Greetings Smart + Connected Community Institute Members,

As we move into 2012, I’d like to make you aware of new content and highlights of what’s coming in 2012.

• 3 New Iconic City Pages. Three new projects focusing on education and healthcare have been added to the Iconic Cities section of the site:

George Brown College
Surrey Memorial Hospital
New Oakville Hospital

• Call for Webinar Topics. We’re planning upcoming webinars and welcome your input on speakers or topics you’d most like to see- please log in and leave your suggestions in the comments below this post. Sneak preview:  In March we’ll hear from Jay Nath, San Francisco’s newly appointed Chief Innovation Officer. Stay tuned for the date and additional details.
• New Videos and E-Book Featuring 29 City Interviews Posted. Videos from the 2011 Meeting of the Minds conference and a link to a new E-Book are now featured at the bottom of the Institute home page. Or, you can visit the blog to see current and past entries about what's been added.
• S+CCI Content is Going Social. Look for social sharing capabilities on documents, discussions and blog posts coming online soon. Social sharing will allow you to share your favorite S+CCI videos, white papers or discussions directly with your professional and personal networks on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms.
• Change to S+CCI Registration Process. The registration process has been updated with two new steps to ensure the Institute membership continues to be individuals working build intelligent communities. When you register to join, you will receive an email validation request. To complete your registration you must click back through from that message (check your email Spam folder if it doesn’t appear). In addition, new registrations will be vetted by the moderator. If you register during a weekend or US national holiday, your request to join will be reviewed on the next business day. Current S+CCI members will not be affected by this new process.
• Updated Events Calendar. Lots of exciting 2012 events are happening this month and throughout the year. Check out the Events Calendar! 
  
• Email Newsletter Update. We are revamping our email newsletter process. Stay tuned for updates on what email to add to your address book so you can receive monthly Institute updates sent directly to your inbox. 

Don’t forget, the Institute is your community. As its members, your ideas on making it a richer destination for collaboration are always welcome. For those of you who participated in the summer 2011 member engagement survey, we're in R&D mode on some of those great suggestions!

"Thank you" to everyone who participated in the Smart+Connected  Communities Institute Member Engagement Survey.  We received some great  feedback about the content you find valuable and what additional  resources we can provide.

Highlights

• Organization of Content
• Types of Content: More case studies, city examples and white papers focused on economic, environmental and social sustainability, information and communication technology
  
• Majority of members visit the site often in a 3 month period
• This audience sees the most value with this online community in learning and getting materials/information

We Are Listening

• Content: We constructed a new section of the site called Resources. Check out the new Resource section that includes collections of white papers, case studies, presentations, videos and more. This will be a one-stop shop for you to access the content in the format of your choice.
• City Examples: We are in the process of putting together a city/ICT E-Book with many global examples of how cities are using technology to be more sustainable. Look for this release next month!  We will also host upcoming webinars with city examples.
• Live Case Studies: In addition to city examples, we plan to launch city live case studies on the site so people can see the partner network and the implementation in process.
• Participation: Please send me your case studies, white papers, presentations to add to the Resource section. Also, I am looking for bloggers. We have added some great new bloggers to the site and we would like the idea sharing and innovation to continue. Contact me to blog!

Congratulations to the three community member prize winners.  I will contact you via private message to capture your contact information where I can send your gift card.

As always, even though the survey is closed now, please send your suggestions to me.

We are pleased to announce our new blogger for the Smart+Connected Communities Institute. Martijn Moerbeek created the blog Strategic Perspectives in which he will share strategic focus for city managers, policy makers and city officials in planning and implementing a connected community. Moerbeek will focus on his background in construction, property development, city planning, building services, information and communication technology and technology.

A little about Moerbeek...

My interest in this topic dates  back a long time. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and choose to  study Civil Engineering as the Netherlands, more than any other country,  is shaped by how we transform nature and our surroundings to the  benefit of our citizens, the environment and the economy at large. In  reality, these are the three pillars of sustainability. From here on I  moved into project management of large building projects (most notable  inner city developments, office buildings and shopping centers) as I  wanted to understand more how buildings impact on their users and  occupants.

In  my next role I joined a major building services providers as I realized  that although architecture is important, it is really the services  within a building that make it live. As part of this, I was responsible  for their corporate strategy and I pushed for an intelligent buildings, a  workplace 2.0 and managed services proposition which really started to  form the basis of my appreciation of what S+CC can do.

In  short, I have always been a believer in how the built environment and  technology can shape and create environments that can provide answers to  many of the pressing issues that our developing and already  overburdened planet faces. I think my round experience has helped me in  pulling all the puzzle pieces together. This experience includes, an  appreciation of civil engineering, city developments, building services  and ICT, how buildings and the built environment impacts on people and  the environment, program management, engagement with policy makers,  architects and all stakeholders in the construction/technology process,  whole-life appreciation of built assets, in-depth architectural  appreciation (my wife is an architect!), the latest technological  developments and much more, and you can see how all this is now  converging into the space that you call S+CC. What's more, I have  extensive experience in penetrating new market spaces, business  development and proposition creation so I know how I can bring new and  innovative services with hard to quantify benefits to the market.

Check out the blog Strategic Perspectives! Click on Receive Email Notifications in the right column to receive an email when a new post is added.

For those of you who are unable to attend the Smart+Connected Communities Institute Workshop on Sustainable Cities and Information Technologies, partnered with Metropolis International Institute, Abu Dhabi Systems and  Information Centre and Cisco Systems, there will be a live webcast.  This means you can click on a link, no matter where you are in the world, and see the presentations live!

The event will cover the following:

• Urbanization Challenges and Trends
  
• Presentations and Case Studies on Urban Planning
• Presentations and Case Studies on Public Safety
• Real Estate Development and Sustainable Buildings
• ICT Strategies for Cities

To view the full agenda and overview, click here.

The event will start January 18, 2011 at 9 a.m. GST, UTC/GMT +4 hours.

GET THE WEBINAR LINK AND AUDIO

Topic: Abu Dhai Workshop On Sustainability and ICT

Date and Time:
January 18, 2011 9:00 am, Arabian Time (Abu Dhabi, Muscat, GMT+04:00)
January 17, 2011 9:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time (San Francisco, GMT-08:00)
January 18, 2011 1:00 pm, China Time (Beijing, GMT+08:00)
January 18, 2011 6:00 am, Europe Time (Amsterdam, GMT+01:00)

Directions:

Entering WebEx Event

Click on the link below at  least 5 to 10 minutes prior to the webinar. The link will provide  information for WebEx and guide you through the process to enter the  meeting. If you do not have WebEx on your computer, it will ask you  click on the Install button.

Event number: 209 901 321
Event password: 123
Event address for attendees: https://cisco.webex.com/ec0605lb/eventcenter/enroll/join.do?siteurl=cisco&confId=744431471&encryptTicket=c717f5feb78b94f8b88ca3524c61ca5d

Audio For Event:

When joining the Webex Event you'll receive a prompt to join the Integrated VoIP session. Click yes to use your compter's audio using Integrated VoIP. (You may close the volume control window at any time.)

To manually join through VoIP in Webex follow these menus:

Communicate -> Integrated VoIP -> Join Conference

If you have any issues email support@smartconnectedcommunities.org