Intelligent Communities Recognition Copyright 2014
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 4.
ITEM TITLE: Intelligent Communities Recognition
SUMMARY: City Manager providing information on an application submitted to
compete in the Intelligent Communities Forum competition.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
❑ Intelligent Communities Recognition-MVM Memo City Manager Memo
❑ Staff Memo Staff Memo
❑ 2015 Nomination Form Intelligent Communities Supporting Documentation
THE CITY OF Dubuque
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Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007-2012-2013
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Intelligent Communities Recognition
DATE: October 30, 2014
Assistant City Manager Teri Goodmann is providing information on an application
submitted to compete in the Intelligent Communities Forum competition.
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Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
THE CITY OF Dubuque
UBE I
erica .i
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007-2012-2013
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Teri Goodmann Assistant City Mana erg -
SUBJECT: Intelligent Communities Recognition
DATE: October 30, 2014
INTRODUCTION
The City of Dubuque submitted an application to compete in the Intelligent Communities
Forum competition. City staff has been notified by the Intelligent Community Forum,
Director Louis Zacharilla that Dubuque successfully achieved recognition as one of
twenty-one cities that are finalists in the global 2015 Intelligent Community of the Year
program.
BACKGROUND
Last fall, the City sent information about Dubuque's Smarter Sustainable Dubuque
efforts and programs to the Intelligent Community Forum. On September 5, the City
received a response from the Intelligent Community Forum Director thanking staff for
the information and urging the City to submit an application competing for their 2015
Intelligent Community of the Year Awards program.
Intelligent Communities Forum Director Zacharilla mentioned discussions he had had
with IBM researcher, Michele Cullen, who attended a speech he gave at Virginia Tech
in Arlington County (a top 7 Community of ICF 2014). Based on Michele's comments
about Smarter Sustainable Dubuque programs and information about Dubuque
uncovered by ICF's in-house researchers, Director Zacharilla praised Dubuque's work
as exemplary and characteristic of the types of communities promoted globally by
Intelligent Community Forum. The deadline for submission for the Smart21 Awards list
was September 22.
Discussion
The Intelligent Community Forum is a think tank that studies the economic and social
development of cities in the 21st Century. In the global context, all cities are challenged
to create prosperity, stability and cultural meaning in a world where jobs, investment
and knowledge depend on advances in technology and communications. Technology
and contemporary forms of communication provide opportunities and threats for cities —
challenging conventional practices but at the same time -providing new tools that allow
citizens to revision and reshape their communities with an emphasis on inclusive and
sustainable economies.
ICF's goal is to share best practices of global Intelligent Communities Forum particularly
in the area of technology and the broadband economy in order to promote sustainable
economic growth. They accomplish this through identification and explanation of the
broadband economy and its effect on local government, the sharing of best practices of
communities that have successfully adapted to a changing economic environment and
through celebration of the achievement of"intelligent" communities.
Successful communities receive global recognition through the Intelligent Communities
Forum and their communications efforts and also are invited to join the Intelligent
Communities Forum Foundation of winning cities to share best practices in economic
development and innovation.
The City application will compete going forward in hopes of successfully advancing
through the next two phases of competition — 71ntelligent Communities and the
Intelligent Community 2015.
BUDGETIMPACT
There is no budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION
This memorandum is intended to provide information.
Attachment
2
NOMINATION FORM
Intelligent Community of the Year Awards 2015
Phase One: Smart27 Communities of the Year
The Intelligent Community Forum volt use the data provided on this form forthe first stage of its international
awards program:the selection ofthe Smart21 Communities of the Year, semi-finalists forthe Intelligent
Community of the Year award. The Smart21 will be announced on October 21 at a ceremony hosted by the
Institute forthe Study ofthe Intelligent Community at Walsh University in Canton, Ohio, USA. Afterthe
announcement ofthe Smart21, the Awards program will proceed as follows:
October-December 2014
Each of the Smart21 Communities is required to complete a detailed questionnaire in order to be consid-
ered for ICF's Top7 and Intelligent Community of the Year(ICY) awards. The information in this form vdll
be evaluated by an independent research firm, which produces numerical scores for each community.
January 2015
The seven top-scoring communities are named as ICF's Top7 Intelligent Communities (finalists) online and
at an event at Taichung City, Taiwan, the 2013 Intelligent Community of the Year.
Feb-April 2015
The Top7 Communities host an ICF co-founderfor not more than two business days, at the community's
expense, for a site visit to validate the information provided to the Foram. The co-founder's report on the
community is reviewed by an international jury, which votes on its choice for ICY. To select the ICY, ICF
combines the scores ofthe independent research firm on a weighted basis with the votes ofthe jury.
June 2015
ICF invites representatives and citizens from the Top7 to its annual Summit. Each ofthe Top7 will
participate in panels, a ceremony honoring their achievement and an individual interview on stage. On the
final day of the Summit, one ofthe Top7 will be named Intelligent Community of the Year. The ICY is
barred from entering the Awards program again but is named to the international jury.
