The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program seeks public comments on the newly released draft entitled, "Smart Cities and Communities Federal Strategic Plan," a document that offers a high-level framework to guide and coordinate smart city/community-related federal initiatives, with an emphasis on local government and stakeholder engagement. Over 20 federal agencies collaborated to create the draft, which is open to public comment until February 28, 2017.
Ongoing advances in information and communications technologies enable new systems and services that can serve to cut costs and enhance sustainability. But as information technology enters new sectors, challenges also arise, ranging from ethical and legal concerns to cybersecurity issues. The draft was created to support the development and implementation of new discoveries and innovations that help cities and communities achieve local goals and address their most important challenges.
Prepared by NITRD's Smart Cities and Communities Task Force, which is co-chaired by Ken Calvert, National Science Foundation; Chris Greer, the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); and Ken Leonard, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the document details five central goals and four strategic priorities for federal agency activities, and it outlines proposed next steps. Coordinating efforts across federal agencies should help accelerate the development of smart city/community solutions that maximize the value of investments and optimize benefits to residents.
The central goals that motivate the strategy are to:
Understand local needs and local goals;
Accelerate smart city/community innovation and infrastructure improvement;
Facilitate cross-sector collaboration and bridge existing silos;
Boost exports and promote U.S. global leadership; and
Focus on people-centered solutions that support job growth and economic competitiveness
NITRD encourages all interested parties to review the plan and provide input and ideas to improve the strategy. Among those especially encouraged to comment are cities and communities, states, industry and academic stakeholders, professional organizations, and societies.
Access to the 28-page plan and detailed instructions for comment submission are provided on the NITRD Blog and in the Federal Register Notice.
The NITRD program, now in its 25th year, is the primary source of federally funded work on advanced information technologies in computing, networking, and software. It seeks to provide the research and development foundations for assuring continued U.S. technological leadership and meeting the needs of the federal government for advanced information technologies.
ANSI supports smart cities initiatives through its ANSI Network on Smart and Sustainable Cities (ANSCC), a forum for information sharing and coordination on voluntary standards, conformity assessment, and related activities for smart and sustainable cities in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, ANSI is a partner in the NIST-led international coalition developing an Internet of Things-Enabled Smart City Framework.