Be Future Ready

Colorado Innovation Conference

August 6^th – 8^{th, 2024}

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Creating Self-Innovating Organizations …with Measurable Results

David S. Zelenok, PE

Founder – ZK Engineers, Colorado Springs, CO

dzelenok@zkengineers.com

�Scott Blumenreich, MS

Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, Centennial, CO (former)

seblumen@comcast.net

Acknowledgements:

City Hall Innovation Team Playbook, Bloomberg Philanthropies, March 2015

Alliance for Innovation, Nijah Fudge, Aug 2015

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Today’s Learning Outcomes

• Describe how these challenges often times discourage us from seeking new innovations and opportunities that are offering others long term solutions with are sustainable, measurable and imperative, while (most importantly) establishing a sustainable “Culture of Innovation” in your organization.
• Integrate and become a chief advocate for the use of cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art leadership at every level in your agency - and astonish your community with the results.
• Plan how to create your own future – understand what your public service delivery systems and technologies will look like and position your agency for the impact of emerging technologies on the urban fabric – and our profession.

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The FUTURE is –

Not what it “used to be”

COVID-19

Sustainability

Justice, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Future Ready

Climate Change

Infrastructure

Investment & Jobs Act

DRIVERS OF CHANGE

The solution isn’t always what you think!

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Often the opposite of what you’re planning –

Even DOGS can be Innovators!

• First - the Theory – Innovation Programs

• 6 Innovation Culture Qualities…
• 4 Key Attributes…
• 4 Best Management Practices… (BMP’s)
• Bloomberg Philanthropies Innovation Program
• Finally – Real, live examples of Innovation in Action!

1. Inclusive Leadership
2. Relentless Creativity
3. Extensive Internal Partnerships
4. Robust External Partnerships
5. Authentic Community Connections
6. Reality Focused-Results Driven(KPI’s)

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Innovation Cultures: 6 Qualities

#1/6: Inclusive Leadership Traits

• Unselfish
• Shared Credit and Recognition
• Looks to the Next Generation to Sustain
• Encourages new ideas throughout the organization

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#2/6: Relentless Creativity

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What does relentless creativity look like?

• Not Satisfied with Status Quo
• Unleashing Potential
• Looking for Ideas Elsewhere
• Non-traditional Methods

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What encourages creativity?

• Allowing for “Successful Failures”
• Constantly Revising and Changing

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#3/6: Extensive Internal Collaboration

• Unusual
• Non-Hierarchal Teams
• Diverse Teams
• Disrespect the Silos
• Staff Supported and Heard

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#4/6: Robust External Partnerships

Partnerships

• Public, Private, NGO etc.

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What Makes a Successful Partnership

• Not Quid Pro-Quo
• Know How to Disagree
• Willing to Trust and Take Risk
• Understanding Value from New Perspectives

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#5/6: Authentic Community Connections

• Real Connection, Not Lip Service

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• Deep Sustained Involvement

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• Public: Not “Me-Centric”

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• Looking for Long-Term Value

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#6/6: Reality Focused – Results Driven

• Sustained Impact, Not Flash in the Pan

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• Useful and Serves Need
• Knowing who benefits
• “KPI’s”

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“Our Theory” �Innovation Programs 4 Key attributes…

“Meta-Innovation”: Innovating Innovation

NOW: Dedicated “Innovation Teams…”

• Senior Leader Support

(Mayors, managers: risk tolerant)

• Dedicated Resources

(Forget SUGGESTION BOXES!)

• Staff Augmentation –

(Critical for acceptance: ADDING not BURDENING)

• Engaging Colleagues & Cross-functional support

Caution – May not work in all organizations!

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“Our Theory” – �Innovation Programs: Best Practices

1. Quantify problems and define solutions
2. Avoid “re-inventing”
3. “Brink” of execution
4. Partner – yes.
5. Collaborate – yes. … But -
6. Do NOT implement – “Flip” and move on the next initiative…
7. (Honestly: Public Sector: can be tough)

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CAUTION

LOTS OF RISKS

AHEAD!