Association
Communities named to the Smart21, Top7 or Intelligent Community of the Year become eligible tojoin the
ICF Foundation, the membership association ofthe Foram,which provides a permanent platform for
collaborative economic development and peer learning.
Completing the Application. Fill in the fields below. Each field will expand to make
room for your complete answer. Save the file to your computer and email it to ICF at
awardsO.intelliaentcommunitv.ora by September 22, 2014. The Analysts for the
Smart21 vAll use only the information on this form in making its evaluation. Do not send t
additional information or attachments.
Answering the questions below May require you to gather information and hold discussions across multiple
government departments: economic development, administration, IT and telecom, education, planning and
community relations. You will also benefit by consulting wth higher education, healthcare and other institutions,
as well as with the business leaders who are champions of progress in the community. The communities that
succeed in our program tell us that completing the questionnaire helped bring about community-wide
collaboration — and that collaboration proved to be the critical ingredient for a better future.
Pilot Introduction of a New Indicator. This year, ICF is piloting the introduction of a sixth Intelligent
Community Indicator devoted to environmental sustainability. This questionnaire contains questions about the
sustainability practices of your community. Your response will help us determine how to evaluate sustainability
in the development of Intelligent Communities but will not have any bearing on award scoring this year.
2015 Theme: The Revolutionary Community. In the 2014-15 Awards cycle, ICF will focus on urban and
regional planning. The work of creating an Intelligent Community often begins in crisis. It may be a severe
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economic downturn after major employers relocate. It may be accelerating brain drain as the communitys most
talented people leave in search of opportunity. Or it may be more subtle—a dawning awareness that the
community faces profound risks to its future. In response to crisis, Intelligent Communities hold public
consultations, launch programs and build infrastructure that they hope will create a new foundation for prosperity
and wellbeing.
But once the crisis is past, how do Intelligent Communities maintain their momentum and avoid being
caught unprepared by the next wave of change? They engage in urban and regional strategic planning—a
deliberate and collaborative effort to design a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable future for their people. But
this is planning wth a difference. They know that today's disruptions in technology,the economy and the
environment vAll only grow more intense. They understand the profound impact that the continuing broadband
revolution vAll have on their physical form, the delivery of services and their competitive advantages. So they
approach the planning of land-use and infrastructure, sustainability and community development in revolutionary
ways. In the process,they reinvent what it means to plan. More information will become available in a white
paper, The Revolutionary Community,to be published on the Nominations page
www.intelligentcommunity.org/nominations.
Nomination
Name of Community
Dubuque, Iowa
The following questions provide an opportunity to tell the community's story: its recent historyand background,
the challenges it faces, howthe community has met those challenges, and the results it has achieved. Before
answering the questions, review the description of the Intelligent Community Indicators and Success
Factors beginning on page 12 or visit ICF's Web site at www.intellioentcommunitv.oro. Your nomination vAll be
more successful if you fully understand how ICF analyzes a community's development.
As you answer the questions,you will find overlap in content among them. This is deliberate: it offers you
the opportunity to tell multiple stories about your communitys experience. Wherever possible, avoid repeating
information from one question to another.
Vital Statistics
Population Municipality 58,253 Metro Area (if applicable) 0
Labor Force Municipality 59,700 Metro Area (if applicable) 0
Area Municipality 30.38 square Metro Area (if applicable)
miles
1. Background (Maximum: 1 page) Describe the community's location, features ofinterest, demographics and
history that relate to current conditions.
Dubuque is situated in the American Heartland. Surrounded by small rolling hills of agricultural land,the
citys central business district sits along the Mississippi River—a prominent factor in the citys identity and
evolution. After Dubuque was chartered in 1837, it attracted large numbers of Gennan and Irish
immigrants due to its location on the river and its abundance of land and resources. Over time, the city's
manufacturing base grew and it became a booming industrial town in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. The city began to stagnate after the Second World War and was hit hard during the
economic crisis of the 1980s(Chaichian 1989; Dubuque PIO 2010; The City of Dubuque 2009a, 201 Oa).
In 1983, the John Deere Company, which manufactures farm equipment and in peak times provided
about 60 percent of the industrial jobs in the city, laid off roughly half of its employees (Chaichian 1989).
As described in one Chamber of Commerce publication,the city's conditions were quite dire:
"Dubuque's plight is becoming desperate. It suffered more severely during the recent recession,, and^has
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for the past three years had the highest unemployment rate of Iowa's SMSA's (largest cities). That
unfortunate fact is no surprise to Dubuquers. It has been losing both industry and retail business
consistently for the past decade...Dubuque is losing its people. Recent estimates show 10%of the
housing stock vacant or available for sale" (The Dubuque Connection 1983 in The City of Dubuque
2013b).
