Smart Community Index
Standardizing metrics to measure and manage community engagement and smart technology adoption.
The Laisar Smart Community Index (SCI) assesses a community’s adoption of innovative smart technologies through integrated community engagement processes that impact program efficiency, effectiveness, community representation and empowerment. In the SCI’s context, a “smart community” leverages information, infrastructure, and communication technologies in combination with smart technologies, to create economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for its citizens.
The SCI is a standardized methodology that utilities and other companies can use to measure the success of smart technology implementation and adoption within the communities where they serve.
The Smart Community Index (SCI) is a standardized measurement tool for defining and evaluating the success of smart technology initiatives being implemented within communities.
What truly makes a smart community successful?
First and foremost, engagement with the community is crucial for the success of these initiatives. The utility should ensure that community members are actively involved throughout the decision-making process, including the design and evaluation of projects. Secondly, the longevity and functionality of smart technologies are key. They need to be seamlessly integrated into the community’s infrastructure, and their effectiveness must be assessed objectively and subjectively – through data collected from the utility and through the community’s perception. Lastly, smart technologies should deliver their intended social, environmental, and economic benefits to the community. Technology should not exist merely for the sake of it; it should be interwoven into the fabric of the community, making that community stronger and more resilient.
Source: Smart City on Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_city
How is the SCI calculated
The SCI is calculated using a holistic approach that aggregates two main metrics: the Community Engagement Score (CES) and the Technology Adoption Score (TAS). The CES and TAS indicators comprise both qualitative and quantitative measures, and are evaluated against the expected short-term, medium-term, and long-term outcomes for the program. In this manner, the SCI assesses not only the level of community participation in the design, implementation, and outcome of smart technologies in communities, but also assesses the adoption of those technologies by community stakeholders. Utilities can use the SCI as a roadmap to ensure that their target audience is both engaging with, and positively impacted by, smart technology initiatives.
(1) The Community Engagement Score (CES), a key metric that measures how community engagement is planned, implemented, deployed, and received across 10 interrelated factors including resource mobilization and participation, empowerment and ownership, diversity and inclusion, adaptability and localization, communication and coordination, planning and preparation, design and development, local capacity building, implementation and organization, and monitoring and evaluation. Score results indicate how community engagement is being integrated as a cross-cutting process that impacts program efficiency, effectiveness, community representation and empowerment;
(2) The Technology Adoption Score (TAS), a key metric that measures how community, information, and technology are integrated in a smart ecosystem across 8 interrelated factors evaluating the successful adoption of smart technologies within communities.