Stay Connected“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.
In this episode I have a really fascinating conversation with David Catalovski, co-founder of GreenBe, a company that provides a cloud-based platform and solutions for government and utilities to drive smart technology adoption and hard-to-reach user behaviours. David and I discuss his background as a lawyer and what sparked his interest in the Smart Community space, and why he believes a Smart City is more about serving residents than any technology solution. David tells us about some of the projects he's working on, including the work GreenBe has done with the City of Blacktown and how their services uses gamification to shift human behaviour in cities for the triple bottom line benefit. We discuss why it's so important for cities and government services to be benchmarking themselves against the service and engagement of private entities, plus the challenges of reinvention and keeping up with changing customer expectations. David and I touch on the future of work in local government, and the power of partnerships, collaboration and integration between cities and other organisations. We also have a really interesting conversation about the need for government to measure the amount of power any one company has, and how that goes hand in hand with our need for data literacy as consumers. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of shifting human behaviour to promote better engagement, better wellbeing and more community minded citizens. As always we hope you enjoy listening tot his episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with David on LinkedInor via email david@greenbe.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a really great chat with Scott Shepard, the Chief Commercial Officer with mobility aggregator and service provider, Free2Move. Scott tells us about his background in urban planning and data analytics and how that led to his focus on transportation and new mobility in cities. We discuss why empowering citifies and improving community quality of life is really the whole point of the Smart Communities movement, and the real need for regional inclusiveness when it comes to tech, mobility and planning. Scott and I discuss the ways new technologies pose a risk for increasing divide and disadvantage within our communities, and also the importance of looking past the hype in order to see those [deeper problems/the real implications of the new tech on the most vulnerable in our communities. Having lived and worked in both places, Scott then tells us about Free2Move, and shares with us his perspective on the similarities and differences between the way the US and Europe is embracing Smart Mobility concepts, and the different ways the markets are maturing. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of consumer scrutiny and awareness around data, choices and inclusivity. 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 Scott on Facebook, LinkedIn or scott.shepard@free2move.me Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" As the focus this month has been the future of work, this time I'm sharing with you the answers from our guests this month: E133 Sally Illingworth E134 Thea O'Connor E135 Anuraj Gambhir E136 was Andrew Grill, and I didn't actually ask him this question specifically because the whole episode was really about what's next! E137 Colin Kinner There are a couple of main themes in this episode. You'll hear these guests talk a lot about the various stakeholders and humans at the centre of work, and the way technology is changing that, so how do we strike that balance between the technology and automation side of things, with the people, the jobs and most importantly the human brains and bodies and how they actually function best. Creativity and critical thinking is a key theme, as is the importance of keeping the focus on communities, on investing in the people and investing in collaboration opportunities within workplaces, within cities, within communities. The future of work is a really broad topic and each of these guests are focusing on a different part of it, but it's a fascinating conversation. 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 via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Colin Dinner. Colin is a startup ecosystem specialist, company director with over twenty years' experience working with high-growth technology-based companies and a startup coach and trainer, so I knew he was the right person to speak to about the role of startups and small businesses in the future of work in Smart Communities. Colin shares a bit about his background in startups in lots of different contexts, and why it's important that Australia gets better at building an economy based on high value, knowledge-intensive jobs rather than just resources and agriculture. We discuss how Smart Companies contribute to not only Smart Communities but economically prosperous ones too, and some examples from places like Singapore where investing in young people's knowledge to build Smarter Cities. Colin tells us about Startup Onramp, and what he's observed during the program about innovation in regional Australia and the relative immaturity of Australia's startup ecosystem. We talk about the myths and mindset challenges that stop people pursuing startup opportunities, as well as the absolute importance of validation when starting any venture. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of social entrepreneurship and why we need more than buzzword bingo in our understanding of emerging trends! As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Colin via LinkedIn or on Twitter @ColinKinner Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Technologist, Engineer, Futurist and host of the Practical Futurist Podcast, Andrew Grill. You might remember Andrew Grill from Episode 38, way back when we were called the Smart City Podcast. Since we're talking about the Future of Work this month, I knew it was the perfect time to have him back on the show. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss the skills to implement now to stay ahead of the curve in the future of work space, and why we should be designing offices for the future flexible workforce. Andrew tells us why he predicts the gig economy trend is going to reach C-suite and Executive level, and the three Ps of the future of work: people, place and purpose. We also cover the importance of the personal brand and how the notion of personal brands and digital footprints have changed over Andrew's career, plus the idea of employees renting their personal brands to employers. We discuss the need to be practising digital etiquette and also building trust digitally and in person. Andrew explains the notion of the digital agent, what privacy will look like in the future and what your data is worth. We finish our chat talking about data literacy, informed citizens and the broken business model that is interruption advertising. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I 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 via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
