When Governments Create Opportunities for Everyone in Smart Evolution.....

Over the ages it has been proven time and again that efforts to bring up an entire society actually equates to longevity in that society, whether it be measured by a country, a region, a tribe, or a community. On the other hand, leaving parts of society behind in any efforts, whether that be socioeconomic or any other critical growth marker (e.g., technology), has been shown to create gaps that become chasms, causing friction, disparity, and eventual collapse of that same society.

In the United States there exists many governmental and non-profit entities that serve to promote digital and innovation inclusion. In particular, the State of Colorado has two major contributors: The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance (CSCA), and the Colorado Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA). These organizations serve as a model of how successful efforts help to spread innovation across the hundreds of communities within their state.

The CSCA, a non-profit originally formed in 2018, is the first state-wide alliance of government, business and allied organizations dedicated to advancing smarter communities in the United States. Its stated mission is to "Create technology partnerships that develop and prove next-generation solutions to the challenges shared across Colorado communities". The CSCA hosts events, webinars, and an Innovation Challenge each year, where local governments present a business use case, seek out innovative solutions through technology partners, and engage in pilot programs with those partners that often lead to fully productionalized solutions that benefit their residents and communities.

SIPA is a state agency, self-funded, that works with local Colorado governments to source technology solutions, while also creating a growing portfolio of vendors that are under master agreements with discounted pricing, which in turn allows local governments to purchase those vendor solutions directly from SIPA, with no extensive procurement or bid process required. SIPA then takes revenue proceeds to funds grant programs for those smaller communities that lack funding resources of the larger cities.

Globetom works with both of these agencies, as we work to deploy digitally transformative solutions for local governments of all sizes. We have been impressed with not only their missions, but also their success when it comes to including "everyone". Both the CSCA and SIPA are themselves innovative, as they collaborate to make the digital dream real for all of Colorado. The blueprint of their operational models should serve as an example of what works in Smart Cities.