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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Broadband EconomyThe Broadband Economy The rise of the Intelligent Community is a response to one of the greatest economic transformations in history. "Globalization" is the commonly accepted term for it. At the Intelligent Community Forum, we don't feel that the word does justice to the scope of this transformation, and to the way it is reshaping the economic lives of people around the planet. Nor does it explain why this transformation is taking place. Instead, we call it the Broadband Economy – an economy in which for all intents and purposes the hard - working people of Bangalore and Beijing live right next door to the hard - working people of Boston, Brussels and Buenos Aires. Origin and Impact The Broadband Economy is the product of the build - out of low - cost, high - speed communications and inf ormation technology on both the global and local levels. It began in the 1970s, when the carriers began linking the world's economic centers with fiber optic networks. These made possible collaboration and cooperation across time zones and cultures that op ened markets, boosted productivity, created employment and improved living standards. A simple set of numbers captures the power of this transformation. During the hundred years from 1870 to 1970, the number of people living on more than US$1 per day, adj usted for inflation, grew by 157 million. At the same time, however, the number living on less than 1 dollar a day also grew by 45 million. That's not bad: a net gain of over 100 million people who moved out of the most abject poverty. But compare that to the decade from 1990 to 2000. The number of people living on more than 1 dollar a day grew by 890 million , while the number living on less shrank by 139 million . What made the difference? The explosive growth of global networks that reduced costs, boosted trade volumes and made us all more productive. Global and Local Impact Using the broadband infrastructure, companies began to look for opportunities to locate their facilities where they could gain the greatest advantage in terms of costs, skills and acc ess to markets. The deployment of global broadband also made capital investment highly mobile. Trillions of US dollars move around the globe weekly in pursuit of a competitive return, and when trouble strikes a nation's economy, that mobile capital can als o flee at devastating speed. For communities, local economic success has come to depend on the global economy in ways never before imagined. But while global business may be mobile, communities are not. Communities everywhere have the same goal: to be a p lace where people can raise their children and give those young people enough economic opportunity to allow them to stay and raise children of their own. In the Broadband Economy, that task is more challenging than ever. The Broadband Paradox Geographic l ocation and natural resources were once the key determiners of a community's economic potential. In one person's lifetime, they changed seldom if at all. But in the Broadband Economy, it is increasingly the skills of the labor force, and the ability of bus iness and government to adapt and innovate, that power job creation. And these are assets that must be continually replenished. Why has this change occurred? As economic centers are connected, it becomes possible to manage distant facilities as though the y were across the street. That means, in the Broadband Economy that every worker is exposed to wage and skill competition from every other worker in similar industries around the world. This has shifted demand for low - skilled labor – the kind used in extra cting resources from the Earth and basic manufacturing – to low - cost countries in the developing world. When you visit those booming countries, however, the business press is full of worry about lack of skills and innovation. Even nations in the early stag es of industrial growth are feeling the same competitive pressures that have become acute in industrialized ones. Employment insecurity has risen and will continue to increase worldwide as businesses face global competition and go global in search of tale nt. The only jobs that are immune to the pressures of the Broadband Economy – local retailing and services from plumbing and heating to real estate – do not bring new money into a community; they merely move it around from pocket to pocket within the commu nity. A sustainable community must have inputs and outputs, which means external markets for the skills, services and products it provides. Intelligent Community Indicators In a study funded by the Province of Ontario, Canada, the Intelligent Community Forum defined five critical success factors for the creation of Intelligent Communities. This list of Intelligent Community Indicators, as the study termed them, provided the first conceptual framework for understanding all of the factors that determine a community's competitiveness in the Broadband Economy . In its work since then, ICF has also identified a number of success factors for Intelligent Communities in both industrialized and developing nations. 1. Broadband Connectivity Broadband is the new essential utility, as vital to economic growth as clean water and good roads. Intelligent Communities express a clear vision of their broad band future and craft policies to encourage deployment and adoption. 2. Knowledge Workforce A knowledge workforce is a labor force that creates economic value through the acquisition, processing and use of information. Intelligent Communities exhibit the determination and demonstrated ability to develop a workforce qualified to perform knowledge work from the factory floor to the research lab, and from the construction site to the call center or Web design studio. 3. Digital Inclusion As broadband deploys widely through a community, there is serious risk that it will worsen the exclusion o f people who already play a peripheral role in the economy and society, whether due to poverty, lack of skills, prejudice or geography. Intelligent Communities promote digital inclusion by creating policies and funding programs that provide “have - nots” wit h access to digital technology and broadband, by providing skills training and by promoting a compelling vision of the benefits that the broadband economy can bring to their lives. 4. Innovation For business, broadband has become to innovation what fertilizer is to crops. Intelligent Communities work to build the local innovation capacity of new companies, because these produce all of the job growth in modern economies, and invest in e - government programs that reduce their costs while delivering services on the anywhere - anytime basis that digitally savvy citizens e xpect. 