Civic Innovation
Inclusive, collaborative innovation and technology strategy development that begins with engaged, diverse and informed communities - not with technology.
Digital Readiness Assessment: 1) Physical Infrastructure and 2) Community Skills
Community Engagement for Smart, Sustainable Communities: Neighborhood Action Councils (c) and Industry Action Councils (c)
Economic and Workforce Strategic Development: Building economic and workforce resilience in the digital age
Strategic Public Private Partnership Development: Identify potential PPP’s to support community goals regarding physical and digital public infrastructure and services supported by public assets.
What Our Clients Anticipate
DIGITAL READINESS ASSESSMENT
While equitable access to fast broadband is generally considered a necessity, we recognize that private control of internet access and has accelerated the digital divide in many communities. The first step on your community’s smart community path to sustainability and resilience is to assess your digital infrastructure - people, hardware and systems.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR SMART, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
The next step - organize and engage your community to identify their biggest challenges, prioritize these concerns, and co-create solutions using WeAccel’s Neighborhood Action Council (c) and Industry Action Councils (c) organizing frameworks. Stakeholder co-creation will help to solve the technology prioritization and adoption dilemma facing most communities, reinforcing what we know to be true - sustained, funded, intentional community engagement will ensure appropriate, effective technology adoption.
NEXT GENERATION ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Digital Readiness Assessment data, combined with priorities established through the Neighborhood Action Councils and Industry Action Councils, will guide you to develop effective, sustainable economic and workforce development goals. Outcomes will include identification of digital public infrastructure needed to achieve these goals.
SO WHERE DO WE START?
As cartographers in the burgeoning world of “smart” communities, we see huge opportunities behind today’s existential challenges. WeAccel’s unique team of professional colleagues, helmed by long time economic development expert and dot connector Deborah Acosta, are passionate about helping communities and entrepreneurs convert ideas to action. Our framework begins with a triple-bottom line lens to development: People, Planet, Profit/Economy.
Perfectly good ideas or projects can wither on the vine due to misguided marketing, a lack of adequate outreach to the public, or even a misunderstanding of the need in question. At WeAccel, we are ready and waiting to help your business, organization or community develop effective, sustainable, practical strategies that guide your business, city or community to identify, prioritize and achieve your goals.
Have somewhere to go, but aren’t sure how to get there? That’s okay.
We’ll draw up the map.
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
As the world continues its journey into uncertain times with equally uncertain outcomes, we know that collaboration and cooperation between public and private sectors is key to creating innovative, sustainable solutions. Particularly regarding digital public infrastructure, public partners have the vision and permitting power, while private partners can finance.
However, government and corporate efforts alike often fail to achieve desired project outcomes. Why? Too often……
The needs and wants of a diverse, inclusive representation of the community have not been engaged in problem identification, prioritization or solving.
Effective community engagement, both digital and in-person, was not prioritized.
Public and private partners often have conflicting goals and objectives that are not well-identified in agreements.
It is essential that communities understand the value of their assets - both infrastructure and people - before determining the ideal degree of private-sector involvement and risk allocation. With passage of the landmark 2023 Federal Infrastructure Bill, communities have financial leverage that should be used to create maximum benefit for their residents and businesses.