Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Professor Nicole Kalms.
Nicole is a professor at Monash University and describes herself as a practice-based researcher interested in doing things in the real world. Trained as an architect, she leads the XYX Lab at Monash University, which focuses on gender-sensitive design with a specific focus on public places. Her work examines women's experiences and the experiences of LGBTQIA+ communities, thinking about how we can make change through design interventions in urban spaces.
In this episode Nicole tells us about mobilising the power of data to intersect with storytelling, particularly around gendered violence and minoritised people's experiences in cities. Nicole and I discuss the HyperSext City exhibition that uses beautiful graphic design to present confronting data about urban safety, and the YourGround crowdsourcing project mapping safe and unsafe experiences across Victoria and New South Wales.
We talk about the importance of making data persuasive and publicly available, the challenge of balancing aesthetic appeal with difficult content, and the role of design in both data collection and communication. We finish our chat discussing Nicole's advice about breaking data out of conventions and counting what matters. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi peoples and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr. Nina Valkanova. Nina is a design strategist with 20 years experience in digital innovation across consultancies, labs and applied research.
In this episode Nina tells us about her research on civic data visualisations in public spaces and how they can shift urban technologies from purely efficiency-driven environments to participation and reflection-based learning settings. Nina and I discuss the different approaches needed for diverse audiences - from passive public audiences to commercial stakeholders to students in educational settings.
We talk about the role of aesthetics and emotion in creating curiosity and engagement, the ethical implications of displaying public data, and the challenges of balancing meaning with aesthetic appeal. We finish our chat discussing Nina's advice about embracing data storytelling for interpretation rather than just comprehension and the importance of making the unspoken visible. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi peoples and edited on Gaibal country.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, As part of my PhD research, I've been speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy.
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with friend of the podcast, Prof Marcus Foth. Marcus has been on the show twice before, in Episode 230 and also way back in Episode 4!
Marcus is a Professor in urban informatics and strategic design at the QUT School of Design at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. With extensive experience at the intersection of people, place, and technology, he leads research into smart city infrastructure adoption, sustainability approaches, and data governance issues.
In this episode Marcus tells us about his recent work analysing the Brisbane 2032 Olympics stadium controversy and how a community group used data from other stadiums to reveal that the narrative presented for the proposed stadium may not be telling the whole story. We talk about the role of sophisticated data visualisation consultancies in creating narratives that serve corporate lobbying interests over community needs and the how increasing accessibility of AI tools may help democratise data visualisation and address the skills, knowledge and resources gap for grassroots advocacy groups.
We talk about some impactful data visualisation examples from ABC's investigative journalism that combat misinformation, as well as data governance challenges and lack of data literacy in the community. We finish our chat discussing Marcus' perspective on the need for critical thinking when using new data tools and the importance of civic engagement in our democracy. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat with Jack Zhao.
Jack is a designer and maker of data visualisation with over 15 years of experience in research and industry. He co-founded Small Multiples with his partner Andrea Lau, where they help clients across all industries and sectors make data useful. Their recent focus has been on environment and sustainability projects, recognising the urgent need for attention in this space given the ongoing climate situation globally.
In this episode Jack tells us about Small Multiples' work on environmental projects including helping councils measure recycling accessibility through spatial data visualisation and tracking litter across New South Wales for the Environmental Protection Agency. Jack and I discuss their design process from initial client conversations through to deployment, emphasising the importance of understanding audience needs and iterating based on feedback.
We talk about memorable examples including Periscopic’s powerful US gun deaths visualisation and Small Multiples' own Census Explorer project spanning three Australian censuses. We finish our chat discussing Jack's advice about leveraging AI to break capacity bottlenecks while focusing on specific audiences rather than designing for generic users. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with Jack Zhao on LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling as part of my PhD research.
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat with Kelly Henderson.
Kelly is Team Leader of Digital Innovation at Wellington City Council in New Zealand. With a background in architecture, urban development, and major transport and infrastructure projects, Kelly now brings a digital lens to local government innovation.
In this episode Kelly tells us about how Wellington City Council uses data visualisation and storytelling both internally for decision-making and externally for community engagement. Kelly and I discuss the challenges of creating consistent, accessible data dashboards across a large organisation, and the power of digital twins to make complex climate and urban data engaging for the public.
We talk about the importance of testing assumptions about audiences, the tension between transparency and accessibility in data sharing, and the need for future scenario planning in urban development. We finish our chat discussing Kelly's advice about keeping data storytelling simple while embracing depth in data communication. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling as part of my PhD research.
