Smarten Up!

About the Book

Smarten Up is a guide for communities who need to understand how to take advantage of the new online economy. It provides the reader with a clearer understanding of telecommunication infrastructure, online applications, strategies for implementation, and the regulatory environment. It is a guide written in easy to understand terminology for new leaders of telecommunication or networking projects, municipal councils, stakeholders in the education and healthcare fields, economic development practitioners, libraries, social service organizations, or students of community development strategic planning. Smarten Up explains how communities can create partnerships between public and private sector organizations to improve local or regional telecommunication infrastructure, develop new online applications that can improve quality of life and create synergy between organizations, and develop a business plan for creating a smart community.

About the Author

Dr. Sylvie Albert is the owner of Planned Approach Inc., a management-consulting firm in Ontario (Canada) specializing in smart community projects. Ms. Albert has worked on telecommunication projects across Canada, completed a doctoral dissertation on smart community development, published articles, and has been presenting at a number of conferences on this topic. She spent five years as a Director of economic development and served on two provincial committees on innovation and technology.