As the 1980s continued, and the effects of the Midwest Farm Crisis spread, unemployment went up to 23
percent, the highest in the nation. This led to struggling businesses, disconnected neighborhoods and
almost half of the residents emigrating from the city(BBC News 2011; Dubuque PIO 2010;The City of
Dubuque 2009a, 201 Oa). As a reflection of the dire conditions, t-shirts and a prominent billboard in the city
bleakly jested: Will the last person to leave Dubuque please turn off the lights"(National Civic League
2009;The City of Dubuque 2006).
Narratives about the citys recovery from this near death experience explain how city leaders and citizens
came together to save the town by investing their own funds in a dog facing track, hoping to attract
gambling revenue from tourists. Efforts were expanded into a gaming riverboat that was later opened in
Dubuque's ice harbor.As money came in from these endeavors it was invested in city infrastructure, and
slowly Dubuque began to recover(Enzler 2010). One recovery project turned into several and the city
began to thrive (Dubuque Main Street 2012; Enzler 2010; The City of Dubuque 201 Oa).
Through this process of urban revival, a few key themes have emerged within Dubuque's urban discourse
— collaboration across sectors, citizen engagement and sustainability,with an emphasis on the latter as
the local government's centerpiece for urban growth and development (Buol in IBM 2012a; Burbach
201 Ob; N. Van Milligan 201 Ob;The City of Dubuque 2009d; 201 Ob).
2. Challenge(Maximum: 3 pages) Describe the economic, social, political, and technological challenges to the
community's future that led it to begin a process of change using information and communications technology.
In the USA there are over 18,000 cities with populations under 200,000 and make up over 40% of all the
cities in the USA.Traditionally cities manage projects and track success in silos based upon performance
metrics such as water mains repaired or vehicle miles travelled. This has ill-prepared communities to
implement new approaches to sustainable communities and respond to citizen accountability to save
money, maximize resources and reduce greenhouse gases.
In 2006, the Mayor and City Council identified sustainability as a top priority stating that cities that
embrace sustainability will have competitive economic advantages. "Sustainable Dubuque,' a community-
created initiative, grew out of this.The City Council created a citizen wide task force, to develop a
sustainability strategy for the Dubuque community. The Sustainable Dubuque Task Force invited
businesses, schools, youth, local government, religious organizations, utility companies, non-profits,
neighborhood associations and environmental groups to participate. The result was a the vision that
"Dubuque is a viable, livable and equitable community.We embrace economic prosperity, environmental
integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy to create a sustainable legacy for generations to come." The task
force also supported creating the first municipal Sustainability office in the State of Iowa and the
development of 12 sustainability principles that have guided the priorities for Smarter, Sustainable
Dubuque(SSD).
SSD is a project comprised of multiple pilots. Our smart water pilot which started in 300 local households
and is now available to all 22,000 of the city's customers. Our smart electric pilot comprise over 1000
households, smart discards test group one included 300 individual households and test group two was an
aggregate area that combined data from 800 households.The smart travel pilot program tracks 1,500
transit riders (and growing)to create a smarter public transit system. IBM Business development,
impressed by the success of SSD's pilots, invested over$1 million in a First of a Kind City in Motion
internal grant to research and launch a smarter travel pilot with Dubuque. This innovative research is
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designed to allow citizens to track travel within the community and how this corresponds to other modes
of travel, road conditions etc
3. Strategy&Programs(Maximum: 3 pages) Explain the ideas, plans and process that the community put into
place to address these challenges and seize opportunities. Please organize your response by Intelligent
Community Indicator. Broadband
Broadband connectivity in Iowa is adequate, with a regional availability of 99.9 percent of citizens with
access to high speed broadband, however its affordability and limited pool of providers challenging.
Dubuque as an organization is leveraging gigabit or greater bandwidth using wired and wireless
technology and hosted services to serve our own systems. Smarter water and smarter electricity projects
utilized both licensed radio frequency and a fiber backhaul for transmission of data; the Smarter Travel
research project utilized cellular transmission through an app on smart phones and Smarter Discard
utilzed RFID and licensed radio technology to log pick up and set out data for refuse and recyclables.
Dubuque experiences some challenges due to topography and its rural location. In spite of these
challenges the City has continued to lay it's own fiber, leverage existing wired and wireless resources and
workpro-actively with carriers to provide improved and afforadable services.
Knowledge Workforce
The City works in partnership with colleagues at every possible opportunity. The size of the city
incentivizes the shared value of partnering for a better future. Partnering to develop a trained and
intelligent workforce is embraced by the Mayor and Council, city staff, economic development
organizations, school district, local colleges, area chamber of commerce and community foundation.