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr Dietmar Offenhuber.
Dietmar is a professor at Northeastern University in Boston and chair of the Art and Design Department. With a background originally in architecture, Dietmar has spent decades exploring information visualisation.
In this episode Dietmar tells us about his expanded concept of visualisation beyond traditional data mapping, and his theory of "autographic design" - which is a method for visualising the emergence of data rather than just its final representation. We talk about the importance of understanding context over generalising visualisation principles and lessons learned from bottom-up citizen data collection efforts.
Dietmar and I discuss about accountability technologies, the challenges of assuming theories of change in data visualisation, and why physical traces can sometimes be more powerful than sophisticated data displays. We finish our chat discussing Dietmar's advice about keeping data storytelling simple while embracing its speculative and playful aspects. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with The Smart Community Podcast via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, which is part of my PhD research
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr Zina O'Leary.
Zina is a sociologist, methodological expert and research communication specialist bridging statistics and qualitative research, data and stories. Zina helps organisations transform data into impactful, implementable change.
In this episode Zina tells us about the communication gap between research and real-world implementation and how living in an age of information abundance has implications for data storytelling. Zina and I discuss the importance of audience-focused objectives and moving beyond "what do I want to say" to "what do I want the audience to do”, plus why traditional academic writing formats fail to engage audiences.
We talk about practical tools like multi-criteria analysis and scenario planning for decision-making. We finish our chat discussing Zina's advice for overcoming the biggest challenge in data visualisation - creating what works for your audience rather than what works for you. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect:
Connect with Dr. Zina O’Leary on LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, As part of my PhD research, I’m speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy.
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a fantastic chat with Dr Phillip Gough.
Phillip is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney in the School of Architecture Design and Planning, specialising in human-centred design and interaction design. As a designer and researcher, he focuses on building and evaluating interactive systems, with particular expertise in biomaterials for a sustainable circular economy.
In this episode Phillip tells us about his work with clinicians at Westmead Hospital developing decision support tools for emergency department triage, and his collaboration with agricultural companies using satellite data to optimise cattle movement across Australia. Phillip and I discuss the importance of understanding user workflows, the difference between effective or functional and affective or emotional data visualisation, and the challenges of working within existing technical constraints such as the software or platforms available to a particular organisation or situation.
We talk about the way data visualisations can be both playful or creative, and purposeful and meaningful, plus the way data can be art, or the concept of data physicalisation. We finish our chat discussing Phillip's perspective on making invisible information visible through visualisation and his advice for exploring personal data through creative practice. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.
Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling. As part of my PhD research, I've been speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy.
In today's episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I'm speaking with Rocio Rodriguez Almaraz. I actually met Rocio on the Homeward Bound leadership program, and we spent some time in Antarctica together. Rocio is a campaign strategist, documentary producer and project manager focused on climate change campaigns and projects, based in Argentina.
Rocio and I discuss the role and importance of data visualisation and storytelling in advocacy, strategies to use data to engage audiences and create impact, as well as the challenges faced by NGOs and small organisations in communicating effectively due to limited resources.
We talk about the need to tailor communication and data visualisations to different audiences and contexts, and the ways digital tools can be used in direct community engagement. Rocio shares some examples of impactful data visualisations and their influences on decision-making and public awareness, and reflects on the complexities of measuring impact and attributing change to specific communication efforts.
We finish our chat with Rocio's advice about using data visualisation to prioritise what's most important to communicate. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with Rocio on LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome to a very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling. As part of my PhD research, I've been speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualizations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy.
This work is deeply aligned with the smart community ethos, bringing people on the journey as we use data to communicate ideas, share insights, and ultimately make better, more informed decisions together.
In this episode of the #SmartCommunity Podcast, we are kicking off the series with friend of the pod and repeat guest, Jonathan Reichental. He’s been on the show 3 times before, in Episodes 77, 251 and 275. I’ll pop links to those in the show notes if you want to go and listen. Jonathan is a technologist, educator, author and entrepreneur whose career spans media, city government, business and education, so he brings a wealth of insight and experience to this conversation.
Jonathan and I discuss the role of data visualisation in technology and business, the key components of effective data storytelling, and the importance of understanding and considering your audience. We explore some of the challenges and issues with data visualisation, such as lack of training and tools, incorrect or outdated data, information overload, and data misuse.
