Our Core Services
 Strategic technology planning involves rethinking many well established
policies and procedures developed before, or without regard to, the
digital technology revolution.
Many cities are overwhelmed by the constantly changing array of technologies
that can potentially strengthen their competitive position and improve
public services. The Strategic Technology Collaborative can assist
cities and regions:
- Evaluate and benchmark current use of technology infrastructure
and applications vis-a-vis existing best practices;
- Identify the most appropriate technologies to meet specific
and unique needs and;
- Proactively plan for a wide range of creative and economically
beneficial uses of technology to improve existing economic development,
transportation, housing and urban design objectives.
The Strategic Technology Collaborative can undertake a specific Technology
Plan or play a complementary role in existing planning studies and
policies (completing a technology element for a Comprehensive Plan,
for instance).
The Collaborative provides two primary services to help cities and
regions actively participate in the global economy: Technology Assessments
and Technology Plans.
Technology Assessments
The Collaborative provides services to help cities and regions understand
what their current technology needs are and how they compare to other
cities adopting technology plans. A technology assessment
might include several different aspects:
- Infrastructure: A review of an organization,
location or region's available and planned telecommunications and
information technology resources;
- Policy and Existing Plans: Evaluations of current
technology-based initiatives and of the quality of existing deployments
(such as Section 508 website accessibility audits);
- Demand and Potential Applications: Current and
potential use of telecommunications and IT resources by stakeholding
organizations (audits of web-based applications such as e-government
applications); and,
- Enabling Institutions and Organizations: Appraisal
of the capabilities of key public institutions, private enterprises,
and regional organizations.
Technology Plan
Strategic technology plans traditionally fall into one of two broad
categories:
1. Strategies oriented toward promoting better services from cities,
private and non-profit organizations such as broadband access, e-government
and web-site applications, and;
2. Vision plans that promote technology as a means to enhance local
economic development, transportation and planning objectives.
The Collaborative believes that each should reflect the other and
brings a diversity of experience to undertake comprehensive technology
plans which develops a vision and action steps targeting:
- Digital Infrastructure - strategies to enhance the availability
and accessibility of digital infrastructure for all residents;
- E-Government - strategies to improve city services and disseminate
public information;
- Workforce Development - approaches to coordinating and improving
existing workforce development and education initiatives;
- Web-Based Resources - design and implementation of custom
web applications;
- Urban Design - strategies for integrating technology into
public parks, transit centers, downtown districts, and community
centers;
- Economic Development - improving services for small businesses
and coordinating various economic development objectives into one
plan of action;
- Transportation - evaluating opportunities for using technology
to enhance the effectiveness and attractiveness of using public
transportation systems and;
- Emergency Management - strategies to coordinate response from
public departments such as fire and police.
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