Workforce development is a key priority challenged by the coming "grey tsunami' and the absence of
immigration reform legislation in Congress. As a result, the City and its partners in the City's three four-
year institutions and the local community college prioritize job certification and retraining programs. In
addition,federal grants have been achieved for training and improving workforce skills.
Digital Inclusion
Smart projects in Dubuque have helped the local government connect with city residents by adding
additional channels for communication and information sharing through technology, as well as through the
partnership arrangements emerging around them.
For example, Dubuque's local government is responsible forthe treatment, distribution and billing for
water services.As part ofthe Water Pilot Study,the local government recruited city resident households
with letters from the Mayor, trained pilot participants once theywere selected, and repeatedly surveyed
portal users to help improve the project. The local government also worked with Dubuque 2.0 to provide
activities and resources for city residents that would help improve portal usage, encourage water
conservation, and raise awareness of the project.
Not only did smart endeavors in Dubuque create additional channels of local government-city resident
connection, but they also began to renegotiate these relationships. Firstly,the Smarter Water Portal
enabled the government to get information and feedbackfrom city residents in near real time,versus
other delayed processes like surveys and polling. Secondly, the ability to access these smart technologies
began to increase city residents' expectations. Once participants used the water portal, the opportunity for
an electric pilot was a project that could build from the success ofthe water pilot and allow residentst o
begin to have insights across multiple silos of data unique to them..
Additionally,the nature of smart projects often require city residents to participate in government efforts in
new ways frequently with 'deeper' engagement than other types of traditional government projects.The
design of the Smarter Sustainable Dubuque projects reflect the local government's belief that the key to
long-term sustainability is to give city residents and businesses the information that they need to make
informed decisions about howthey consume resources like electricity and water-the overarching idea is
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that if you give citizens the tools they need they will find efficiencies on their own.
Innovation
In the mid-1980s, Dubuque faced its potential death as a city—bleak economic prospects, high levels of
unemployment, and a mass exodus of city residents hung heavy over the small city.Within the last two
decades, the citys economy and population levels have recovered and perceptions of Dubuque have
shifted from a dying, small town to a flourishing city among Midwestern states.
To help promote economic growth and development,The City of Dubuque partnerd with IBM and other
local organizations to form Smarter Sustainable Dubuque, an initiative that the City hoped would help
promote and attract green, high-tech business to the city. Together by pursuing"smart" pilot projects both
actors want to make Dubuque one of the first smarter sustainable cities in North America; and by doing
so, benefit from the development of new smart technologies and a sustainability model that ideally can be
replicated in and exported to communities of 200,000 and under around the world.
Advocacy
In Dubuque, narratives about smart initiatives have been woven into sustainability discourse with the
creation of Smarter Sustainable Dubuque(SSD). The resulting tapestry has made Dubuque's story a
compelling one—appealing to various audiences such as city residents, local governments within the
United States and around the world, the U.S. Federal government, IBM, and the media.This is evidenced
by the large number of city residents who requested to be volunteers for the Smarter Pilot Studies;the
numerous invitations that local government leaders get to speak around the world on sustainability,
branding and/ or smart: the sizeable amounts of Federal funding the city has received for sustainability
efforts; and the prominent use of Dubuque as a Smarter Cities reference case study to highlight'best
practices' of IBM's Smarter Cities work.
Instead of having a large PR/marketing budget to get the word out on the image Dubuque was tring to
promote,funding instead went into the projects that would help better align Dubuque with the vision of the
city it was creating. The strategy has focused more on generated earned media, versus investing in paid
and owned. Additionally, it has included entering the City into the various rankings and competitions, thus
garnering the awards that serve as proof to the assertions made about the city around its strategic vision.
Sustainability
Dubuque has adopted a sustainability model that consists of three parts: economic prosperity(e.g., green
jobs, expanding markets and saving money), environmental and ecological integrity(e.g., reduced
emissions, clean air and water, healthy living), and social and cultural vibrancy to make the community
more viable, livable and equitable. Within this model,there are 12 sustainability principles, which are
described as being already present within the community and part of Dubuque's "community values that
citizens want to preserve and leave for future generations'. The model was purposively constructed with
this wide scope to enable broad appeal and include something that would speak to everyone. Once this
model was adopted by the local government, it established "Sustainable Dubuque" (SD), a public-private
partnership created to develop programs and projects that support the sustainability agenda. As the local
government has continued its emphasis on recovery and economic growth, it has expanded this
sustainability agenda to encompass using smart technologies by forming a partnership with IBM and
founding "Smarter Sustainable Dubuque'.
"In its quest to become a more sustainable city, Dubuque is exploring and using new'smarter'
technologies and strategies to deliver or better utilize vital services such as water, energy, and
transportation to its citizens while reducing the communitys impact on the environment.These new
technologies digitize and connect city systems, sense, analyze and integrate data, and allow Dubuque to
respond intelligently to the needs of citizens. Collecting and analyzing this infonnation will give consumers
and city policymakers new insights on how to conserve Dubuque's resources and behave in more
sustainable ways." yam//^^
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By making Dubuque smart, city leaders state that they hope to be able to better address the ever-
increasing demands on vital city services —such as energy and water management, and transportation —
while reducing the cit s impact on the environment.
