The Smart Community Podcast show

The Smart Community Podcast

Summary: "Making Smart Communities that are Accessible, Liveable and Sustainable for All"​ The Smart Community Podcast is a hub where Smart and exciting people from all around the world come to discuss all things Smart City, Smart Town, Smart Region - anything that makes a place more liveable. Together we can create the Smart Community Collective. Disclaimer: All content is representative of personal opinion only and is not associated with any company, organisation or government agency.

Podcasts:

 An Update on Smart Initiatives in India, with Aditi Padhi | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:48:42

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great catch up chat with Aditi Padhi, Deputy Director - Planning for Yashi Consulting Services. You might remember I spoke with Aditi in July last year, in Episode 120. In this episode Aditi gives us a bit of an update on the projects she's working on and how COVID has changed some of their plans. We discuss how COVID has affected Aditi and her work this year, and a bit about the lockdown and semi-lockdown situation in India this year. Aditi tells us about some of the challenges their team has faced in getting the data from different disciplines to match and talk to each other, as well as the differences in the scale of areas of interest of different disciplines. We talk about how COVID has exposed the delicate balance between interconnected and self-reliant cities, and the way we look at distribution of population in a more complex way. Aditi and I then discuss the emerging trends of engaged citizens and having feedback mechanisms so the community can correct incorrect city data, as well as the changing way people are choosing where to live based on lifestyle rather than employment. We finish our chat discussing the opportunity for bringing historical districts and legacy parts of cities into the 21st century. 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 Aditi via LinkedIn or aditipadhi@gmail.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.

 The Art of the Possible, with Adam Davis | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:41:29

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Adam Davis. Adam is the director of TPL Connect, and TPL Connect are actually our sponsor for the month of November 2020, which we're super excited about. Now, you may remember Adam from Episode 90, which is over 100 episodes ago, where we talked about starting with the foundations. Now, in this episode, Adam and I discuss his background and his passion for delivering real results in the Smart City space, and not just tech for tech's sake. Adam shares with us learnings from a number of projects he's been working on, as well as sharing some of the challenges that companies and governments are facing when it comes to IoT and implementation of Smart Community projects. We talk a lot about use cases and enabling thinking and enabling technology and the art of the possible. Adam shares with us some of the projects he's currently working on with his team. We finish our chat talking about emerging trends in understanding the baseline and having measurable impact. And then Adams shares with us some of his favourite ways to learn about what's happening in this space, including from local government. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. This episode was brought to you by our sponsors TPL Connect. TPL Connect are specialists in the design and delivery of smart city and IoT technology projects, offering consulting, design and project management services. Their strength is their ability to deliver your project vision and not a compromised one. They do this by working with you in the early stages of feasibility to detail your project vision, objectives, requirements and scope, then work with you to deliver the project through to completion and handover. Their team take the stress out of designing and delivering technically difficult projects by working on your behalf to deliver the original requirements and objectives of the project. TPL Connect: your project vision delivered. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Adam at tplconnect.com.au or via email adam.davis@tplconnect.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.

 Data Governance, Culture and Communities, with Warren Dean | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:44:41

In this episode I have a brilliant chat with Warren Dean, Data Analyst and the Founder of DataTale, which is a company that provides Power BI solutions and training to local government. BI stands for Business Intelligence, by the way. It is important you know that because we will say it a lot of times in this episode. Warren tells us about his background in data analytics for both State and Local Governments, and how that led to his founding of DataTale. We discuss the importance of data storytelling and Warren shares some great examples of how Councils can use data more effectively as an asset to make decisions that better serve their communities. Warren and I discuss the importance of strong data governance and creating data cultures and data communities, as well as some of the things Warren considers when pulling data sets together. We talk about data being the common denominator and therefore possibly the key to integrating across disciplines, industries and governments, and Warren then tells us about the Standardised Data Model he's like to see that would make it accessible and affordable for small councils that can't afford to hire a data analytics or BI team. We talk about the importance of data as a skill not just for the future but really for now as well, and the emerging trends of changes in workplace and mobility in the post-COVID world. We finish our chat discussing some of Warren's favourite Data resources. 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 Warren via LinkedIn and his YouTube channel or datatale.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.

 Energy Enabled Services in Smart Communities, with Andrew Mears | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:32:58

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I had a brilliant conversation with Andrew Mears, the Founder and CEO of SwitchdIn, a software and IoT company that provides a solution for managing distribute energy resources to enable high penetration of renewable energy. Andrew tells us about his background as an electrical engineer and working on renewable energy projects in developing countries, and how that led to the founding of his company, SwitchdIn. We discuss how the approach to energy services is different in developing countries and the innovation there has been around renewables and energy service business models. Andrew then tells us what a prosumer is and why the maturity of our energy market in Australia isn't set up for prosumers-yet! We then talk about SwitchdIn and some of the projects they've been working on, plus why Australia is a great place in the world to be building a product like SwitchdIn. Andrew explains the difference between a microgrid, Smartgrid and virtual power plan, as well as the emerging trends in distributed energy services. We finish our chat discussing some of Andrew'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 Andrew at switchdin.com or via andrew.mears@switchdin.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.

