Morse Provides Leadership for Smart Communities

Suzanne Morse, president of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change and recently named fellow of Virginia Tech's Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement (COTA), is providing solutions to some of the toughest societal issues for towns, cities, and regions across the nation.

Beginning in 2007, she will lead the Smart Communities Institute, a series of three seminars scheduled at The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. Participants will learn the Smart Communities model, the strategies for positive community change, and how to apply these plans of action in their communities.

The first seminar, Smart Communities Act Smart, is based on Morse's popular book, Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Build a Brighter Future. The institute will focus on the seven things communities can do to improve their chances of success. Using a case study approach, participants learn how the "best of the best" got that way and will have an opportunity to benchmark their communities based on a series of "success" criteria. Participants will each leave the seminar with the knowledge necessary to begin to work with others to more effectively organize their community's approach to the future.

The second session in the series, Creating a Thriving Community, uses social and economic data on the most successful communities in the country, participants learn what it takes to go from a good community to a great community. They will craft a local plan of action that incorporates the principles of the Thriving Communities Model, identify the data needed to gauge how they are doing, and understand the investments, leadership, and assets needed for long-term economic success. This model takes the guesswork out of forecasting and visioning. Communities learn what needs to be done and how they can do it.

Going Global While Staying at Home, is the third session of the series. The world of bytes and bites has opened the global economy to the smallest village and the largest city. Most communities want to take advantage of the power of the global economy while maintaining a livable community. This session focuses on ways for participants to position their communities to take advantage of new technologies and new market opportunities.

Suzanne Morse is the president of the Pew Partnership for Civic hange and a recently appointed fellow of Virginia Tech's Center or Organizational and Technological Advancement.

The three-part program is designed for a diverse mix of participants from public, private, and nonprofit sectors who are interested in helping their communities thrive. Community officials, nonprofit officers, concerned business owners, and economic development experts will all benefit from the seminar.

For more information about the series, visit www.cpe.vt.edu/actcom/.

Morse is also the founder of LeadershipPlenty^®, a nationally recognized civic leadership development program designed to equip individuals with problem-solving skills such as building partnerships, managing conflict, and identifying community assets that are essential for all communities seeking positive change. The curriculum is offered in a train-the-trainer format to those from nonprofit organizations, businesses, local governments, and neighborhood organizations who are then licensed to return to their communities to offer the program. LeadershipPlenty^® courses are being developed for 2007. For more information, visit the web site at www.cpe.vt.edu/lpinstitute/.

"The COTA fellowship is a wonderful opportunity to bring best practices and tested solu-tions from communities across the nation to Roanoke and the region," says Morse. "The seminars and leadership training will build on the talents and resources already in place to invent a very bright future."