4. Results (Maximum: 3 pages) Describe the results produced to date by the strategy in terms of new
infrastructure, new investment, better quality of life, improved educational achievement, employment growth,
income growth, new industries or growth in existing industries and new efficiencies for citizens and organizations.
Please organize your response by Intelligent Community Indicator.
Broadband
Broadband is available to all Dubuque citizens. In addition, Envison 2010,the last decade's community
wide visioning effort identified free downtown wi-fi access forthe City of Dubuque and was one ofthe first
significant outputs of the Envision big ten ideas. Computers are available to all citizens at the Dubuque
Carnegie Stout Library and the Multicultural Center.
Knowledge Workforce
Dubuque Works is a workforce initiative and regional partnership, led by Greater Dubuque Development
Corporation which brings employers,funding partners, workforce experts and education experts together
to meet needs of local businesses and manufacturers. Dubuque Works focuses on three goals:
Human Capital: partners identify and address recruitment,retention and relocation needs as defined by
Dubuque employers
Skill Development: Partners build workfoce capacity by enjhancing training pathways to meet employer
demand and
Collaboration and Evaluation: Partners combine collaborative workforce efforts with quality research to
generate evidence-based practices that improves performance and outcomes for local employers.
Outcomes include outreach made to over one thousand middle and high school students regarding career
opportunities, hosting 500 students from eight schoos at crreer and tehcnical fair highlighting careers,
recruitment of 745 employees to host interns. Job creation statistics demonstrate success with Dubuque
responsible for 10% of Iowa's Non-Farm Employment Growth over the last 4 years with 3% of the state's
population
2013: 1,200 jobs (9.38% of the statewide total)
2012: 800 jobs (3.9% of the statewide total)
2011: 1,800 jobs (8.91% of the statewide total)
2010: 1,400 jobs 11.48% of the statewide total
Digital Inclusion
Overall, 66% of Smarter Sustainable Dubuque pilot households were either highly or moderately engaged
users via their personalized dashboard. The Sustainable Dubuque vision identifies three areas for
measurement Environmental Integrity, Economic Prosperity and Social/Cultural Vibrancy.
Measure for Environmental Integrity:
6.6% reduction in water utilization and an eight-fold increase in the detection and remediation ofwater
leaks.
77% of Smarter Water households' aided their understanding of personal water utilization and 61%
reported using the data to further reduce utilization.
Landfill diversion rates rose 5.3% during the discards pilot.
Measures for Economic Prosperity:
Reduction in electricity utilization of 3%- 11% depending on season.
68% of participants stated the tools helped reduce energy consumption.
Dubuque's infrastructure changes and Smarter Water programming reduced watertreatment costs
^^
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$65,310.26 while water revenues increased $184,664.88. City water loss reduction between FY 2011 and
FY 2012 fell to 9.2%.
Measures for Social/Cultural Vibrancy:
500 transit-dependent citizens used advanced technology to access the Dubuque transit system free of
charge, and over 1,000 citizens downloaded new,free technology that allowed for real-time origin and
destination information to be incorporated in transit planning. As a result, ridership increased by over 28%
between FY 2010 - 2014,jumping from 373,376 riders to 478,370 riders.
Smarter Water Grant Leak Program enabled low income households to seek a 50% cost-share to repair
leaks; over 400 households took advantage of the program.
Additional Results & Impact to Citizens:
New data: Residents pay their monthly bill with little attention paid to change in utilization or total cost.
The near real-time data accessed through a personalized dashboard gives residents the ability to identify
changes in behaviour, leaks or waste in the system, and the resulting economic and environmental
implications.
New means of communicating and knowledge: SSD layers traditional, personal communication with high-
tech engagement; it utilizes real-time data to drive a personal conversation and incentivise long-term
behaviour change. A "help desk" position,who could troubleshoot issues and anomalies in data, and
community cafes, where neighbors could meet to share suggestions for decreasing use, were informed by
and engaged through personalized utility data.
New tools: Infonned by the Smarter Water pilot, DBQIQ was developed. The Smarter Water pilot taught
us that only 20% of residents wanted to dig into the granular data about their use. 60%fell into the
"medium engagement" category; they wanted more direction and less data from their experience.The
personalized dashboard provides general information about use patterns and allows users to sign up for
notifications when a leak is detected or certain threshholds are exceeded.
New incentives: The Smarter Electricity pilot identified homeowners whose current habits made them
good candidates for Alliant's Time of Day rate program. Ensuring equity for those who may not be able to
pay for leaks identified through their dashboard,the City established a leak repair matching grant for
homeowners participating in the Smarter Water pilot.
