The Smart Cities experience, while valuable in itself, has little to do with the broader smart communities movement. Major cities are so complex that unless they work as a network of smaller communities, what they have to teach Canadians as a whole will be limited. Programs such as the Community Access Program, with proper models, tools and measures, can definitely develop into larger networks and eventually be a cornerstone of a Get Smart Canada movement. To be a force for prosperity, individual sites will have to become meaningful players in a broader network and involve all aspects of the community. To date, the business community has played an insignificant role in these sites.
Sustainability requires new and meaningful partnerships.
The Community Access Program requires a rethinking of its grant criteria as well as development of a set of outcome measures which in turn are tied to an incentive or matching program over a multi-year time frame. Local support and initiative must be a requirement. Many existing sites will likely fail to reach the criterion of self-sustainability within the next year. Damage control mechanisms must be devised or the enthusiasm will wane dramatically and progress will be impeded. This will also have a negative effect on the potential for a national initiative.