The Smart Community Podcast

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a great conversation with Alan Murphy, the Smart Dublin Regional Lead. Please note: this episode was recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic. Smart Dublin is an initiative of the four Dublin Local Authorities to engage with smart technology providers, researchers and citizens to solve challenges and improve city life. In this episode Alan tells us about his background in IT consulting and his passion for new ways of doing things using technology. He tells us about what sparked his interest in this Smart space, including friend of the podcast, Jonathan Reichental who you may remember from episode 77. Alan and I then discuss what Smart Dublin actually is and some of the projects Alan's been working on with Smart Dublin in the areas of mobility, environment, energy and citizen engagement. Alan shares with us how he sees Ireland embracing Smart concepts, and the maturing of the conversation around Smart Communities. We talk about integration, and Alan explains Smart Dublin's collaborative approach, plus we cover the power of having champions and stakeholders involved from the start. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends in the mobility space of commute time now being considered by employers, and of incentivising more sustainable modes of transport. 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 The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a fascinating chat with Hyma Vulpala, the Deputy Director of Digital Workplace, Research and Academic Information Services at La Trobe University. Now, when we recorded this a few months back Hyma was Head of Digital and Data for Yarra Ranges Council in Victoria, so you'll hear us refer to that in this episode. Hyma tells us about her background in IT and digital and her passion for the opportunities that the ever-changing digital space provides. She tells us some of the changes she's seen in the space over the last 2 decades and how the rates of technological change are really increasing, especially in the last 5 years. We discuss why Smart City and Community concepts are so important and will continue to be into the future. Hyma and I talk about the different industries in Australia that are adopting Smart concepts, and the dangers of not embracing digital transformation, including not attracting and retaining the required skills sets. We discuss some of the projects Hyma has been working on at Yarra Ranges Council, and the changes in community engagement, customer service and communication styles that digital technology has facilitated. Hyma tells us about the ways Yarra Ranges Council needed to integrate across different departments in order to fulfil their digital strategy, and the cultural shift that is needed for true digital transformation to occur We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of industries and employment that will be most affected by technology, and the need to look at support, skill building and employment opportunities, both for those in impacted industries and also for young people just entering the workforce. 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 Hyma on LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode, I have a brilliant conversation with Debbie Reynolds, also known as The Data Diva. Debbie is a thought-leader and advisor to Multinational Corporations for handling global data privacy, cyber data breach planning and response, and complex cross-functional management of data-centric projects. In this episode, Debbie and I talk about the divide she saw growing up between the opportunities available in big cities like Chicago compared to nearby small towns and suburbs, and how that sparked her interest in the Smart Community space. Debbie shares with us the trends and considerations she sees related to the digital divide, and how it plays out differently in the US compared to Europe and elsewhere, plus why it's so important to inform citizens about data transparency, privacy and protection issues so that they can make informed decisions. We talk about the new data privacy laws in California that came into effect in January 2020 and the impacts Debbie expects, both at the individual citizen level and the big tech companies level. Now, we recorded this conversation in December 2019, so we talk about the California Consumer Privacy Act in future tense, but of course this episode is airing in April 2020 and so the CCPA is well underway now. Debbie shares her observations of what's happening globally as the world moves towards more data ownership at different rates in different places and the challenges and opportunities of integrating and collaborating between disciplines, organisations and governments, especially with regards to data breaches and ransomware incidents. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of the prevalence of biometric data and also of ransomware attacks on public and private organisations. Be aware that there are a couple of spots in this interview where the audio cuts out or clips the end of words, however it's a brilliant conversation overall. 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 Debbie via her website www.debbiereynoldsconsulting.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Marco Maréchal, the Strategic Advisor of Communication and Innovation for Smart City and Smart Mobility to the Netherlands. He is also the author of the book "Mobility in the Future 2030: Finally the people have the say" so I felt he was a great guest to round out our month here focusing on #mobiliitymarch. In this episode, Marco tells us about the project on cooperative vehicles that sparked his interest in Smart Communities 6 years ago and why Smart Communities with humans at the centre are so important to him. We talk about how the Netherlands have embraced Smart concepts, and the Mobility as a Service project Marco is working on reduce congestion and incentivise people to use alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles when commuting to work. Marco shares the biggest benefits he sees in Mobility as a Service and ways the business model of MaaS is still changing and evolving. We discuss ways to better integrate with all stakeholders and how we need to have private cars being a part of the equation in order to start the MaaS conversation. He also tells us about some interesting lessons from an Intelligent Road project in the Netherlands that, in Marco's words, failed. Plus we finish our chat discussing emerging trends, including air transit and autonomous drones, sustainable mobility movements and how better accessibility and mobility services can enable people to live where they want to live and reduce the need for supercities. 