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Innovation
In an interview with the local paper the "Telegraph Herald,"the Mayor and SSD Project Manager
talked about what they hoped the city would gain with the brand they were creating around SSD
(as well as the implementation of the program itself). Mayor Buol called the partnership with IBM
"another defining moment in Dubuque's history"due to the way that SSD will purportedly
improve infrastructure expenditure savings and create newjobs—through its implementation as
well as through the new business it attracts. In the same article, the SSD Project Manager David
Lyons noted that some of the green jobs associated with Sustainable Dubuque were already in
place, "Green jobs are simply the Dubuque economy going into the next new marketplace."
Lyons added that by partnering with IBM in SSD, other businesses will be enticed to invest in
Dubuque. Both sets of comments in the article together allude to not only the direct gains from
SSD, but also indirect benefits that are associated with the brand that SSD connotes.
While these gains are notable, indirect gains attributed to the SSD brand seem to dwarf these outcomes.
The implementation of SD and SSD has also helped the local government gain over US$27 million in
federal funding.These funds are from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and have
been used to leverage investment from local and state government as well as private businesses and
non-profits, including US$10.6 million in additional federal and state grant funding that leverages ARRA
funding and is being used to create jobs and improve the sustainability of Dubuque. Further,job growth
associated with IBM's presence has been estimated to be about 2,400 jobs. Given these outcomes, in the
case of Dubuque, it would seem that returns to date for the enhanced city brand outweigh more direct
efficiency outcomes from implementing SSD projects.
Advocacy
In terms of the media, Dubuque has received both national and international coverage for its smart efforts.
Though smart projects in Dubuque are small-scaled and not the most advanced in tenns of ICT, city
leaders have been able to construct a story of SSD that has quickly garnered attention from media like the
BBC News, Forbes, The New York Times, USA Today, Popular Science, BusinessWeek, Bloomberg and
Fast Company/Further,the enthusiasm shown by those involved in smart projects seems to be
contagious— after only two days of recording interviews with some of the city leaders involved in smart
endeavors, a member of IBM's film crew stated emphatically"I'm moving to Dubuque!"
Accolades that have contributed to Dubuque's growing brand around SSD.
2010 Forbes ranked Dubuque as the top city within the United States to raise a family
2010 Ranked first in the nation among mid-sized cities for projected job growth by Forbes
2010 Ranked 15th in the nation in Forbes' annual mid-sized cities for'Best in Small Places for Business
and Careers'
2010 Natural Resources Defense Council named it one of twenty-two 'Smarter Cities' in the United States
that are leading the way in green power, energy efficiency, and conservation
2010 Fast Company, a business magazine, listed Dubuque as one of the ten 'smartest cities' on the
planet
2010 Connected World Magazine recognized the city as one of the top seven connected locales in the
United States
Dubuque honored as World's 3rd Most Livable Community by International Awards for Livable
Communities
2011 The Dubuque metropolitan region was rated by Moody's Analytics as eighteenth in the nation fortop
job growth
2011 Ranked as the 15th best perfonning small metro in the United States by the Milken Institute
2011 Moody's ranked it 9th for'Employment Growth'
2011 Named 15th "Best-Performing"Small Metro by the Milken Institute
2012 Named All-America City bythe National Civic League
2013 Ranked 5th within the top 20 small cities in economic strength
2013 Named All-America City b the National Civic League forthe third time in six ears
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2013 Ranked 5th for Resilient Greater Dubuque Development Corporation 2013
Sustainability
The smarter water portal helped: (a) enable water conservation amongst participants (at least
temporarily); (b) improve rates of leak reporting; and (c)facilitate behavior change (again, at least
temporarily).Within the volunteer sample, water utilization was reduced by 6.6 percent and leak detection
and response was increased eightfold. Currently, the Smarter Water pilot is available to over 4,000
households and businesses in the city—an expansion which resulted due to interest and demand.
Overall, the pilot is credited wth saving the city US$ 290,000 as of 2012.
The smarter electricity portal had an active participation rate of 35%(266 of 765 users). Overall the 266
portal users as a group saw a 3.7% average monthly savings. The 97 users who signed up for electricity
saving activities accounted for 55% of the total savings achieved from the pilot—which saved 17,595
kWh, worth U.S. $2,111.
The Smarter Travel experiments,which were created to help inform city planning by better understanding
how citizens move throughout the city and to help participants be more aware of the distances they travel
each day, led to the City adjusting and adding to public transportation routes.
The local government and IBM are also implementing a Smarter Health and Wellness pilot which will look
at how technology and community engagement can help individuals achieve their health and wellness
goals, and contribute to the city's sustainability goals of having a vibrant community. There will be two
applications created for this pilot, the first vAll provide "micro-sensing"technology that senses movement;
the second data collection on activities, goals and comparative feedback on each individual's
performance.