 Cargo Bike Food Delivery in Regional Smart Communities, with Beate Kubitz | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:39:54

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Beate Kubitz, a Transport Consultant and Future Mobility Researcher in the UK. 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 in May 2020 but I'm definitely going to get Beate back on the podcast to give us all an update down the track. In this episode, Beate tells us all about her passion for transport and the way it impacts our lives, plus her interest in the innovations happening in the Mobility space. She then tells us about the Cargo Bike Delivery Service that came about out of a desire to meet demand for deliveries in the early days of the pandemic lockdown. We talk about the challenges of regular delivery models, such as vehicle access in very narrow lanes, and how the cargo bike idea was initially a crisis response to make sure people in the local community were able to access food during lockdown but has now sparked long term possibilities in terms of future mobility behaviour change and reducing reliance on private vehicle use. We discuss the volunteer model they have set up and the way it works with the local shops, as well as the changes to how we shop long term and the new business models that will be required in the future for grocers and shops, and potentially for the cargo bike delivery service too. Beate then tells us about the data she's been keeping on the delivery service, and the impact it's made not only in reducing emissions compared to a delivery van, but also the journeys people haven't made in their car to get groceries. We finish up talking a little bit about Beate's normal business and how that's changed during COVID, but we'll definitely have to have a follow up conversation to dive into that more. 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 Beate 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.

 Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments, with Teresa Harding | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:27:06

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fantastic conversation with Teresa Harding, the Mayor of Ipswich City in QLD, Australia. Teresa tells us about her varied background in the Defence Force, small business and IT, and her dual passion for local communities and veterans affairs. We discuss what sparked her interest in Smart concepts and why it's so important to have a balance of logic and creativity, vision and implementation in our Smart Communities. Teresa then tells us about the work Ipswich Council has done this year on setting up a Transparency and Integrity Hub to ensure trust is rebuilt with citizens and the local government is held accountable. Teresa tells us about this Hub works, the feedback they're getting on it and the benefits of adopting open data practices into local government. We also discuss how Ipswich integrates across disciplines, governments and industries and their plans for continued community engagement and a more participatory approach to policy planning. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of digital inclusion and improved local government customer service, plus the importance of diversity at our civic and government decision making process. 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 Teresa via email mayor@ipswich.qld.gov.au or on social media either on Facebook or 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.

 A Practical Futurist Living in the Moment, with Andrew Grill | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:37:57

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Practical Futurist, Andrew Grill, who you may remember from Episodes 38 and 136. This podcast episode is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic. In this chat, Andrew and I discuss how the pandemic has not only brought in a whole lot of new rules and social norms, but it's also accelerated his futurist predictions. Things that he was predicting to change such as in the future of work, have come to pass incredibly quickly. Andrew tells us how the disruption is a huge opportunity for change but is also exposing the weak points in every ecosystem, and increasing the digital divide. We talk about that digital divide particularly in the education space, where already disadvantaged students are being further disadvantaged, and teachers who were already comfortable with technology are more advantaged and able to be more effective than their colleagues. Andrew also tells us what has an hasn't changed for him, including the information he is learning and sharing, the types of work he does, and the mode of delivery and tools for engagement in his work. We talk about the pros and cons of working from home, the mental health impacts and what managers are learning now that they're in it with their employees, plus using business tools like Zoom for personal social connections and the need for digital hygiene due to the digital fatigue we're all feeling. Andrew then shares his predictions on the future of work, including the emergence of a third word space that is neither home nor office, and the increase of professional gig workers. We finish our chat with Andrew's three practical tips for coping while working from home and potentially physically isolated. 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 Andrew at Andrew.London or on Twitter @andrewgrill 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.

 Smart Communities in Developing Nations, with Kris Libunao | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:28:57

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat to Kris Libunao, the Executive Director and Chief Sustainability Officer of Smart CT, a nonprofit organization based in the Philippines. Kris tells us about her background in urban planning, law and policy research, and what sparked her interest in the space, as well as what a Smart Community means to her. We discuss how Smart City practices need to be different in developing countries and the importance of data gathering, data literacy and community engagement. Kris and I talk about how the Philippines is embracing Smart Concepts and the challenges and opportunities that have been brought to the forefront this year during the pandemic. Kris then tells us about Smart CT and how they're building a community around the organisation. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of data appreciation and literacy, digital infrastructure and bottom up approaches, plus some of Kris's favourite Smart Community resources. 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 Kris via email kris@smartct.org or LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @SmartCT_PH 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.