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 Marco on LinkedIn or via his website www.toconnect.nl/en Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Ryan McManus, the Founder and CEO of SHARE Mobility, a mobility company that helps organisations and cities solve big transportation problems with mobility-as-a-service. Ryan and I met on my trip recently to Columbus, Ohio, which was in January, 2020. I met Ryan at a meeting with Smart Columbus where I learned about the work they're doing. Now obviously, this episode was recorded before the corona virus became a pandemic. Currently SHARE is repurposing their shared transport network and customer support staff to serve the needs of the people who are staying at home. On the topic of Covid-19, I just want to give you a little bit of an update of what our team is doing to respond. Our My Smart Community team was virtual already and will remain this way. We are following the health advice and following hygiene and social distancing precautions. For now, the podcast will continue as per usual while the situation continues to develop, but down the track and once there's a bit more data, we anticipate and doing few episodes on this pandemic. In the meantime, we will continue to provide you with regular podcast content to entertain and educate you. If you're finding yourself with more time on your hands than usual, remember we have a wonderful back catalogue of episodes for your listening pleasure! Now, more than ever, it's time to be Smart and make our technology work for us so that we can stay human. We use it to work as we need to, for us and our teams and be able to adapt as the needs change. We can use it to consume credible information from credible sources and stay up to date with the latest advice and switch off from the channels that aren't serving us right now. We can use it to be kind, understand that we may need to do things differently for a while and reach out to those who might find themselves isolated, or vulnerable. To be smart, so that we can stay human. In this episode Ryan and I discuss his interest in cars and innovation, and how he brought concepts from IoT and automotive industries together to create SHARE. We talk about how SHARE works and the gap they are fulfilling that is different from both public transit and from what ride-sharing companies were providing. Ryan tells us what a Smart Community means to him, and how we can integrate mobility into our communities. We discuss some of the projects Ryan has been working on, the different ways organisations are working together in Columbus to solve mobility problems, and the benefits of working in the Smart Columbus ecosystem. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trends of the opportunity for improvement when it comes to insurance in the mobility space, as well as the ever-important topic of data being used for public good. 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 Ryan @rynmcmns on Twitter or via RidewithShare.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Renee Autumn Ray. Renee is an urban planner who has worked in transportation planning, policy, operations, and data evaluation. She is currently the Strategy and Innovation Leader at Conduent Transportation, a technology company which includes payments and data analytics for transit, curb-side management, road user charging, and public safety. She also serves on the Transportation Research Board committees for Intelligent Transportation Systems and Innovative Public Transport Services and Technologies, and the Board of Directors for Georgia Bikes, so she's another great guest in the #mobilitymarch series. Renee and I discuss the early career experiences that sparked her interest in Smart Community concepts and the power of bringing data, including qualitative data, into decision making. Renee tells us about some of the projects she's been working on, including curating panels for conferences with a focus on mobility and accessibility. We also talk about why we should be looking at the way parallel industries have solved similar problems when we're looking at problems we're facing in our own industries. Renee also shares with us the emerging opportunities for accessibility in the micro-mobility space, and the different ways people are thinking about reducing accessibility barriers to travel. We then have a great chat about how important accessible and flexible workplaces are for everyone, and especially those with disabilities, which is timely considering the way Covid-19 is forcing a lot more people into remote work. We finish our chat with Renee sharing a couple of her favourite resources for learning more about these concepts. 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 Renee on LinkedIn or Twitter @reneeautumnray Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Chad Ramage, Founder of Accessibility in the City, an online mapping solution that helps support those with accessibility issues with navigation. As someone in a wheelchair himself who is actively working on an innovative solution to accessibility problems, I knew Chad was going to be an excellent guest for our #mobilitymarch series. In this episode Chad tells us about his background in information technology and his passion for accessibility, including his experiences being in a wheelchair that really sparked his interest in the Smart Community and Accessibility space. Chad and I discuss what a Smart Community is and why the concepts of accessibility and inclusion so important, plus the need for genuine consultation on accessibility solutions with the people who have accessibility problems. We talk about how data can help Chad with planning accessible journeys, and all about his platform to help others do just that. Chat explains Accessibility in the City, including how it works and who is using it the most so far. We discuss why accessibility needs to be a key area for local government, and how increasing accessibility also means increasing social inclusion and quality of life. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of data security and privacy for everybody, but especially how that impacts people with disabilities and other vulnerable community members, plus the biggest accessibility issues Chad has that people don't talk about enough. 