Group makes plans for a smarter future

Talk about it

Making Dakota County a top seven Intelligent Community in the world is no small task, but there is a growing a number of people dedicated to the task. Dakota Future, an economic development group made up of business owners, college administrators, mayors and school officials, hopes to make that goal a reality by 2012 and is recruiting people to help make it happen.

On Oct. 9 Dakota Future will host a Project Launch Celebration at Dakota County Technical College.The launch will include an overview of what an intelligent community is and how Dakota County ranks so far. Additionally, the meeting will include discussions of what needs to be done to get Dakota County in the top seven and how to do it.

“This goal is exciting and will have a lot of exciting outcomes,” said Dakota Future president Bill Coleman.

Coleman said they hope to get people out for the event and excited about the possibilities.

As an economic development group, Dakota Future, aims to keep the county competitive in the global economy. One way it aims to do that is by making the county an Intelligent Community, which is designated by the Intelligent Community Forum.

The ICF annually recognizes communities around the world for promoting world class broadband; creating, supporting and attracting a knowledgeable workforce; spurring innovation in business and government; ensuring digital inclusion; and advocating and marketing towards a culture of technology use.

Coleman said Dakota Future has gathered information and sent it to the ICF to see how they stand up compared to other communities so far. He said that information will be shared during the project launch and will lead to discussions about what needs to be done to reach the goals of becoming an Intelligent Community and how the goals can be accomplished.

“We want to motivate more action,” said Coleman.

So far Dakota Future has gotten quite a few people involved including some pretty big players. The city of Rosemount has signed on, as have Dakota County Technical College, School District 917 and more.

Through the project launch they hope to get more people involved, including more area businesses.

Becoming an Intelligent Community will benefit the county and organizations and cities within it in several ways. Coleman said getting involved will ensure Dakota County has world-class broadband, that companies are globally competitive and citizens are connected and will attract investments.

Coleman said becoming an Intelligent Community will provide the framework to improve economic development efforts through technology. Additionally, he said the project will make people think more globally.

Dakota Future will host the Intelligent Community Initiative Project Launch Friday, Oct. 9 from 8 a.m. to noon. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the program will begin at 9.

To register or for more information visit www.dakotafuture.com.

Tags: local news, dakota county, dakota future, news