Joshua Breitbart has posted his testimony to the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee. He lists some keys to a healthy process for city’s seeking a broadband solution:
- Sustain open participation beyond the initial public hearing stage, through the entire process and continuing even a solution is implemented.
- Promote horizontal relationships among stakeholders rather than hub-and-spoke relationships that all connect to this committee or to any one person or organization.
- Unite stakeholders around shared technology rather than dividing them into tiers.
- Incorporate existing human resources wherever possible to avoid redundancy and to build on existing relationships.
- Be open with whatever information you gather: publish documents, test results, and regular updates on an accessible website and make them readily available to people without Internet access.
Actually, use this recipe for any type of policy initiative. Stir well and let simmer until you don’t need the particular policy any longer.
So far here in Minneapolis, we don’t rate highly in relation to these points. The process has been relatively closed.