 Smart Community Insights Across Borders, with Peter Bjorn Larson | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:42:45

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Peter Bjorn Llarson, the Director of Smart City Insights. 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 1st of May, and since then Peter tells me he's doing well, he's doing a couple of nice local Smart City projects because obviously he's not travelling very much anymore. In this conversation, Peter and I chat about what the situation was like in Denmark pandemic-wise in May, as well as some of the key differences between Denmark and Sweden's approach. We then discuss the ways the Smart City concepts of digital transformation and data sharing and privacy have come to the forefront during this crisis, and how the private sector has been well placed to respond quickly, having already much of the foundational pieces already in place. We cover data collaboratives, data privacy and security, as well as the ways these complex issues are dealt with around the world thanks to differences not only in cultural attitudes but also digital preparedness of different nations. Peter then tells us a bit about how he works and how the pandemic has changed the way we work and meet worldwide, which has environmental, accessibility and lifestyle impacts. We talk about this global work from home experiment, Zoom fatigue and the pros and cons of digital workshops and virtual community building. We finish our chat discussing how this crisis has forced us into new ways of doing so many things, including a cool example about how Peter ran a Croatian Marathon in Copenhagen! 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 Peter 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.

 Rural and Regional Smart Community Strategies, with Imogen Schifferle | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:40:39

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Imogen Schifferle, the Regional Partnerships Innovation Coordinator at Albury City and Wodonga City Councils. Now, in case you don't know because you're not from Australia, Albury and Wodonga are twin Australian cities located on either side of the Murray River and the state border between Victoria and New South Wales. The twin cities are a real hub for the region, and have been heavily impacted by the state border closures and lockdowns during the pandemic. So in this episode, Imogen first tells us about her background in digital technologies, particularly mobile technologies, as she's worked for both Telstra and Samsung, and how she's now working in Local Government. We discuss the differences in drivers and attitude between private companies and public service, as well as the differences in Smart Community ideas between regional and urban environments. She then tells us about the Rural Smart Community Strategy she's been working on, and how it's been informed by the needs of the community and also impacted by the bushfires from late 2019 and early 2020 that ravaged many parts of Australia. Imogen tells us about the 5 themes or initiatives that underpin the strategy and what it was like to try to bring together one strategy for two cities, spanning two states, encompassing 17 Local Government areas and a lot of different needs. Of course we finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of communities and individuals demanding more from their local governments and organisations, as well as some of Imogen's favourite Smart Community resources. 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 Imogen on LinkedIn or Instagram @imcheee Find out more about Albury-Wodonga at the Two Cities, One Community website at https://www.alburywodonga.gov.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.

 Where to Next For Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 9) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:25:44

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: •Charlie Hamer from Episode 172 •Courtney Ehrlichman from Episode 181 •Debbie Reynolds from Episode 166 •Jamie Leach from Episode 171 •And finally Luke Stow from Episode 173 The themes that come through in all of the guest answers are around sustainability of Smart Communities, but not so much from an environmental perspective. These guests are focused on the sustainability of communities and of Smart projects from the perspectives of sustainable funding, sustainable data driven decision making, and sustainable access to resources, be they local or global. Several guests make important points about the fact that without sustainable investment of actual dollars, many Smart projects fail to get off the ground or continue past pilot phases. This of course hurts communities not only that were benefiting from those projects but also those that could have benefited had the learnings from the ongoing projects been able to be shared and scaled across other communities. Then there's the crucial topic of data being a public good, and that we must be investing not only financially in data, but also the skillsets and mindsets needed to have privacy, security and understanding of data so that we can really use it to drive decision making and policy that benefit the community. And of course fundamental to every Smart Community conversation is the fact that it's about sustainable access to resources, from transport to health care to food to manufacturing. Underpinning much of that is access to the internet, so that connectivity piece is crucial in preventing further digital divides. We also discuss the tension between the global and the local, and the balance between the need for self-sustainability and a village approach in local communities with the knowledge sharing and global collaboration that is so necessary in our world today. We can have both! 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.

