Inclusion, Demographics, Regionality & Connection

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Owen Ambur

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Mar 9, 2020, 9:33:14 PM3/9/20

to Ladd, Taylor, Lopko Jayme, Farrar, Shea

Taylor, per our brief interchange as the Inclusive WG meeting this afternoon, I look forward to learning:

a) whether the part-time, seasonal, and repeat visitor (tourist) populations are addressed in the demographics section of the comp plan, and

b) how their interests might be addressed in the strategies, e.g., INC3.1: Events, Organizations & Spaces.

My wife and I were both repeat tourists (time-share owners) and then part-time residents for many more years than we have now been full-time residents. Presumably, the county should have such demographic data.

In addition to the Connected WG meeting tomorrow afternoon, I was also hoping to attend the Regional WG meeting in the morning. However, I have scheduling conflict. So here are some comments on their section of the plan, for whatever they may be worth:

R1.1: Collaboration - Collaborate with nearby jurisdictions on regional efforts to increase communication and participation between Hilton Head Island and regional municipal, county, and state governments.

That strategy is closely related to C1.1: Tools, Applications & Services - Apply tools, applications and services to facilitate sharing information supporting community connections and collaborative efforts. So it would be good to include "see also" cross-references in each of those strategies.

Since all local jurisdictions are required by the State to have comprehensive plans, collaboration and partnerships could be greatly facilitated by:

a) rendering those plans in an open, standard, machine-readable format, like StratML, and

b) working with entrepreneurs and tech start-ups to offer tools, applications, and services enabling input, feedback, collaboration, and performance reporting.

With respect to the latter point, note the relationship to EC2.3: Start-Ups - Foster and encourage new business start-ups. It would be good to cross-reference that relationship in those two strategy statements.

It would be wonderful if HHI could become the first and foremost among an emerging worldwide network of Truly Connected communities and the State of South Carolina could serve in the vanguard by fostering a virtual State-wide performance planning, reporting, and management system. All local communities would need to do is publish their plans in StratML format, and to the degree they may need help, students or other volunteers could do it for them.

R1.1.2: Workshops & Retreats - Encourage attendance at annual workshops and/or retreats of other government agencies.

Beyond physical attendance, remote participation should be supported, at least for listening and perhaps viewing, if not also moderated questions and feedback, e.g., by online opinion polling in real-time. Toward that end, it would be good to include a see also reference to C1.1: Tools, Applications & Services. While that may seem futuristic, the plan is supposed to be looking out till 2040, and in one form or another, the necessary technical capabilities are already available. So the only issue is whether we truly plan to pursue excellence in planning and engagement processes, and if so, whether the Town Council will prioritize allocation of the necessary resources. Most, if not all of them have mentioned the importance of technology but the proof of the commitment will be in the plan. It will be interesting to see, for example, if the Capital Improvements Plan says anything about information technology (IT).

R1.3: Economic Development - Build and strengthen existing relationships with regional and private sector economic development partners.

This strategy is also supported by C1.1: Tools, Applications & Services as well as C3.4: Organizations & Groups - Continue to identify the many different organizations and groups that are involved in community building efforts inside and outside the Island’s gated communities.

To the degree that prospective partners can be engaged in publishing their own plans in an open format like StratML, online tools, apps, and services can be applied to "build and strengthen" such relationships. For example, an online directory(ies) can automatically be created from such data and partners can automatically track each other's performance... and taxpayers can as well.

R4.2: Environmental Education - Partner regionally on environmental education by initiating and maintaining partnerships with other municipalities, county, state, and federal agencies for environmental education purposes.

Educational partnerships are among myriad types that can be supported by C1.1: Tools, Applications & Services. So it might be appropriate to include reciprocal see also references in those strategy statements.

R5.2: Businesses - Attract businesses that can appropriately diversify the region’s tourism industry, such as technology and sustainability.

Placement of this strategy under the Tourism goal is a bit awkward. While it is appropriate to diversify the tourism industry, e.g., via cultural/heritage and eco-tourism, that is distinct from diversifying the broader economic base, such as via technology and sustainability-related businesses and start-ups. It might be appropriate to move that strategy to the Economic Development section but, at least, it would be good to cross-reference:

EC2.2: Marketing - Collaborate and coordinate with existing organizations to market and expand upon Hilton Head Island’s diverse economic opportunities.

EC2.3: Start-Ups - Foster and encourage new business start-ups.

When time permits, I will document those relationships (and more) in my StratML rendition of the comp plan. In the meantime, I will also highlight some of those that are relevant during the Connected WG meeting tomorrow afternoon.