City of Philadelphia requests $35 million in federal broadband stimulus application

The City of Philadelphia hopes that federal agencies awarding federal broadband stimulus grants will fund $35 million to its Digital Philadelphia Broadband Initiative, according to documents published by the National Telecommunications Information Administration.

Executive summaries detailing combined applications between the Division of Technology and the Free Library of Philadelphia call for $21 million for middle mile infrastructure and $14 million for adoption programs.

“The 21st century will undoubtedly be defined by the advent of the digital age,” the Free Library’s application stated. “However, in Philadelphia 41 percent of residents do not have Internet access at home and are being left behind without the ability to connect with job opportunities, healthcare information or educational resources.”

Several other Philadelphia-based organizations, including the Philadelphia Housing Authority, Philadelphia Prison Society and the Delaware County Library System also submitted applications for stimulus funds, documents reveal.

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Friday Q&A: Kelly Lee, Innovation Philadelphia President & CEO

Updated 9/11/09, 2:15 p.m.: Clarified summit tracks, noted “no frills” package clarification, and updated Philly panelists.

If it wasn’t for the first Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit in June 2006, Innovation Philadelphia may not have found it’s niche in the creative industries.

President and CEO Kelly Lee says that it was the attendees of the inaugural event, hosted three years ago, who inspired the economic development organization to shift focus from the broad spectrum of technology-based businesses to creative one: art, design, web development, and others, in place of biotech and life sciences.

This year, Lee is spearheading the second of the summits, the well-marketed and polished 2009 Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit, which happens next month, October 5 to 6 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. [Full Disclosure: Technically Philly is a panelist for GCECS2009, "Creating a Culture of Entrepreneurial Journalism" on Oct. 6]

The summit focuses on economics, entrepreneurship, workforce, technologies and sustainability, five interdependent tracks that Lee says make up the creative economy and that cities and regions need to have a strategy for.

There are dozens of workshops, panels, roundtables and presentations that include innovators and leaders from across the globe and the Philly region, like keynotes from author Elizabeth Gilbert, entrepreneur Peter Shankman, game guru Jane McGonigal and global economic developer Randall Kempner.

From flyer to Web design, packed-schedule to text message update technology, there’s little doubt that the nonprofit has invested quite a bit in this year’s summit. The organization has even launched a series of glossy, high-def videos on the conference website this week that features local entrepreneurs and policy-makers who will attend. It certainly doesn’t appear that Innovation Philadelphia is taking GCECS2009 lightly.

But critics aren’t taking their words lightly, either, including high-profile members of our business and technology communities.

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Nutter gives Allan Frank greater control of city’s IT

Philly Rocket Man Allan Frank has gone from Philadelphia’s chief information officer to chief technology officer and the staff he oversees has more than tripled to 520.

The reorganization of the city’s Division of Technology comes with Mayor Michael Nutter’s ninth executive order of the year, as reported by Marcia Gelbert on the Inquirer’s Heard in the Hall city government blog.

Sure doesn’t seem like the city wanted anyone to know about it though.

No press release or media advisory was dispatched or placed on the mayor office’s sleek Web site for which your tax dollars paid. Frank wasn’t immediately available for comment.

The details are below.

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