Action Plan - Digital Infrastructure Report

ACTION PLAN

"PUTTING OUR MINDS TOGETHER: The Digital Network Infrastructure and Metropolitan Chicago" examines the particular opportunities and challenges for Metropolitan Chicago to leverage the emerging digital network infrastructure. The report identifies advantages the region can successfully exploit, examines the social impacts, and suggests the potential actions to guide the development of the digital infrastructure.
The next step is to foster strategic plans and implementation schedules by public officials, policy makers, corporate and community leaders to secure Metropolitan Chicago as the dynamic nexus of the Information Age.
Five Principal Policy Recommendations
The five principal policy recommendations outlined in the Introduction of this report should be the focus of this endeavor:

Build the Metropolitan Chicago Digital Infrastructure;

Advance the region's Information Economy "Ecosystem" and mobilize business, industry, and government around strategic targets for technology-based economic development;

Use technology to strengthen elementary and secondary education, higher education, and workforce training;

Implement aggressive plans to mitigate the "digital divide" that might exclude some segments of the population; and

Establish the Metropolitan Chicago Regional Planning Network as a catalyst for regional information technology planning.

Regions that have the necessary infrastructure and a strategic plan will be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Other regions, like a 19th century community without a railroad station or a 20th century city off the interstate highway system, will not.
The strategic plan requires the following actions. Comparative research ¹⁵ also demonstrates the necessity of vision, leadership, and investment. Each one of us can make important contributions to the effort. We challenge you to identify those areas where you can have the greatest impact.
Business, Industry, and Electronic Commerce
The convergence of money, commerce, personal computers, and the digital network infrastructure is creating new market opportunities that can enhance the competitiveness of the region's diverse businesses and industries.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Create aggressive strategies for capitalizing on Electronic Commerce.

Help businesses understand the potential benefits
and opportunities.

Identify and eliminate technical barriers
to accessing markets.

Assure access to the digital network infrastructure
for all businesses and consumers.

2. Assure an effective legal framework for Electronic Commerce.

Technology-Based Economic Development
Metropolitan Chicago is a place where ideas, information, money, people, and services flow together, creating new opportunities for technology-based economic development. The challenge for the region is to understand and strengthen its Information Economy "Ecosystems" and focus our technology-based economic development on strategic opportunities.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Advance technology-based economic development by:

Deploying the digital network infrastructure.

Expanding the computer services
and support industry.

Strengthening business/university
research partnerships.

Organizing to strengthen the seven core elements
of the Information Economy "Ecosystem."

Making Metropolitan Chicago technology
assets widely known.

2. Exploit targeted opportunities, including next-generation technologies, network applications, and content development in:

Telecommunications
Life Sciences
Electronics
Computer Software
Information Technology and Services
Advanced Materials
Environmental Technology
Transportation and Resource Management

3. Assure action to avoid the potential "Digital Divide."

Transportation, Land Use and Resource Management System
Demands on the transportation infrastructure and the ability to meet these demands will be guided by technology. The digital network infrastructure can also have a profound impact on land use and be a powerful tool for resource management.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Fund and deploy the Intelligent Transportation System
(ITS).

2. Take advantage of the region's ITS experience to
develop entrepreneurial opportunities worldwide.

3. Create a forum to develop an agenda for land use
and resource management policies that focuses
on the following:

How transportation, employment, and land
use is impacted by access to the digital
network infrastructure.

How policies and decisions about access to the
digital network infrastructure can
block or encourage land use.

How planned infrastructure repair and construction
can be leveraged to extend the digital network
infrastructure.

How zoning is affected by changes in commercial
and home business practices.

4. Examine effective uses of technology for resource management
and plan to deploy beneficial new applications.

Building the Digital Network Infrastructure
Who will make the investment to assure that the digital network infrastructure reaches all businesses, communities, and individuals? Everything from laying fiber optic cable, to installing wireless towers, to buying digital switches, to developing and installing new data transmission technologies requires targeted actions:

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Create incentives and strategies to accelerate
and coordinate investments in building the digital
network infrastructure, including:

Tax incentives or user assistance for underserved areas.

Enterprise Zones and Tax Increment Financing.

2. Organize joint public/private community initiatives
to aggregate demand.

3. Establish a regional clearinghouse for information and
technical advice for communities, other jurisdictions,
and educational/nonprofit consortia.

Workplace and Training
The most desirable and high-paying jobs are being created in the sectors dependent on information technology. Today 65% of all U.S. workers are using some type of information technology in their jobs. By 2000 this is estimated to reach 95%.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Improve access to information regarding job skills standards
and programs to support training and lifelong learning.

2. Expand the use of technology in all training /lifelong
learning programs.

3. Assure access to the digital network infrastructure
for all education and training programs.

4. Examine and understand the implications of technology
for the workplace.

Higher Education
Colleges and universities, institutes and professional schools are developing imaginative new ways to apply technology to improve teaching and learning. New ideas and discoveries from higher education offer great potential for business and industry.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Support and deploy the Illinois Century Network.

2. Support expanded faculty training and curriculum development.

3. Create a clearinghouse / resource on Internet
programs and courses.

4. Strengthen business / industry partnerships for
technology sharing and transfer.

Elementary and Secondary Education
Overall, Illinois is a latecomer to supporting the integration of technology in elementary and secondary education. The challenge is to effectively use technology to improve K-12 education.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Accelerate connections to the digital network infrastructure
for every classroom.

2. Increase technical support and services for the schools.

3. Expand professional development to help teachers use technology.

4. Pursue creative projects collaboratively.

5. Provide access in libraries, community centers,
neighborhood sites.

6. Make available affordable access to the digital network infrastructure from homes.

Health Care
As medical advances outpace practice, telemedicine across the digital network infrastructure offers a way to substantially increase access to quality, affordable health care and can provide entrepreneurial opportunities for Metropolitan Chicago.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Connect health care facilities to the digital network
infrastructure.

2. Advance new telemedicine strategies.

3. Create systems to share medical information and
patient records.

4. Foster entrepreneurial opportunities for health and
biotechnology applications.

Government and Community Networks
There are voices to be heard, information to be shared, and new visions to be advocated. Connecting citizens, policy makers, corporate leaders, community organizations, researchers and planners around common issues is one of the greatest opportunities of the digital network infrastructure.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Launch a Metropolitan Chicago Regional Planning Network to:

Establish a common database of information
for regional planning.

Serve as a resource for policy questions and priorities.

Facilitate discussion and mobilization on issues
of common concern.

Model best practices for community networks.

Encourage Web sites for all municipalities and jurisdictions.

Quality-of-Life
The flow of information and expanding access to more and more citizens everywhere, at any time, is influencing recreation and entertainment choices, culture and community activities, the cost of living and employment opportunities, work expectations, volunteer and political endeavors, government services and safety.

ACTION ITEM YES

1. Create a regional dialogue regarding the impact of the
digital network infrastructure on:

Individual choices.

Community and neighborhoods.

Safety and security.

Personal privacy.

Balancing work and personal life.

2. Formulate a research agenda to explore how access to
the digital network infrastructure is affecting the
quality-of-life for the region.

The challenge and the opportunity is to mobilize around a strategic plan that effectively leverages the digital network infrastructure to the advantage of the Metropolitan region. PUTTING OUR MINDS TOGETHER it is possible.

Top of page