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 Chad via LinkedIn, on Facebook or via the website Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great chat with Crissy Ditmore, the Director of Strategy for Cubic Transportation Systems, where she is working on the expansion of Mobility as a Service across the globe. Crissy is also Chair of the Board or the TravelSpirit Foundation North America, Co Chair for the Mobility on Demand Alliance Public Policy Committee, is active with the Coalition for Smarter Transportation and a 2019 MaaS Transit Magazine Top 40 Under 40. It's fair to say she was a perfect guest for our #mobilitymarch series. In this episode, Crissy and I discuss her background of over 15 years in the mobility industry and why she's so passionate about the opportunity for mobility to be an equaliser and reduce divides within our community. We talk about Digital Equity when it comes to mobility, especially Mobility as a Service, and the importance of real stakeholder engagement in this space. Crissy shares with us her perspective on the future of transport and how mobility is only one part of the value chain of happiness in the Smart Community ecosystem. We talk about the importance of enabling equity through policy decisions, and how emotional intelligence in difficult conversations is what's needed for better integration and fewer silos. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of balancing new innovation with improving on existing solutions, as well as the things that Crissy wishes were trending in mobility. 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 Crissy on LinkedIn, or Twitter and Instagram @fabcitycrissy Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Michael Milford, a Professor of Robotics at Queensland University of Technology. You may remember Michael from an earlier episode, way back in Episode 22 when we were still called the Smart City Podcast, which was actually over 18 months ago now. So I wanted to have him back on the show to share what's changed in the AV space in that time, and he's the perfect guest to kick off our Mobility March series. In this episode, Michael and I discuss some of the projects he's been working on to do with infrastructure and road readiness for driverless cars, and the key problems with automating driving in complex urban environments versus highway driving. He tells us about the use of high resolution maps of the environment for the functioning of AVs, and how Cooperative Vehicles and Connected Vulnerable Road User fit into this space/framework. We talk about the technology development in the driverless cars space that Michael has seen both overseas and in Australia, and the maturing of the AV dialogue in the Australian context, including how Australia is embracing research and development of the off-road AVs, such as in mining, agriculture, and defence. Michael and I also cover the different types of data that underpin and spin off from autonomous vehicle technology, the ongoing conversation around ethics of automation, and the emerging trends we need to talk about more such as the implications of AVs intersecting with public transport and ride sharing. 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 Michael via LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fascinating conversation with Eleanor Carey, a dual world record holding adventurer and successful entrepreneur. In June 2018, she spent 62 days crossing the Pacific Ocean by human power in a 25 foot ocean rowing boat, and prior to this cycled solo across Europe. In this episode she tells us about those two adventures, as well as her passion for getting people out into the outdoors and using physical adventures to improve people's lives. We discuss what a micro-adventure is and how it helps improve psychological fitness in the workplace, as well as creativity and productivity. Eleanor then tells us about the benefits of disconnecting from technology and connecting with nature, as well as her thoughts on the future of work. We talk about the decision making process Eleanor advocates for choosing what is right for you and how we can shift our mindset to overcome overwhelm and confusion, whether that be on an individual adventure or when collectively tackling Smart Community problems. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of entrepreneurship and the opportunities and challenges of both starting a business and having an entrepreneurial mindset in traditional employment. 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 Eleanor on Instagram @eleanorjcarey or LinkedIn, and eleanorcarey.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Zaheer Allam. Zaheer was the co-founder of the 'Platform Citoyenne', and NGO that successfully stopped the proliferation of coal fired plants in Mauritius. He is today an Urban Strategist for the Port Louis Development Initiative where he contributed to the drafting of a 'National Regeneration Scheme' aimed at economically incentivising urban regeneration. The scheme was successfully adopted by the Government of Mauritius in the National Budget of 2018-2019. In this episode, we discuss Zaheer's background as an Urban Strategist and his interest in looking at how to regenerate cities. Zaheer tells us how he thinks Mauritius is currently embracing Smart concepts and the unique way they are encouraging Urban Regeneration projects. We talk about the importance of democratising not only access to data but also knowledge of data to create more sustainable, more resilient Smart Cities, as well as the challenges of being a small developing state facing the realities of mitigating climate change problems without the economic power to influence global climate change conversation. Zaheer then tells us some of the key things that need to be considered in urban regeneration and smart city projects in developing nations, and Why Westerners need to properly understand the context and priorities of different African places before prescribing Smart solutions. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of autonomous cities and biotechnology 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 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 The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Andrew Funk, international keynote speaker and Impact Activist for homeless people. Andrew believes that work and active citizenship will end homelessness for and with those willing to participate in the process, which is why he created a model to end homelessness that embraces the concept of Smart Cities becoming even Smarter. