TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Smart Cities Week Conference in Washington D.C. September 15-17, 2015 (City Manager Danaj)
RECEIVE REPORT; APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report and approve the city manager’s attendance and participation in the 2015 Smart Cities Week Conference.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The conference fee of $475 is being waived by the hosting organization, Smart Cities Council. Ancillary travel costs, including airfare and two hotel night stays, may be accommodated in the City Manager’s FY 2015-2016 conference and meeting budget.
BACKGROUND:
The Smart Cities Council exists to advise and equip cities with tools and knowledge to cope with expanding populations, shrinking budgets and aging infrastructure. The Council was formed to accelerate the growth of smart cities worldwide by providing city leaders with best practices and vendor-neutral guidance on technology, finance, policy and citizen engagement. The Council’s goal is to advance urban livability, workability and sustainability by supporting and educating cities.
The Council is the public sector's leading industry coalition. Collectively, members and advisors employ more than 1.4 million people, generate more than $2.5 trillion in annual revenues and have worked on more than 5,000 smart city projects of one kind or another past and present. It is comprised of the world's foremost smart city practitioners advised by unbiased, independent experts, including top universities, national laboratories, standards bodies, climate advocacy groups and development banks.
DISCUSSION:
Smart Cities will be holding its Smart Cities Week conference in Washington D.C. September 15-17, 2015. The conference theme includes transforming city environments, engaging citizens, managing sustainable resources and reinventing processes and systems. The strategic program (see Attachment #1) includes sessions on stakeholder engagement, public safety, technology trends, eGovernment and Open Data, and financing tools for smart technologies, among others.
This conference will prove extremely valuable in gaining insight and knowledge for many of the City’s goals for economic vitality, transparency, technology and citizen engagement.
CONCLUSION:
After the conclusion of the conference, I will share the session highlights with the City Council and community at an upcoming meeting.