MacArthur Foundation

Items related to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which is a founder and major funder of the Smart Chicago Collaborative.

SMART CHICAGO IS MOVING!!!

Kyla Williams

Good News!!! The Smart Chicago team is moving and now will be co-located with the City Digital Team at UI Labs. As such, our individual emails will be changing to:

Kyla Williams           

Sonja Marziano       

Denise Linn               

Leslie Durr               

Our new mailing address is 1415 N. Cherry Avenue Chicago, IL 60642 and general phone number is 312.281.6900.

Please check our website at smartchicagocollaborative.org or follow us on twitter @smartchicago for more updates.

We appreciate your patience during this time of transition.

An Infographic of Connect Chicago from April — June 2016

Denise Linn

Connect Chicago is a cross-sector civic leadership initiative that seeks to make Chicago the most digitally skilled, connected, and dynamic city in America. In 2016, we’ve made investments to strengthen and expand our city’s digital learning ecosystem. Under Connect Chicago, the CyberNavigator Program out of the Chicago Public Library has expanded citywide, digital skills training has been integrated into LISC Chicago Financial Opportunity Centers, and the Connect Chicago Meetup has continued to be a platform for sharing ideas and best practices across the community of practice.

Here is a summary of some of the work accomplished during the second quarter of 2016:

The work has just begun. To get involved, join the Connect Chicago Meetup Group. Meet and network with residents, nonprofit professionals, corporate representatives, and technology trainers. Learn about new programs, tools, and best practices for closing technology gaps.

Connect Chicago would not be possible without the support of our Technology Advisory Council:

  • Cisco
  • Clarity Partners
  • Comcast
  • Gogo
  • The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • Microsoft
  • Motorola Mobility Foundation
  • Sprint

See this blog post to learn more about Connect Chicago’s work and progress from January — March of 2016. Partners interested in supporting Connect Chicago or presenting at Connect Chicago Meetups can contact Denise Linn at .

 

An Infographic of Connect Chicago from January — March 2016

Denise Linn

Connect Chicago is a cross-sector civic leadership initiative that seeks to make Chicago the most digitally skilled, connected, and dynamic city in America. In 2016, we’ve made investments to strengthen and expand our city’s digital learning ecosystem. Under Connect Chicago, the CyberNavigator Program out of the Chicago Public Library has expanded citywide, digital skills training has been integrated into LISC Chicago Financial Opportunity Centers, and the Connect Chicago Meetup has continued to be a platform for sharing ideas and best practices across the community of practice.

Here is a summary of some of the work accomplished in early 2016:

The work has just begun. To get involved, join the Connect Chicago Meetup Group. Meet and network with residents, nonprofit professionals, corporate representatives, and technology trainers. Learn about new programs, tools, and best practices for closing technology gaps. Join and learn about upcoming events here. Interested partners can contact Denise Linn at .

Smart Chicago Joins the NTIA’s Community Connectivity Initiative as a Collaborator

Denise Linn

Smart Chicago is a Collaborator in the National Telecommunications & Information Administration’s Community Connectivity Initiative. The Community Connectivity Initiative was launched in March of 2016 as part of the White House’s broader ConnectALL Initiative. Here is how the Community Connectivity Initiative is described:

The Initiative will empower communities across the country by giving them tools to support and accelerate local broadband planning efforts. NTIA, in close collaboration with its partners, will create a comprehensive online assessment tool to help community leaders identify critical broadband needs and connect them with expertise and resources. The tool will provide a framework of benchmarks and indicators on access, adoption, policy, and use for communities.

As a collaborator, Smart Chicago has an opportunity to shape the Community Connectivity Indicators Framework. In May of 2016, I participated in the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s Net Inclusion Summit which included an informational session and workshop on the Community Connectivity Framework led by the NTIA.

IMG_7520

IMG_7522

The Community Connectivity Indicators Framework, being co-built with other local and national institutions, will be a flexible assessment guide for a 21st Century information ecosystem — assessing technology assets & infrastructure, skills, and Internet access, among other things.