5. Marketing and Advocacy Like businesses facing greater global competition, communities must work harder than ev er to communicate their advantages and explain how they are maintaining or improving their position as wonderful places to live, work and build a growth business. Effective marketing shares this story with the world, while advocacy builds a new vision of t he community from within. The Intelligent Community Indicators provide communities with a framework for assessment, planning and development, as they work to build prosperous local economies in the Broadband Economy. The Indicators also reveal the interactions that can create a "vi rtuous cycle" of positive change. Broadband connectivity feeds the development of a knowledge workforce as well as creating the foundation of digital inclusion programs. Both contribute to a rising level of innovation in the community as well as increasing demand for connectivity. And Intelligent Communities make this wave of change the core "value proposition" in economic development marketing. Community Accelerator Programs Programs to Educate, Energize and Evaluate your Community The Community Accelerator programs provide your community with a set of development tools to improve competitiveness, deepen social inclusion and enhance your ability to adapt in today's fast - moving Broadband Economy. Based on years of research by the Foru m, the Community Accelerator: Educates your community on the factors that will determine its  economic future Helps engage and energize the key stakeholders in the  community development process Provides metric analysis that identifies where you stand today and offer specific  guidance on where to focus efforts in the future The Community Accelerator programs are not a consulting service. They do not assess feasibility, provide community organizing or develop requests for proposal. Instead, they empower your c ommunity to seize control of its destiny. They deliver education and analysis that you can use to plan and execute your future as an Intelligent Community, and a global context for action based on the actual practices of communities around the globe. Accel erator Services ICF offers three Community Accelerator programs to promote community development: Community Training A focused day - long workshop for the governmental, institutional and business leaders of your community to prepare them for development of an Intelligent Community. The workshop mixes a half - day tutorial and case studies with interactive discussion and initial planning sessions. It is preceded by a social ice - breaker on the previous evening that brings the participants into a comfortable rel ationship before the focused work of the following day. Interviews with local press help leverage the value with the public. The goal of the Training is to educate and solidify the team that will carry forward the changes your community needs to make. Co mmunity Mentoring A customizable program of onsite meetings in your community led by an ICF executive, which mix presentations by ICF on community development with in - depth discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing different sectors of your c ommunity. ICF prepares each Mentoring engagement to focus on your specific issues, provides presentations and tutorials, leads discussion sessions with leaders and constituents, participates in ice - breaking social events to build community commitment and p rovides interviews with local media. The goal of Mentoring is to introduce the Intelligent Community movement to your community, then build momentum for change and consensus about the challenges to address. The Mentoring engagement may take the form of a s ingle multi - day site visit or repeat visits over 6 to 24 months. Community Metrics A qualitative and quantitative analysis of your community’s current performance compared with an average of ICF’s Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the past four years. Your staff completes a detailed questionnaire employing the same methods used to select ICF’s Intelligent Community of the Year. ICF researchers analyze the data and provide a written report containing a quantitative ranking of your community on 12 factor s against a composite of Intelligent Communities around the world, and a qualitative interpretation of the results that lets you see where to focus your efforts in the future. Why Communities Choose an Accelerator Program  Local empowerment. The Community Accelerator provides facts, analysis and best practices, not a consultant’s “cookie cutter” formula for development. Creating a strategy, executing it and managing the challenges of change within your local culture remain your responsibility and within you r control.  Global perspective. The Community Accelerator is based on domestic and international data. With your community in economic competition with companies and workers around the globe, the ICF analysis measures your performance against an international benchmark.  Proven methodo logy. ICF’s best practices and metric analysis are based on methodology developed over the past decade in the evaluation of Intelligent Communities and selection of the Intelligent Community of the Year.  Convenience and fast turnaround. The Community Accelerator requires weeks or months - not years - to develop and put into action for your community. Intelligent Community Success Factors In addition to its Intelligent Community Indicators, ICF has identified factors that distinguish the most successful Intelligent Communities: Collaboration The development of an Intelligent Community typically requires intense collaboration among governm ent, businesses, universities and institutions. Few organizations have enough resources, political capital or public backing to drive a community - wide transformation. But collaboration is challenging. It demands vision, flexibility, and a high degree of tr ust among the partners. Intelligent Communities develop the vision, find the flexibility and create trusting relationships among key constituencies. Effective collaboration is typically the result of the working environment created by effective leaders. L eadership It is fair to say that no Intelligent Community has succeeded without strong leadership. Effective leaders identify challenges, set priorities, communicate a compelling vision and foster a sense of urgency in achieving it. They establish a colla borative environment that encourages risk - taking and creates win - win relationships with partners in government, businesses and institutions. It matters little where leadership comes from. In the Intelligent Communities that ICF has studied, leadership has emerged from elected officials, government employees, business executives, universities and nonprofit organizations. What matters is the character, motivation and talents of the individuals who commit themselves to improving the economic and social wellbei ng of the community. Sustainability When Intelligent Communities invest in broadband, workforce development, digital inclusion, innovation, marketing and advocacy, they work to create programs that sustain themselves through local service revenue, growth of the tax base, and the attraction of long - term investment. They avoid depending on short - term funding that fails to lay a foundation for the future, or that is subject to changing political priorities. They also plan their growth in order maintain quali ty of life while creating jobs and spurring business growth. They craft policies on land use, building codes, transportation, rights - of - way and other infrastructure to ensure the community remains a desirable place to live and work. They also use technolog y to reduce dependence on physical infrastructure, allowing more citizens to share the same community resources. And many Intelligent Communities give specific attention to environmental sustainability. They invest in Intelligent Community programs in orde r to identify environmental issues, reduce pollution and curb carbon emissions as well as for economic development and inclusion. This environmental stewardship contributes to the health of the community and the sustainability of the planet.