What you can do? �Forming Innovation programs

• Partnering with Industry, Governments,
• Technical Assistance Programs, Non-profits & Incubators
• Deploying new technologies  
• Implementing innovative techniques     
• Soliciting proposals
• Organizing peer exchanges
• Sharing, Sharing, Sharing 

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Make your own opportunities!

Is it time for you?

14 cities selected

Bloomberg Philanthropies’

Innovation Teams Program:

Cities effectively using the “Bloomberg” approach

Office of Innovation

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Leads, champions and advocates for the implementation of creative concepts and

new technologies to enhance the operation and management of the City government.

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How Current Is Your Technology?

Caddyshack - Orion movies: 1980

Part 2 - Emerging Global Trends

How Fast Are New Technologies Being Adopted?

July 2023 – Twitter to Threads 150 MM users in 6 DAYS

Daily Mail July 17 2023

Has This Ever Happened Before - ?

Complete Modal Transformation: 12 Years

Infrastructure – Catching up 100 years

Source: NY Public Library

The 4 Industrial Revolutions…

1. Steam Power
2. Electricity
3. Computers
4. The 4^th confluence of:
• Artificial intelligence
• Internet of Things (IOT)
• Nanotechnology
• Quantum computing
• 3D printing
• 5G data transmission
• Technologies that will fundamentally change our world
1. Smart Cities!

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Courtesy: HR Green

The END of the LINE… Say GOODBYE to:

• Fortress Malls?
• Road Widening Projects?
• Privately Owned Vehicles?
• Car Ownership - Car Dealers?
• Parking Garages, Lots, Runoff?
• Mass Transit (Yes, $1B Light Rails)?
• Gasoline Stations?
• Traffic Signals (Really!)
• Gas Tax (Electrification – Full Adoption: 2040)?
• Three-car garages – who needs to own 3 cars?
• Congestion – Up AND down – profound changes

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R.I.P

R.I.P

R.I.P

R.I.P

2040

Virtually Everything Virtually

• “BIG DATA”
• Digital Twins
• A.I.
• Predicting Traffic Jams…..
• 30 minutes in the future (?)

More Global trends…

• Bricks vs “Clicks - Online sales
• Hybrid Work Models
• Halal Economy – New Banking Systems
• Medical trends – from cure to -
• Mass diagnosis via computer,
• Prevention
• Wellness

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“IoT – Internet of Things”

Everything is on line (yes)

But now –

Every THING is on line

Expect: Disruption as the NORM

Say Hello To:

• Driverless Cars: Capacity Increases
• Sensors: “V2V” & “V2I”
• 5G Telecom
• Streetlight transmitters x 300’ Spacing
• Roads without Traffic Signals
• Fiber: Utility meters & Fiber to the premises (FTTP)
• Fiber as the Sensor Itself
• SMALL CELLS EVERYWHERE

Courtesy: HR Green

More Global trends…

Autonomous – Self-Driving - Driverless

Crucial will be:

“Totally Managed Systems”

Courtesy: HR Green

Autonomous – Self-Driving – Driverless

!!!

• Transit

5% (maybe)

• Carpooling

5% (maybe)

• Telecommuting

10-20% (maybe)

• Driverless capacity

300 (yes) 300%

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COGs 2040 Plans?

NEXT: Part 3 –

Innovation Case Studies

Innovative “Super Streets”

Roundabouts

U-Turn Intersections

Displaced Left Turn Intersections

Diverging Diamond Interchanges

Source: Wisconsin DOT

Source: Mark Doctor, FHWA

Source: Utah DOT

Protected Intersections

U-Turn Intersections: ThrU Turn

Distinguishing Features

• Similar to MU-T in that direct left-turns are eliminated from main intersection
• Main difference is design of U-turn, substituting a paved bump-out or “loon” beyond the outside lane (or coinciding with a sidestreet tee intersection or driveway) for the wide median of a MU-T

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Terms/Variants include: Bulb-out, Eyebrows, Loons and “Jersey Jug-Handles”

Diverging Diamond Interchanges…

FROM THE SAME SPOT?!?!

