Summer Series: Rural and Regional Smart Community Strategies, with Imogen Schifferle

Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Imogen Schifferle, from way back in episode 189, which was released in September of 2020. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Imogen, the Regional Partnerships Innovation Coordinator at Albury City and Wodonga City Councils. Now, in case you don't know because you're not from Australia, Albury and Wodonga are twin Australian cities located on either side of the Murray River and the state border between Victoria and New South Wales. The twin cities are a real hub for the region, and have been heavily impacted by the state border closures and lockdowns during the pandemic. So in this episode, Imogen first tells us about her background in digital technologies, particularly mobile technologies, as she's worked for both Telstra and Samsung, and how she's now working in Local Government. We discuss the differences in drivers and attitude between private companies and public service, as well as the differences in Smart Community ideas between regional and urban environments. She then tells us about the Rural Smart Community Strategy she's been working on, and how it's been informed by the needs of the community and also impacted by the bushfires from late 2019 and early 2020 that ravaged many parts of Australia. Imogen tells us about the 5 themes or initiatives that underpin the strategy and what it was like to try to bring together one strategy for two cities, spanning two states, encompassing 17 Local Government areas and a lot of different needs. Of course we finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of communities and individuals demanding more from their local governments and organisations, as well as some of Imogen's favourite Smart Community resources. I also have an update from Imogen, since the time of recording, she has been involved in several projects including the implementation of ground sensors to improve digital literacy and make places more functional. Also, the Council's have partnered in research to deliver the first LG data engine that will unify two states through insights and author a robust Open Data Policy. Lastly, the Council's have been collaborating with private sector partners in off grid data centres and NBN to provide high speed, reliable public Wi-Fi to regional towns in North East Victoria. We will be sure to get Imogen back on the show in future to get a full update about what she has been up to and how our thinking has progressed since our conversation. But in the meantime, as always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Imogen on LinkedIn or Instagram @imcheee Find out more about Albury-Wodonga at the Two Cities, One Community website at https://www.alburywodonga.gov.au Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on<a...