Sunday, May 2, 2010

Ten Steps to a Creative and Innovative Community


1. The " Creative and Innovative Community" must be well understood.
2. Ownership of the Creative and Innovative Community Concept must be broadly communicated.
3. A New Decision-making Mechanism must be created.
4. The Needs of the Community must be assessed and the community defined.
5. A Vision and Mission Statement must be developed.
6. Specific Goals and Priorities must be established.
7. A Strategic Plan for the Creative and Innovative Community Concept needs to be drafted.
8. Responsibilities must be clearly defined and Timelines established.
9. Community Linkages must be made.
10. Metrics must be established and progress constantly monitored.

A smart community is a community that has made a conscious effort to use information technology to transform life and work within its region in significant and fundamental rather than incremental ways. The goal of such an effort is more than the mere deployment of technology. Rather it is about preparing one's community to meet the challenges of a global, knowledge economy.
Founded in 1997, the Smart Community program was created by John M Eger Van Deerlin Endowed Chair of Communications and Public Policy and Executive Director of the International Center for Communications at San Diego State University.
The International Center chaired and staffed the first City of the Future initiative for the City of San Diego in 1992. Subsequently, the Center published a "Smart Communities Guidebook" and "Smart Communities Implementation Guide for the state of California".
More recently, the Center produced a monograph entitled "The Creative Community".
Other Articles
Meeting the Challenges of Globalization Affecting the Future of Work
By John Eger, June 11 2007
Raising the Bar on IT and Economic Development
By John M. Eger, August 28, 2006
We Need a National Infrastructure Initiative
By John Eger, Apr 19, 2006
Freeing Cities From Telco and Cable Monopolies
By John M. Eger, March 18, 2006
Globalization: A New Urgency for Building Digital Communities
By John M. Eger, December 2005
The Urgent Call for Broadband in America
By John M. Eger, Nov 01, 2005
Teletopia: A New Regulatory Agenda for America
By John Eger, Sep 3, 2005
Federal Action Needed to Ensure Connected Communities
By John Eger, Mar 28, 2005
San Diego Daily Transcript: Web portals prying open dot-gov
By John Eger, November 26, 2001
The San Diego Union Tribune: Cities | Smart growth and the urban future
By John M. Eger, Feb 13, 2000

As we anticipate a whole new economy based upon creativity and innovation, the dawn of the "Creative Age," as the Nomura Research Institute put it, we are more acutely aware of the importance of reinventing our business strategies, our corporations, our communities, our schools, our housing and land use policies and more.
While creative industries, according to the Americans for the Arts, are defined as "arts-related," creativity and innovation are vital to the success of all businesses. To ensure our success and survival in this new economy, we must sharpen our focus on training, nurturing and retaining the next generation of leaders for the Age of Creativity and Innovation.
Technologies of Freedom
By John M. Eger, Jul 2, 2007
Creative Clusters and the Urban Economy
By John Eger, February 6, 2006
New Orleans: The Next City of the Future?
By John M. Eger, Oct 9, 2005
The creative community in crisis
By John Eger, March 1, 2003
Art in the machine
By John Eger, January 7, 2002
Nurturing a Creative Community
By John M. Eger, Cosmos Club Journal, 2004
The Urban and Metropolitan University: Reinventing the College and the Communities they serve
By John M. Eger, Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities Journal, Vol. 18, Number 3, 2006



Links to Other Helpful Websites
The Creative Economy Council
Sustainable Communities Network
Center for Creative Leadership
Americans for the Arts
Arts Education Partnership
The Center for Arts Education
Artsedge
Arts & Learning Resources for State Leaders
Artscan; ECS Arts in Education Policy Database
Arts For All
High Tech High
Lewisham Online
The Creative Economy
Singapore.IDA.gov.sg
Multimedia SuperCorridor (Malaysia)
Arab Urban Development Institute