Jonathan tells us the elements that make data visualisations impactful and shares some examples to check out, too. We finish our chat discussing Jonathan’s advice and recommendations for effective data storytelling. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
This podcast is recorded on Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country. I pay my respects to their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends! I sat down with my podcast producer Ellen to record another update episode. This time we chatted about my Antarctic adventure through the Homeward Bound leadership program, what I learned about myself and community building in the process, and what's next for the Smart Community Podcast as I embark upon my Ph.D this year.
As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. Talk to you soon!
Find the full show notes at https://zoeeather.com/podcast/
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
Hi #SmartCommunity friends! I sat down with my podcast producer Ellen to record another update episode. 2024 was a very big year personally and professionally, so we chat about that and what’s coming up in the next 12 months.
Talk to you soon!
Find the full show notes at https://zoeeather.com/podcast/
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
Hi #SmartCommunity friends! I sat down with my podcast producer Ellen to record a little update episode, there is a little bit of Smart Community Podcast news and we want to keep you in the loop!
We are planning to take an extended break from the podcast because unfortunately my Mum is very unwell. So I'm going to take some time to be with her and just scale things back a little bit for a while. I will still be doing my consulting work for My Smart Community, working with my amazing clients that I have contracts with at the moment and into the future.
But we're pressing pause on the podcast for a time while I spend time with my Mum and family, and while Ellen goes off on her second maternity leave. So your podcast feed won’t be updating for a while, but we will be back in some form or another later down the track.
In the meantime, connect with me on LinkedIn or email. I’m not going anywhere, just taking some time to pause and prioritise the people who are important to me.
Talk to you soon!
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we’re sharing my interview with Samuel Austin from Episode 340, which was published in May 2023.
Sam is an Urban Planner, Community Engagement Specialist and Placemaker, and also the NSW Young Planner of the Year 2022. In this episode, Sam tells us about his background in urban city planning, and his interest and passion for the relationship between people and place. We talk about the role data plays in planning and analysis of how people are using spaces, and Sam tells us about his work on the neon grid and nighttime economy strategy for Sydney.
Sam and I discuss the importance of breaking down barriers and silos within cities and communities to foster an integrated approach for a seamless experience for customers, as well as what the nightime economy and neon grid looks like in semi urban and regional or rural settings. Sam tells us about community engagement projects he’s worked on in Sydney and we finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of live data allowing for appropriate and timely responses to community requirements. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with Sam on LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we’re sharing my interview with Michael Wanyama from Episode 335, which was released in March 2023 as part of our annual Mobility March series.
Michael and I met at Smart City World Expo in Barcelona in November 2022 where his company Auto Safety Uganda won the Innovation Category of the World Smart City Award. In this episode Michael and I discuss his background in IT and automatic technology and why he’s so passionate about happy, healthy and inclusive communities. Michael tells us about the context in Kampala, Uganda, why it’s the best tourist destination in Africa and also about some of the challenges Uganda faces with traffic safety, vehicle reliability and air pollution due to lack of systems, skills, infrastructure and regulation. We talk about the many different areas of the community that transport impacts and the importance of supporting the community in the process of transitions to new and cleaner mobility options.
Michael tells us about the projects they are working on, including upskilling mechanics, promoting gender inclusivity in the automotive industry and collecting data to support policy change in Uganda. We also discuss the problem of African nations having to ‘copy and paste’ solutions from other countries but finding they don’t work in the African context. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of great ideas and policies being stymied by the lack of resources and skillsets to implement the changes, as well as the need for community engagement, leadership and education to work together to solve these problems. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Connect with Michael on Twitter or LinkedIn
Follow AutoSafety Uganda on Twitter, LinkedIn or their website www.autosafety-ug.org
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we’re sharing my interview with Dr. Michaela Musilova from Episode 339 which was released in May 2023.
Dr. Michaela Musilova is an astrobiologist, speaker, analog astronaut and author. Michaela has been conducting space-related research at institutions around the world and was the Director of HI-SEAS and Commander of over 30 simulated missions to the Moon and Mars, in collaboration with NASA, ESA and many international organizations. She also writes articles for Space.com and co-authored her biography, A Woman from Mars.
In this episode, Michaela tells us about her passion for space and for life on earth, how she got into this Space space, and some of the challenges she has overcome to pursue this dream. She tells us about why it’s so important to share with the public how science is helping humanity and how diversity and also food have both been key to the success of the missions she’s been involved with.