5. The Revolutionary Community (Maximum:3 pages)
a. Check the box that best describes the current state of your plan for the future of the community over the
next 5-20 years.
❑ None ❑ Under discussion ❑ In formal planning ❑ Approved ❑ Being implemented
b. Check the boxes that indicate what aspects of development are included in the plan in its present stage.
INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION
® Improvements in broadband capacity and ® Promoting start-ups and business acceleration
access ® Investments in e-government and cloud-based
❑ Government-owned fiber or Wheless government services delivery
network connecting government facilities ® Innovation district
❑ Government or public-private fiber network ❑ Improved health outcomes
serving the public
® Government or public-private wireless DIGITAL INCLUSION
network serving the public ® Programs to deliver broadband access and
® Transportation (road, rail, port, airport) and computer technology to the digitally excluded
transit improvements ❑ Digital skills training forthe digitally excluded
❑ Downtown revitalization ADVOCACY
® Upgrading water and sanitation systems ❑ Increasing collaboration among business,
® Upgrading power distribution institutions and government
® Adapting to population growth or decline ® Citizen engagement
® Remediating pollution-affected property ® Improving environmental sustainability
KNOWLEDGE WORKFORCE
® Improved educational outcomes y/^
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® Attracting or expanding higher education
C. Please summarize the top priorities of your plan at its current stage of development and explain briefly why
those priorities were selected.
Building upon Dubuque's robust sustainability initiative, innovation, infrastructure, workforce and
partnership development and community engagement is the focus of Dubuque's future planning. The
Mayor and City Council established Sustainable Dubuque in 2006 with Smarter Sustainable Dubuque
research with IBM beginning in 2009. Dubuque is now moving into the next iteration of sustainability and
resilience planning by measuring outputs and identifying outcomes. Sustainable Dubuque and Smarter
Sustainable Dubuque provided copius amounts of data from internal monitoring and community research
projects. Data drives City planning by providing an abundance of infonnation necessary for informed
decision making.
Dubuque has provided wireless service at no cost to non profits, government buildings and educational
facilities downtown. The City has constructed the Water and Resource Recovery Center replacing an
antiquated water pollution control center with new anerobic digestion and methane collection for powering
the plant. Solid waste is sold for fertilizer.The City has also been recogized for its innovative day lighting
of the Bee Branch Creek to mitigate flooding and improve water quality. This $200 million project
resurrects a creek buried over 100 years ago in underground stonn sewer and includes replacing its flood
plain with a linear park stretching over a mile into Dubuque's most vulnerable neighborhoods. Dubuque's
sustainability initiative includes historic preservation and adaptive reuse as a foundational principle.
"Waste isn't waste until it's wasted." This favorite local saying lead to the Smarter Discard research
project with IBM Watson Research Center providing surprising outputs that are driving perceptions and
decision about recycling and curbside food scrap recycling program.
Dubuque continues to plan for the future with the vision of creating a viable, livable and equitable and
intelligent community as its goal.
Key Contacts
6. Please provide contact information for a key public-sector, private-sector and nonprofit leader involved in your
community's Intelligent Community programs.
Public-Sector Official Name: Roy D.Buol
Title: Mayor
Organization:City of Dubuque
Telephone:5635894110 Email: rdbuol@cityofdubuque.org
Contribution to the Community: Leadership,vision, generosity-Mayor Buol ran for
office in 2005 on a platform of Sustainability. This
community and business informed initative was
one of the three top reasons IBM brought 1300
jobs to Dubuque in 2007 which also led to the the
Smart City designation by IBM and subsequent
establishment of an IBM Watson Research Center
"living laboratory"in Dubuque.
Private-Sector Executive Name:Michelle Cullen
Title: Manager,Corporate Marketing and Communications
Organization:IBM
Telephone:202-905-3512 Email: mlcullen@us.ibm.com
Contribution to the Community: Expertise in technology and community
engagement,experience. Michelle came to^^
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Dubuque to assist in the establishment of the IBM
Smarter City research effort. She is focused on
documenting the experience and the outputs and
outcomes. Her objective perspective assists in our
intelligent efforts to create a more sustainable and
resilient community.
Nonprofit Executive Name:Rick Dickinson
Title: Executive Director
Organization:Greater Dubuque Development Corporation
Telephone:5635579049 Email: rickd@greaterDubuque.org
Contribution to the Community: Tranformative leadership in economic
development and job creation-Dubuque has
created 11%of all newjobs in Iowa in past two
years with only 3% of Iowa's total population.
7. Please provide the name and contact information for the person to be contacted by ICF in connection with this
application.
Name: Teri Hawks Goodmann
Title: Assistant City Manager/Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships
Organization: City of Dubuque
Telephone: 5635649126 Fax 5635894149
Email: tgoodman@cityofdubuque.org
8. Please provide from your own press list up to 10 local and regional media (print, broadcast or online), including
the publication's name, the name and title of an editor or reporter, and an email address.