In this episode I have a really interesting chat with Anuraj Gambhir, an innovation evangelist, business strategist and a philosopher as well. Anuraj tells us in this episode about his really varied career trajectory starting from the telecommunications and mobile technology industry, through to startups and entrepreneurship, and now the holistic Smart Cities space. Anuraj and I discuss the need for meaningful interaction with technology the power of what he calls 'transdisciplinarity' or the disruptive creativity that comes from integration across different disciplines and industries. Anuraj also explains his focus on where technology and spirituality meet, and the importance of keeping humanity at the centre of all the tech. Anuraj tells us about a couple of projects he's been involved with that connect dots between industries and some real use cases of data and predictive analytics helping keep humans safe and well. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trends of neuro-tech and wearable tech being used to improve health outcomes, plus the distributed intelligence in our Smart Regions and Rural Communities. As always I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Anuraj via LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
In this episode, I had a wonderful chat with Thea O'Connor, a body advocate and Workplace Wellbeing and Productivity Advisor. Thea and I met last year at the Bellingen Ignite conference run but the RDA Mid-North Coast and it was great to chat again. In this episode Thea shares with us what sparked her interest in the link between technology and health, and the impacts of workplace culture on health and also productivity. She tells us why we need body intelligence in our personal lives and in our workplaces, as well as why we need more power naps! Thea shares with us some techniques that can improve the way we work into the future and cultivate Smarter workplaces now, as well as some tips and tricks to combat white collar fatigue. We also have a really interesting discussion about the opportunities and challenges in the uptake of designing workplaces to support human bodies and brains, and the dangers of the intense, hustle culture in the startup scene. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of designing algorithms and apps with the body in mind, and also the experiment I'm doing to try to break my phone addiction. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Thea on LinkedIn or at Thea.com.au Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
In this episode, I have a truly fantastic conversation with Sally Illingworth, a strategic thinker and calculative action taker who thrives in fast-paced and complex-adaptive environments. Sally tells us about her really interesting background from starting in a pizza shop and working her way up the food retail industry, to moving into management consulting and the world of digital marketing. The theme on the podcast this month is the future of work and this is a brilliant interview to kick us off. Sally and I discuss how her career progressed and why she believes that hard work and a willingness to learn can help anyone make similar moves in their career. We cover the skills that are needed in the future of work, including the importance of creativity and curiosity, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing businesses and organisations trying to attract and retain talent in this digital age. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of the speed at which jobs are being created and then becoming commonplace, as well as the challenge of balancing legacy systems and the need for employers to protect their brands with the trend of employees taking control of their career by building personal brands online. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Sally via LinkedIn or at sallyillingworth.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
In this episode I had a fascinating chat with Declan Edwards, Founder and CEO of BU Coaching and non-technical founder of the soon-to-be-launched PocketCoach App. Declan tells us how his background in physical health and wellbeing led to his passion for the mental and emotional health and wellbeing space, and how despite only hearing about the term Smart Cities and Smart Communities this year, he's right on board with the concept. Declan and I discuss how Smart Cities can make people happier and healthier, and the importance of doing so in order to tap into the vast amounts of human potential that is unfulfilled right now. We talk about the cultural impact of Tall Poppy Syndrome on the willingness of Australia as a country and Australians as individuals to act on big ideas. Declan then tells us about his PocketCoach app, including how it was an advantage to be a non-tech founder and the way his team works remotely. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trend of measuring Gross National Happiness, as Bhutan has done to great success. Other countries are now catching on and it's a really interesting emerging trend to be wrapping up this month of #selfcareseptember topics on the podcast. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Declan on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram @declanedwards_bu Connect with BU Coaching on Facebook and Instagram @bu_coaching or via the website Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" As it's #selfcareseptember to round out the theme of health and wellbeing, this time I'm sharing with you the answers from our guests this month. You'll hear from Katherine Flynn from Episode 127, Monica Olyslagers from Episode 128, Dr. Katherine Loflin from Episode 129, Sophia Arkinstall from Episode 130 and Declan Edwards from Episode 132, which will be out on Monday. There are a couple of main themes in this episode. You'll hear these guests talk a lot about using data for various aspects of health and safety within cities, and the privacy implications that come from that, so how do we strike that balance between protecting individual privacy but also using data to keep people safe and well and supported when they're experiencing health or wellbeing challenges, and as Declan puts it, between Smart citizens and happy citizens. All the guests agree that it won't be a one-size-fits-all solution for any place or person, and in fact there are parallels to be drawn between the way medicine is moving to a personalised health care model using a mix of technological advances and greater human engagement in health practices, and the way cities and communities need to use the technology available and also have great citizen engagement practices. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
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