Michaela then tells us about the projects she’s worked on, including the Astro Seven Summits, which is focused on performing research related to life in space and also on extreme environments on earth. Michaela and I talk about how to link space exploration science with climate change, as well as what she thinks will happen on the first missions of humans living on Mars.
We finish our chat talking about whether there really is life on other planets, and Michaela tells us what she thinks about the likelihood of finding it. As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Follow her on LinkedIn and Facebook, or on Instagram and Twitter @astro_michaela
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. We’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week to kick off the series, we’re sharing my interview with Martin Darcy, who was on the show back in July 2022 in Episode 303.
Martin is the Service Manager of Business and Innovation with Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. In this episode, Martin starts off by telling us about his background in the tourism industry, his past roles and current role working in local government, and Martin tells us what a Smart Community means to him. Martin then tells us a bit about how his role at the Council has evolved over time, some of the challenges in the Smart Communities space he has faced in this time, before he discusses his experience working to embed Smart Communities in his organisation. He then shares with us some lessons learnt when measuring and monitoring Smart Community benefits, as well as some of the communication and community engagement challenges he has faced.
We then discuss the importance of educating the community about the benefits of Smart Communities and some of the elements that contribute to dealing with change. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of using data to make better informed decisions. There’s a few audio glitches in this interview but it’s a great conversation so we hope you will forgive us the imperfections. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Martin via LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome back to the Smart Community Podcast. In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Calum Handforth. Calum works for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has led innovation and digitalisation efforts globally, as well as advised governments around the world. He was also Co-Chair of the Digital Infrastructure Taskforce, part of the World Economic Forum’s G20 Working Group on Smart Cities.
In this episode, Calum and I discuss the types of things he works on at the UNDP, and the progress made on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals since they were introduced in 2015. We talk about using data and storytelling to drive progress and innovation, including Calum’s BLT acronym when thinking about data, and the potential of open source digital solutions to improve city infrastructure and services. Calum tells us about his favourite project he’s worked on at the UNDP, that incorporated a human-centred design approach to improve a market in Gambia, and the emerging trends of refocusing on the city as the centre of innovation and development.
We finish our chat discussing the importance of community and of sharing failures to achieve SDGs and Smart Community outcomes, plus the power of celebrating even small wins. As always we hope you have enjoyed this episode as much as we have enjoyed making it.
Connect with Calum on LinkedIn, @calumah on Twitter/X and via email calum.handforth@undp.org
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
Hi #SmartCommunity Friends, in this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Nicole Stephensen, Partner at IIS Partners, a prominent privacy consultancy in Australia, where she leads privacy strategy and services. Long time listeners will remember that Nicole was on the podcast way back in Episode 69, in 2018, and again on our Covid Catch Up YouTube series in 2020.
In this episode, Nicole and I discuss what’s changed in the privacy landscape in the last few years, for better and for worse, including data breaches and the review of Australia’s Privacy Act. Nicole reminds us of the essential principle of "Nothing about me, without me," stressing the imperative to engage and involve the community in co-designing solutions.
We explore the vital role of public servants in keeping the needs of the community as a focus, and touch on the crossover between information security and privacy. Nicole and I then discuss the pros and cons of privacy laws and regulations, and Nicole advocates for a shift away from ‘incremental change’ in order to keep pace with the speed of technological advances.
We finish our chat talking about the emerging trend of the intersection of privacy and AI, the potential for Smart City and Privacy Standards to be combined, and why we need to rethink the term ‘responsible AI’. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn or via IIS Partners
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
Hi #SmartCommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Karandeep Chadha. Karandeep has two decades of diverse work experience in government services, infrastructure asset management, property, procurement, supply chain, consumer goods, technology and financial services industries for top tier Australian, US and European organisations. In this episode Karandeep tells us about his passion for innovation and Smart Cities, and how he ended up in the Smart Community Space.
We talk about the importance of coming back to the business purpose and community requirements when implementing Smart solutions, and why foundational transferable skills are so beneficial considering the broad range of skills needed in the Smart Community. Karandeep tells us about some of the projects he’s been working on, including what he has been learning from New Zealand’s smaller scale ‘do more with less’ approach. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of cyber security and data privacy, as well as the need for affordability of Smart initiatives, and why partnering across different sectors and industries is the next step for Smart Communities. As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Connect with Karandeep via LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.