Publication Editor/Reporter Email Address
Dubuque Telegraph Herald Brian Cooper bcooper@wcinet.com
Des Moines Register Rox Laird roxlaird@registermedia.com
Des Moines Register Randy Evans revans@registermedia.com
AP Tom Beaumont thomas.beaumont@ap.org
Lee Enterprises Erin Murphy erin.murphy@lee.net
KWWL Becca Habegger bhabegger@kwwl.com
KCRG Katie Wiedemann katie.wiedemann@kcrg.com
Dubuque 365 Bryce Parks bryce@365advantage.com
Radio Dubuque Ron Bock rbock@radiodubuque.com
Ownership of Information
By submitting this information,the above-named community attests and acknowledges that:
• All information provided is accurate and fairly represents the past and current condition of the community to
the best knowledge of the individual submitting the infonnation.
• All information submitted to the ICF in connection with its international awards program becomes the
property of the Intelligent Community Forum and will be used for the purposes of research, analysis and
publication in pursuit of its global mission. y/^
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Intelligent Community Indicators
For a complete description ofthe Intelligent Community Indicators, visit www.intelligentcommunitv.org and select"Intel
Comm Indicators'on the Intelligent Communities menu.
1. Broadband Connectivity. Broadband is the new essential utility, as vital to economic growth as clean water
and good roads. Intelligent Communities express a clear vision of their broadband future and craft policies to
encourage deployment and adoption.
2. Knowledge Workforce.A knowledge workforce is a labor force that creates economic value through the
acquisition, processing and use ofinformation. Intelligent Communities exhibit the determination and
demonstrated ability to develop a workforce qualified to perform knowledge work from the factory Floor to the
research lab, and from the construction site to the call center or Web design studio.
3. Innovation. Intelligent Communities work to build the local innovation capacity of new companies, because
these produce all of the job growth in modern economies, and invest in e-government programs that reduce their
costs while delivering services on the anywhere-anytime basis that digitally savvy citizens expect.
4. Digital Inclusion.As broadband deploys widely through a community, there is serious risk that it will worsen the
exclusion of people who already play a peripheral role in the economy and society, whether due to poverty, lack
of skills, prejudice or geography. Intelligent Communities promote digital inclusion by creating policies and
funding programs that provide"have-nots"with access to digital technology and broadband, by providing skills
training and by promoting a compelling vision of the benefits that the broadband economy.
5. Advocacy. The citizens and institutions of a community can either support positive change or become its
biggest opponent, depending on how they perceive the community's present and future. Intelligent Communities
engage with citizens and institutions to build a shared vision that makes citizens and businesses the community's
most powerful advocates for progress. That shared vision also becomes the basis of effective marketing to the
outside world.
6. Sustainability(In Pilot). To improve current living standards,while maintaining the ability of future generations
to do the same, is at the core of sustainability. Throughout human history, economic growth has always involved
the consumption of more resources and the production of more waste. As humanity begins to push up against
the limits of the ecosystem to provide resources and absorb waste, we need to find ways to continue growth —
with all of its positive impacts on the community—while reducing the environmental impact of that growth.
Success Factors
In evaluating nominations, ICF looks for trends that characterize successful Intelligent Communities. We suggest that,
where appropriate, your nomination refer to the following success factors in describing your strategy and results.
Collaboration. The development of an Intelligent Community typically requires intense collaboration among
government, businesses, universities and institutions. Few organizations have enough resources, political capital or
public backing to drive a community-wide transformation. But collaboration is challenging. It demands vision,
Flexibility, and a high degree of trust among the partners. Intelligent Communities develop the vision, find the flexibility
and create trusting relationships among key constituencies. Effective collaboration is typically the result of the
working environment created by effective leaders.
Leadership. It is fair to say that no Intelligent Community has succeeded without strong leadership. Effective leaders
identify challenges, set priorities, communicate a compelling vision and foster a sense of urgency in achieving it. They
establish a collaborative environment that encourages risk-taking and creates win-win relationships with partners in
government, businesses and institutions. It matters little where leadership comes from. In the Intelligent Communities
that ICF has studied, leadership has emerged from elected officials, government employees, business executives,
universities and nonprofit organizations. What matters is the character, motivation and talents of the individuals who
commit themselves to improving the economic and social wellbeing of the community. ���/// ''' r
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Talent and Investment Attraction and Retention. Intelligent Communities leverage all of the Indicators to create the
best opportunities for attracting and retaining talent and investment. Intelligent Communities develop strategies,
pursue opportunities aggressively and ensure they are able to differentiate themselves in the market by projecting
their competitive advantages to the outside world. Intelligent Communities also develop and support an ecosystem
that entices investment and talent to thrive.
Intelligent Community Forum
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