The group helped drive interest in the project this spring at Connected 2024, an expo that drew public- and private-sector officials to discuss creating scalable technology solutions.
The Connective launched in 2019 to help cities develop and scale smart solutions. Since then, local governments in the region have learned about different technologies’ potential through its workshops, including — but not limited to — artificial intelligence.
Connected 2024, its major event this year, hosted by The Connective partner Venture Café Phoenix, drew a mix of local government leaders and technology industry experts.
The conference reversed the typical exhibition model, Ben Williams, Connective program manager, said. Where, typically, private-sector exhibitors might have displayed products and offerings, Connected 2024 put the spotlight on cities and let them share their projects with representatives of other cities.
Cities had to meet three criteria to participate as exhibitors. First, the exhibit had to be as experiential as possible. Second, it had to demonstrate a project’s impact on services or constituents. And third, the technologies or projects on display had to be something that could be replicated in other cities.
Chandler, Ariz., was an exhibiting city. Its Chief Technology Officer Kerstin Nold said via email participating brought new technology solutions to the attention of city leaders, enabling “... increased awareness and understanding of emerging technologies, while fostering collaboration and innovation in local government.”
The event featured five cities displaying 12 projects, plus sessions educating roughly 170 attendees on what The Connective does for municipalities in the region.
One major project that moved forward at Connected 2024 is creating a regional, 311-style platform for more than 20 cities and towns, to provide a single resident-facing experience in navigating services. The idea dates back several years, but a region-specific demonstration at Connected 2024 motivated most of the area’s major cities to declare their interest in participating, Jake Taylor, The Connective’s design and technology manager, said.
Here, The Connective is working with Innocode to develop a pilot, which Taylor said is proving effective and affordable. Because of the complexity and size of the undertaking, and the number of municipalities involved, a timeline has not yet been set. Taylor said most participating cities are in the discovery phase, but a couple cities have moved into the procurement phase.
The Connective is now working on expanding in the Greater Phoenix region, to ensure all communities interested in working with it can do so, Williams said. To encourage participation, the consortium is supporting the implementation of tech solutions to demonstrate its value.
“So, we’re working at an individual-city scale on some projects, but always with a regional view in mind,” Williams said. “What projects can expand to benefit more, or all of, the cities within the region?” The age of cities competing or solving their challenges in isolation is over, he said; it’s “collaborate or die.”
While The Connective’s success is made possible through a hyper-regional approach, its model is shared nationally. The Connective is one of six smart coalitions around the country that have joined together to broaden partnerships and resources for collaboration.
This fall, The Collective will take a new approach to supporting cities. Where it has traditionally held large, regional workshops to address topics like AI and digital twins, an “AI roadshow” event series is in the works to bring the consortium directly to cities, to provide more localized support. The idea is to bring a city’s different departments together to explore how they can leverage AI to support communities. Industry experts from private-sector organizations like IBM will be on hand, too — not to pitch technology solutions, but as thought leaders participating in the conversation.
“We’re going to walk away from that with ready-to-implement solutions,” Taylor said. Two area cities so far will host the traveling series in September.
