2020 Agenda for the CLIC Half-Day Program

September 22, 11:20 am – 3:00 pm CDT

CLIC SUPER SESSION ON PARTNERSHIPS:

Broadband Partnerships and Federal and State Incentives: A Force Multiplier

This half-day workshop on partnerships is designed to share ideas, best practices, and actionable guidance about how localities can work with the private sector and with each other to meet broadband challenges. Our speakers will share ideas for how to identify, select, and build relationships with partners that allow your community to realize the opportunities of the moment.

Welcome and Intro

11:20 am – 12:15 pm CDT

Session 1: Models for Successful Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships

Broadband partnership is an idea whose time has come. All across the country, there are localities, states, and companies working together in innovative ways to solve broadband challenges in win-win ways. In this session, we will explore a range of different models for partnerships, based on practical experience, and learn how to develop the partnership that best meets your community’s needs.

Moderator:
Jim Baller – President, CLIC

Panelists:
Dorothy Baunach – CEO, DigitalC, Cleveland Ohio
Michele Kohler – Business Development Manager/Network Investment, FACEBOOK, Seattle, WA
Scott Shapiro – Consultant to MetroNet, Former Innovations Officer, Lexington, KY
Brad Moline – President, Allo Communications

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CDT

Session 2: Identifying and Selecting your Partner

One of the critical elements of a partnership strategy is a process to identify and select the right partners. This session will answer such questions as: How should you go about this? What kinds of process can help to identify companies that will work with you to meet your goals? And what kinds of characteristics should you seek – or avoid?

Moderators:
Catharine Rice – Project Director, CLIC

Panelists:
Monica Webb – Director of Market Development, Ting Internet, Ontario, CN
Ben Moncrief – Sr. VP – Strategic Relations, C-Spire
David Finn – Director of Corporate Development, Google Fiber, Seattle, WA
Bryon Horn – Chief Information Officer, Information Services Department, City of Fresno, California

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CDT

Session 3: Broadband P3s and Federal and State Incentives: A Force Multiplier

New sources of state and federal broadband funding also create new opportunities for public/private and other partnerships. For example, a community can collaborate with a private broadband ISP to apply for state and federal grant funds, enabling the community to share with the state and federal governments – and the private sector – the considerable cost of solving its broadband challenges. The current environment of new, robust broadband funding creates new opportunity for such collaboration in a range of communities. In this session, some of the architects of successful partnerships will share their strategies, lessons learned, and guidance for other communities.

Moderator:
Joanne Hovis – CEO, CLIC

Panelists:
Kenrick Gordon – Director, Governor’s Office of Rural Broadband, State of Maryland
Charlotte Bewersdorff – Vice President, Community Engagement, MERIT Network
Lisa Youngers – Executive Director, Fiber Broadband Association
Darrell Maynard – CEO, Eastern Telephone & Technologies