Andy Blundell andy@c3t.ca Presented to Cybera Summit 21st September 2010 Based on presentations to ARDN – May 13, 2010

 Developing the Communities without Boundaries Alberta Network

 The 24-7 Alberta Platform   Service Alberta’s Broadband Initiative

From University outreach to knowledge co-production

 Communities without Boundaries originated in the U of C “Extending Alberta SuperNet Outreach” project

 Town Hall meetings and a web portal to convey the results of the Alberta SuperNet Research Alliance

 Olds Institute said they wanted a conference not a town hall

Olds Conference Nov 2007

 Conventional face to face conference with a bit of added videoconferencing

 Bringing speakers in by VC worked well for people in Olds

 Not a great experience for audiences in Vulcan and Hanna

  Shifted focus from SuperNet & Broadband  At Olds we were castigated for not

talking about access; Here we were castigated for not talking about applications!

 Conclusion: Infrastructure, applications and human components (culture of use, training) must be addressed together

A stakeholder-driven approach

 We asked rural stakeholders if we should do another conference

 The answer was, “Yes, but no.”  End of U of C funding-required, innovative

approach  Opportunity to hold a virtual conference

without a single central hub

  Oct 31 – venues   Four pillars + one hot

topic ◦  Education ◦ Health care ◦ Rural economic

development ◦ Quality of Life ◦  1st/last mile CwoB – Communities without Boundaries

See www.communitieswithoutboundaries.ca

Oct 31 virtual meeting •  22 VC sites •  28 sessions •  Presenters at 14 Sites •  5 session chairs •  236 Registered participants •  6.5 hours duration •  Print media (ppt handouts and reports) distributed in advance •  Simultaneous webcast •  Recorded sessions (archives &podcasts)

•  Special Areas Video

  Three VC tests   GOA Bridge   Business Link and

NAIT – webcast and podcasts

  Elluminate ◦ Tech talk ◦  Session logistics ◦ Text archive ◦ VRoom

Approximate map; some sites differed

Registered participant analysis {our demographics}   Government - 3 tiers   Education  Adult  K-12

  Libraries   Business   Economic Development   Health

  Saw benefit of forming a vehicle for ongoing interaction and funding

  Hanna Learning Centre provided opportunity to use a learning project to establish a Society

  But, in forming the Board, the “bias to action” was overtaken by a concern for governance / foundation statements

Creating Rural Connections Conference Alberta Rural Development Network May 13, 2010

24-7 Alberta Converged Web 2.0 Platform Project

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development Rural Community Adaptation Program

WASTEWATER PBI/PCA LAND

CAMPGROUND

PBI

SPORTS TRAINING

CLICSITE

GRANTVILLE

STRATEGIC PLANS DEVELOPMENT

COMMERCE LAND

COMM CENTRE COMM DROP IN

LIBRARY

INCUBATION

Town of Three Hills Sustainable Growth Strategy

Social Wellness Infrastructure Economic Growth Environmental Engaged Citizens

Integrated Sustainability Plan

Foster a culture of use around broadband to increase digital

literacy and access opportunities otherwise denied by geography,

distance and time.

24-7 Alberta Converged Web Platform

Inward Looking Wide Area Connections

Web 2.0 Risk Mitigation

24-7 Alberta is a “community connector” which builds on existing social capital and increases broadband penetration by providing an online platform converging various media and the people using them.

It is an e-Main Street, an e-Market, a business incubation tool and an online workspace that builds social and business clusters within and between geographically separated communities.

  For the community  By the community

The static web ….

Gateway to the clouds!

 Acceptance testing http://24-7videotours.com/24-7alberta/

 Network TV   Federated co-ops  NHL ◦ Go to NHL.com and work out what is

identical on every team’s site

 Alberta Motor Association  Commercial software User Group  Open source communities

28

  Issued August 19th, response deadline October 15th

 Estimates nearly half a million Albertans without access to Broadband

 Laudable goal of 98% accessibility  Lengthy consultative process (RFI, Draft

RFP, RFC, RFP, Proposal selection)  Draft RFP and Request for Comments

expected 15th December

 NB It works very well as a government enterprise network, consider health applications such as PACS, Netcare

 Did it deprive local initiatives of ‘anchor tenants’ – schools, health centres, etc?

  Is the problem a lack of applications and community knowledge?

  Is it the integrated services model for the last mile?

Developing a community response

 Response to RFI in progres  Round table / VC to comment on Draft

RFP in Winter 2011   See

www.communitieswithoutboundaries.ca for up-to-date information

Revitalizing Communities without Boundaries  Digital divide as large as ever  Canada as a whole is falling behind  Advocacy role  Attracting, connecting, informing

community champions  Community capacity / social capital,

economic development and broadband access all linked