reminder that like all our recent episodes this one was recorded before the global pandemic but I think it's a fantastic and really relevant conversation all the same. In this episode, Jamie and I discuss her passion for the transformative potential of data if it is leveraged and harnessed in a positive way. We talk about what sparked her interest in data and Smart Communities, and how making good use of data can help future proof businesses and organisations going forwards. We cover so much, including the challenges and opportunities of using and analysing data well, particularly for governments, and the different skillsets that are needed. Jamie tells us why it's so important that we are educated and empowered around data, especially those who don't have data literacy already, and the importance of just taking the first steps in that direction. Jamie and I discuss how she sees Australia currently embracing the data governance space and some of the projects she's working on. We finish our chat exploring the emerging trends of data visualisation and of AI cognitive search. As always we hope you enjoyed listening tot his episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Jamie via LinkedIn or on Twitter @opendataaus or the website Opendataaustralia.org Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with Jennifer Sanders, the Co-Founder and Executive Director at the Dallas Innovation Alliance or DIA as she refers to it a lot in this episode. Jennifer tells us about the DIA, how it came to be and the needs-based, neighbourhood-centric approach that they take. We cover the importance of educating and empowering citizens, especially young people and people from underserved neighbourhoods, on how they can engaged with their communities and Jennifer shares a great story about the benefits of giving kids a seat at the table when discussing solutions to community problems. We discuss how Dallas is embracing the Smart City concept and the real impacts and benefits of the openness, transparency and knowledge-sharing that goes on between individuals and organisations in the Smart City space. Jennifer tells us about the projects she's working on with the DIA, including their focus on equity, digital inclusion and having a regional focus through the North Texas Innovation Alliance. We have a great chat about how the regional approach is the natural next step from the city-centric focus and how it helps with efficiencies and economies of scale for smaller towns with fewer resources. Now the DIA has dozens of partner organisations from all sectors and Jennifer tells us about how they approach integration and collaboration with so many stakeholders. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trends of data privacy and ownership in public data-driven projects, and we have an interesting chat about telemedicine too. This episode was recorded before Covid-19 brought travel restrictions and lockdowns to the world and so it will be interesting to see what the innovations in that space are once we get through this crisis. As always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn or Twitter @dallassmartcity Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the podcast I have a brilliant conversation with Melissa Dark, a communications and stakeholder engagement consultant. Melissa is the Chief Collaborator at Common Place Communication and the Co-Founder of Busting Silos, and she is passionate about how we involve people in the decisions that affect them. Now, like all the recent episodes on the podcast, this conversation was recorded before Covid-19 changed the world, however I think it's fair to say that communications and stakeholder engagement has only gotten more important since then-as we say at the end of this interview, communication skills can be really undervalued until they're really needed, and that's exactly what we're seeing play out in the world today. If you are wanting more up to date pandemic related content, I am doing a series of interviews on YouTube with previous podcast guests that checks in with them to see how their organisations are changing or not during this time, and how the Smart Community space is approaching Covid-19. In this episode Melissa and I talk about what we can learn about community engagement from organisational change management research, and why trust is the absolute key factor in successful engagement in both communities and organisations. Melissa tells us what engagement actually means to her, and the relationship between integrity, empathy and authentic engagement. We talk about the challenges and opportunities that digital technologies have brought to the comms and engagement space, and the fundamental things that haven't changed. Melissa shares with us that she believes the emerging trends in the engagement space are not in fact tech related but actually the return of old school human approaches. We finish our chat discussing Melissa's work with Busting Silos helping integrate through and across boundaries in organisations, both internally and externally. As always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn or via either of her websites, CommonPlaceCommunication.com or BustingSilos.com.au Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.