And – a Left Turn on Red

Imagine – Driving on the “wrong side” of the road

Making – a Right Turn on Red

Innovation in Infrastructure – Boulder, CO

CAUTION

LOTS OF RISKS

AHEAD!

Courtesy: Edward Stafford, PE, PTOE, City of Boulder

Innovation in Transportation Engineering – Boulder

• Moving from Traffic Crashes to Hazard Analysis
• Vulnerable Users
• Predicting the future

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Lessons Learned – Bike Lane “Cover-up”

You have wasted money on striping a street and have created a danger to the neighborhood. 

I will continue to drive on "my side" of Telluride St., which will probably involve driving into the bicycle lane.  

When we bicycle, we will bike in the safe lane, which is now the parking lane.

“Successful FAILURES”

Smart City Strategies Are Still Evolving

• Pilot projects still prevalent, Plenty of Failures – Toronto / Google
• Projects are often driven by a single department/goal
• Most common applications are still emerging
• Chasing “shiny things,” P.I.I. & “quick hits” vs technology base

Source: Google

Centennial Initiates Fiber Friendly Program�

Centennial Fiber Optic Map – 4 years after new policy

2015 CONDUIT AND FIBER COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

RESULT: the network is now within ½ mile of more than

21,000 households and 3,250 businesses

• From 3 miles to 60+ miles
• Conduit cost ~ $600,000 (Only - $2/foot)
• Conduit value ~ $10,000,000 – $20,000,000+
• Created a ubiquitous “Fiber to the Node” – FTTN - Network

90+% of the cost can be in the pipe, not the fiber

How Centennial did it…�

Results:

• Fewer street cutting permits
• Reduced potholes
• Sharing of infrastructure – “P3’s”
• Private Sector Investment – very robust
• Incumbents continue to improve service
• MINIMAL CITY COST

Pro-Fiber Policies

• Public-Private/Partnerships
• Joint- Build
• Piggyback
• Dig-once policies
• Reduced open trenching
• Co-locations
• Incentives, fee reductions, individual agreements
• US DOT/CDOT grants

ARPA$ ?

Signal$ ?

PHOTO CREDIT: John Merritt, PE, Advanced Design Concepts, Inc

Streetlights…�From Cost to Revenue Source (~$270/light/year)

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LED’s – reduce power expenses by 50%+

But – power often < 20% of total expenses

Cities now municipalizing lighting Paying separately for energy

Up-front capital and conversion costs

• R.O.I.s ~ 5-10 years

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MILLIONS in cost savings possible –

Re-purposing street lights: Conduit Most Valuable

Traffic signals, utilities and public broadband

Street Light Municipalization

AKA, “Community Choice Aggregation”

Cool New Technologies – Sensors & Dashboards

Crowd Sourcing – “WAZE” App (Google owns)

PEOPLE AS SENSORS: Data Sources Include:

• In Pavement
• Bluetooth – O & D (if discoverable)
• Wi-fi (more granular)
• Overhead / Microwave: DOT
• On-STAR (GM – 12% Samples)
• Cell Phones
• Users (Citizen Tweets)
• FIRST: City-Reported: WAZE Colorado Springs –
• Re-routing around tomorrow’s cone zones

TURN LEFT!

Transit-Oriented Development�Light Rail Stations in Centennial

Innovation Programs 4 Key attributes…

1. Senior Leader Support
2. Dedicated Resources
3. Staff Augmentation
4. Defined objectives, measureable outcomes

Benefits vs costs

Cross-functional support

Key Takeaways

Creating Self-Innovating Organizations …with Measurable Results

David S. Zelenok, PE

Founder – ZK Engineers, Colorado Springs, CO

dzelenok@zkengineers.com

�Scott Blumenreich, MS

Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, Centennial, CO (former)

seblumen@comcast.net

Acknowledgements:

City Hall Innovation Team Playbook, Bloomberg Philanthropies, March 2015

Alliance for Innovation, Nijah Fudge, Aug 2015

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The FUTURE is –

Not what it “used to be”

The FUTURE is –

Not what it “used to be”

Title

The FUTURE is –

Not what it “used to be”