 Smart Communities and the COVID Chance, with Mark Thomas | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:40:16

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a brilliant chat with Mark Thomas, the Founder and Managing Director of Serviceworks, an international consultancy providing strategic counsel on city building, smart city application, strategy, public policy and customer service. This is the second time Mark has been on the podcast, the last time was back in Episode 111, and this interview was recorded in mid July 2020. So we talk about Mark's background and his passion for solving wicked problems that matter to citizens, as well as what's been happening for him and how he's adjusted his business since COVID. But of course since we recorded this episode, Auckland New Zealand has also seen an outbreak, so just keep in mind that we recorded before that and don't mention it at all. It's a bit tricky this year given that I often record interviews way in advance of when they get released on the podcast, and obviously things with COVID change so rapidly but I know you're all Smart people who will understand that. Mark also shares with us his thinking around what he calls 'The COVID Chance', which is about the ways the pandemic has accelerated some of the Smart concepts like data sharing and privacy that we've been talking about for years, as well as the opportunities that exist in the midst of the crisis. We discuss the projects Mark has been working on including Mobility as a Service and connected platform projects in China, Indonesia and Malaysia, plus the way Smart solutions need to be customisable for different cultures, contexts and communities. Mark and I then explore the emerging trends of using blockchain in the city space, as well as new urban mobility systems and new citizen data control solutions that are emerging. We finish our chat discussing some of Mark's favourite Smart Community resources. 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 Mark via the Serviceworks website, or on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter @MarkThomasNZ 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.

 Leadership and Changemakers in Smart Communities, with Deke Copenhaver | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:43:33

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great chat with Deke Copenhaver, the author of "The Changemaker: the Art of Building Better Leaders". Deke was Mayor of Augusta, Georgia for 9 years, and is currently the principal of Copenhaver Consulting. Deke and I met when I visited the US in January 2020 and we were introduced by our good friend Kerry Grace. Deke tells us about his background in business, real estate and land conservation, and how that sparked his interest in Smart Communities, which only deepened in his time as Mayor of Augusta. Deke shares what both Smart Community and leadership means to him and why long-term thinking is key to both, plus why he thinks Millennials will be the next great generation of leaders. Deke and I discuss some of his favourite community projects while in office, including the Laney Walker Bethlehem Revitalisation Project, and how the community engagement aspects worked in that project. We talk a bit about COVID and how Deke has been moving through this time, and the emerging trends of the mental health aspects of the pandemic, as well as the virtual work and digital divide aspects too. We finish our chat discussing some of Deke's favourite Smart Community resources. 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 Deke on LinkedIn or @dekecopenhaver on Twitter and Instagram 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.

 Smart Digital Societies: Lessons from Estonia, with Calum Cameron | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:57:49

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a really interesting conversation with Calum Cameron, an Aussie based in Estonia, which is the world's first digital society and Europe's favourite startup ecosystem. Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in Estonia he helped trigger the Hack the Crisis movement and was an organiser The Global Hackathon which combined connected more than 250k people from over 100 countries to develop and implement immediate solutions to the crises, which we talk about in this episode. We start by discussing Calum's background in IT helping the financial services digitalise, and how he came to be in Estonia. Calum then shares with us a history of Estonia, why they focused heavily on digitalisation in the 1990s, plus some of the interesting ways that manifests, like their digital citizen or e-residency program. Calum tells us how he got into this Smart Community space and why a diverse cross section from society is so important in getting different perspectives and different skillsets to best leverage the technology that's out there to solve community problems. We talk about how Smart concepts are understood by the general public in Estonia, including how data sharing works between agencies to make renewing your drivers licence a smooth process. Calum and I talk about the importance of trust and the social license to operate in digital societies, and how both public and private sectors in Estonia have intentionally invested in the affordability and reliability of digital infrastructure, as well as dedicated digital education and engagement programs to improve digital literacy in the whole population. We finish our chat discussing the opportunities and challenges of e-learning and digital collaboration, including his work with the recent digital hackathons, plus Calum's favourite resources in the Smart Community space. At one point we also mention Smart Community festivals and I say in the interview that I discussed it with Martin Tomitsch in his episode but no, it was actually Heath Raftery who I spoke to in Episode 113 about Smart Regions, so we've linked all those episodes up in the show notes too. 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 Calum on LinkedIn or via calum@digitalpath.ee 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.

 The Nexus of Technology, Human Behaviour and Public Policy, with Susan Shaheen | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:48:51

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fascinating chat with Susan Shaheen, Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Co-Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Susan and I chat about her interest in the nexus of technology, human behaviour and public policy, and how the US Smart Cities Challenge sparked her interest in the space, when she was involved with San Francisco's application. We discuss how pivotal and galvanising that grant was for many cities around America, and how the community engagement framework they used for the San Francisco application really valued a co-creation model between public, private and community. Susan then tells us about some of the projects she's been working on, including some research documenting the learnings from the cities of their experience of the Smart Cities Challenge. She tells us some of the takeaways from that research, including the four categories of Smart Cities or Communities they uncovered, plus the importance of not relying solely on champions for the long term sustainability of Smart projects. We finish our chat discussing the emerging focus of social equity and social justice in Smart Communities to help solve systemic problems, plus some of Susan's favourite resources. 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 Susan on LinkedIn or Twitter @SusanShaheen1 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.

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