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss his background from teaching English through to a digital consultancy, and the very personal story of how he started Homeless Entrepreneur. Andrew tells us about the steps he took to get out of homelessness and why inclusive Smart Communities full of active citizens are so important. He tells us how he sees Spain embracing Smart concepts, and about the projects he's working on included Homeless Entrepreneur and Afloat. We then discuss the importance of including people who are affected by the problems you're trying to solve so as to avoid tokenistic approaches, and the three strategic pillars of how to do that: knowledge, recognition and change. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trends of bottom up solutions and citizens taking more of an active role in Smart 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 Andrew on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @andrewfunkspain or via WhatsApp +34 697 877 089 Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a brilliant conversation with Chris Rowlands, the City Innovation Officer at the City of Greater Bendigo in Victoria. Chris and I discuss his background in Town Planning and why he's so passionate about making liveable regions and communities. We talk about why Smart City standards are so powerful as principles that can be applied to communities of any size, and as a great platform to start the conversation with communities about what they want their city or town to be in the future. Chris also covers the importance of having many people involved in the conversation and especially of getting children and school students at the table, because it's their future we're planning. Chris then tells us about the projects he's been working on at Bendigo, including the Clever Weather IoT project which is a collaboration with La Trobe University. He also shares a great story about how transparent conversations help the City of Bendigo's Garbage Truck IoT project get buy in from the garbage truck drivers, who are now big advocates for the project. We finish our chat discussing the advantages and opportunities for Bendigo being in the 'Goldilocks zone' for collaboration, and the emerging trend of focusing on the boring, foundational pieces and Smart City standards in order to enable the tech trends. 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 Chris on LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode, I have a great chat with Leanne Kemp, the Founder and CEO of Everledger and Queensland Chief Entrepreneur. Leanne's company Everledger uses Blockchain technology to track high-value assets such as diamonds, art and wine with the aim of increasing transparency and trust with technology. As the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, her role is to develop the state's startup ecosystem, attract investment and support job creation. You may remember Leanne from Episode 33, way back when we were called the Smart City Podcast. In that episode I interviewed her together with Louise Mercer, then Head of Everledger Australia, New Zealand, now Chief Experience Officer of Everledger and spoke to them both about blockchain, how they use it and why it's the next wave of the internet. In this episode, I asked Leanne about what has happened since she was last on the podcast, and she shared a bit about her work as Queensland's Chief Entrepreneur. We talked about the crucial differences between Smart Cities and Smart or Intelligent Communities, as Leanne calls them, and why the move toward community is so important. Leanne talked about the need to be expanding access to digital skills and technology for those that are otherwise likely to be left out, and her passion for circular economy concepts. We discussed the innovation Leanne is seeing from regional areas in Queensland, as well as having more intrapreneurs in government to be encouraging public-private partnerships. Leanne spoke about the ways we are good at collaborating but so far not so good at coordinating, and that coordination piece is the key to effective integration across disciplines, government, industries and academia. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of recognising that we've so far been too myopic in thinking and the need for systems leadership thinking, as well as the need for more and better public-private partnerships. Now I need to warn you that in recording this episode we had some tricky technical issues, so there is a bit of background noise in places and some moments where fragments of words drop out, so I apologise for that in advance. We've done the best we can to make it listenable and I really wanted to have Leanne on the podcast again because she has so much valuable insight into Smart Communities and in particular Smart Regions. 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 Leanne on LinkedIn or Twitter @leanne_kemp Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

In this episode I have a brilliant chat with Joy Taylor, the Co-Founder and Community Manager of Canvas Coworking Space here in Toowoomba, QLD. She is also a Startup Weekend Global Facilitator and has been recognised as an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion for her work teaching kids to create with technology at CoderDojo Toowoomba. Joy tells us about her background in finance and agribusiness, and her journey from there to the coworking and startup space. We discuss the various programs and projects Joy works on to support Regional Communities here in Toowoomba and also across Australia, and the three main elements she focuses on when mentoring: skill development, behaviours and connection. We then dive deep into one of the Smart projects Joy champions, which is CoderDojo. You may remember back in Episode 122 Emily Royalle told us about the CoderDojo program and how it has benefited both the children involved and the city of San Antonio, Texas, US. Joy is one of the mentors at CoderDojo Toowoomba and in this episode she shares all the benefits and opportunities this program affords the students who attend, but also their parents and the community, and how some skills can only be learned in community. Joy also tells us about some other programs like METS Ignited and Zero to Startup, which have involved lots of integrating with industry, private enterprise, government and community organisations. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of a 3-pronged approach to sustainability in business: sustainable for the people, planet and profit. This episode is part of our spotlight on the regions and I'm glad to be able to bring you a champion from my own home region, here in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs in QLD. 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 Joy on LinkedIn or Facebook, or via email joy@canvascoworking.com.au Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.