This initiative is aligned with Smart Chicago’s work in community indicators and, most importantly, is aligned with the mission and work of Connect Chicago — the cross-sector civic leadership initiative seeking to make Chicago the most digitally skilled, connected, and dynamic city in America. Part of Connect Chicago’s leadership & coordination efforts will involve increased measurement to better understand our skill and access gaps. The Community Connectivity Indicators Framework will inform our approach to that measurement. 

This isn’t the first time that the Smart Chicago has aligned with the NTIA’s federal efforts. From 2010–2012, Chicago made made major strides in expanding and evaluating digital access & skills programing with support from the National Telecommunications & Information Association’s Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP). You can read about our work in program here.

To learn more about the NTIA’s Community Connectivity Initiative & Framework, visit this website.

Ways Residents Can Give Feedback on the Array of Things Governance & Privacy Policy

Denise Linn

ArrayofThingsLogo-smallToday the draft Array of Things Governance & Privacy Policy was released. The policy discloses the privacy principles and practices for Array of Things and defines how decisions about the program are made. Residents can comment on this draft policy from June 13, 2016 to June 27, 2016. This blog post takes inventory of each way residents can contribute their voices to the draft Governance & Privacy Policy.

Annotate the Governance & Privacy Policy Using Madison

The text of the draft Governance & Privacy Policy is posted here on the OpenGov Foundation’s Madison Platform. Using Madison, residents can edit and annotate specific sections and language of the policy. Using this co-creation web tool aligns with Smart Chicago civic engagement model & goals.

Screen Shot 2016-06-12 at 5.50.45 PM

See this video to get more information on how to sign up for and use Madison:

Comment on the Policy Using this Online Form

In addition to or instead of using Madison, residents are invited to submit comments and questions on the policy through this form also below:

Attend a Public Meeting

To learn more about the Array of Things and give feedback on the Governance & Privacy policy in person, all are invited to the scheduled public meetings:

  • The first meeting will be at 5:30pm on June 14, 2016 at Lozano Library. Here is our blog post announcing the event and giving more details
  • The second meeting will be at 5:30pm on June 22, 2016 at Harold Washington Library. Here is our blog post announcing the event and giving more details

Food will be served. Smart Chicago documenters will record, archive, and share the proceedings from these meetings.

 

Smart Chicago will synthesize and analyze residents’ comments from Madison, the online form, and the public meetings. We seek to facilitate a process where smart city infrastructure like the Array of Things is built for and with everyone. We want to spur a conversation about data, sensors, privacy, and the Internet of Things and how these innovations can be put in service to the people of Chicago.

Find all of the background information, writing, and work for Smart Chicago’s Array of Things Civic Engagement work on here.

Announcing the June 22nd Array of Things Public Meeting at Harold Washington Library

Denise Linn

As part of Smart Chicago’s Array of Things Civic Engagement Work, we’re hosting an event in in the Loop on Wednesday, June 22, 2016:

Event: Array of Things Public Meeting

Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Time: 5:30pm – 7pm

Location: 400 S State St. – Harold Washington Library. The meeting will take place in the Lower Level Multi-Purpose Rooms A&B of Harold Washington Library. Directions to the Lower Level Multi-Purpose Rooms A&B: From the main entrance on State St., enter the Library and walk toward the main atrium. Turn left down a hallway and and follow the sign for the escalator to go downstairs. Go down the escalator and look for signs guiding you to the room.

There will be food catered by Corner Bakery – assorted sandwiches, salad, fruit, cookies, chips, and beverages

The Array of Things project is a collection of multi-purpose sensors that will collect data about the livability factors in our city like air quality, noise pollution, and flooding. These data will fuel new research about Chicago neighborhoods. This is an open meeting. Everyone is invited. No knowledge of technology or sensors is required to be a welcome, meaningful addition to the event.

Here is the flyer for this meeting:

The purpose of the Array of Things Public Meetings is educate the public on the Array of Things project and help facilitate community feedback on the Array of Things Privacy & Governance policy. You can read more about our goals and model for this work in this blog post.

If you are interested in attending the Array of Things Public Meetings or would like to receive more information about the Governance & Privacy Policy, please fill out this form:

Fill out my online form.