Last week, CPBB enjoyed
the opportunity of a lifetime, “hanging out” (in the Google+ sense) with Peter
Diamandis, author of "Abundance:
The Future is Better Than You Think," CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation,
and co-founder of Singularity University. Peter orchestrated the session in
order to talk more about his book and it’s implications.
On it’s surface, Abundance is a documentary of sorts,
uncovering radical forces at play in the world from technophilanthropy to the
“DIY Innovator” and social entrepreneurs working to solve global challenges. On
a deeper level, Abundance is about seeing the world differently – it’s a
mindset, and a tool for opening up possibilities.
The Lesson of
Aluminum
Peter’s signature story is about aluminum – yep, tin foil!
At one point in our world history, aluminum was more precious than gold or
silver. Pliny the Elder had a man decapitated simply for possessing it.
Napolean III would only bring out the aluminum serving utensils for his most
worthy guests (saving gold and silver for those who didn’t rate as highly). And
it wasn’t until the discovery of electrolysis (the process of liberating
aluminum from it’s natural state, so that we can use it as metal), that this
resource that makes up 8.3 percent of the earth’s crust would turn into the
cheap, useful but unremarkable, throw-away product it is today.
Scarcity, says Diamandis, is just as much a way of seeing
the world, as is abundance. Until electrolysis, aluminum was a scarce resource,
only because we couldn’t get to it. In terms of our current global challenges
of energy scarcity, the sun bathes the earth in 5,000 times the solar energy
than we use in a year. Is water scarce? Maybe not, when we see the blue planet
for what it is – 70 percent water, with 97.3 percent of that water made
“scarce” by salt. Scarcity is a reality, only until a new break-through, or
technology comes along to turn scarcity into abundance.
The question then becomes this: if what we view as scarce
today, could actually be in abundance if we had the right tools to liberate the
resources we so desperately seek, how much better off could we make our
communities?
From Scarcity to
Abundance: The Future is Better than We Think
Over the course of series of blog posts, we at the Center for Priority Based Budgeting are
going to explore Abundance and it’s lessons. And we are going to bring to light
the power of Priority Based Budgeting as a tool for liberating the resources we
so desperately seek to achieve results and improve our communities. PBB is
nothing short of a technology to unearth resources seemingly as inaccessible
as aluminum appears in it’s claylike bauxite state in nature, seemingly as
inaccessible as drinking water is from the oceans of a planet drenched in
salt-water, seemingly as inaccessible as energy resources in a world of solar
abundance.
In the first blog post, we’re going to explore Diamandis’
concept of resource re-allocation, the power of shared services, and the idea
that local government can be a partner in the pursuit of results in their
communities but need not be the sole service provider. We’ll explore the
stunning story of the City
of Fort Collins, Colorado’s role as one partner among many in successful
business incubator, tackling the challenges of economic development. And we’ll
bring to light the stories of companies like SAFEbuilt
who are opening up immense possibilities for local governments to drive down
the costs for services while achieving better results with their services, and
still looking after the well-being of their employees.
In the second blog post, we’ll explore Diamandis’
realization of the power of incentives, incentive competitions as a force, and
the idea that if incentives are placed in such a way, local governments can
unleash creativity and innovation while simultaneously driving significant
efficiency throughout their organizations in the use of resources. We’ll
explore the story of internal service funds in Jefferson County, Colorado and
how the structuring of a controlled “free market” environment unearthed
immediate and lasting efficiency opportunities as departments were given the
incentive to look for alternative ways to meet their needs.
In the third blog post, we’ll conclude with Diamandis’ idea
of the DIY Innovator and Social
Entrepreneurs and how objectives that were once
the sole domain and purview of huge corporations and federal and state level
governments are now attainable by groups with far less resources – including
local businesses and small local governments. We’ll look at initiatives like Code for America and Open Town Hall and how start-ups and
innovators are tackling huge problems of data and civic engagement, and what
the future of government may look like!
To paraphrase Peter Diamandis, “when seen through the lens
of [Priority Based Budgeting] technology, few resources are truly scarce;
they’re mainly inaccessible.” We’re excited to bring you these stories.
Furthermore, come to D.C. July 9th and 10th
for the Summit of Leading Practices and hear these stories first-hand from the
leaders of these local governments themselves. As Diamandis believes, and we do
too, the Future is indeed better than we think!
To learn more about Local Government Innovation and Priority Based Budgeting from CPBB and the nation's leading local government practitioners, be sure to attend the upcoming...
Center for Priority Based Budgeting 2013 Annual Conference
"A Summit of Leading Practices"
July 9 & 10, 2013 Arlington, Virginia Hilton Crystal City Hotel
REGISTER NOW!
Brought to you by the Center for Priority Based Budgeting (CPBB) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), in partnership with the Alliance for Innovation (AFI).
The 2013 "Summit of Leading Practices" is the ONLY conference where ICMA's Leading Practices for Local Government Management come together under one roof.
The 2013 CPBB "Summit of Leading Practices" Annual Conference is strongly supported by
Quartile 1 sponsor SAFEbuilt, Quartile 2 sponsor ClearPoint, Supporting Sponsor Beehive Industries and Exhibitors OpenGov and Revelstone Labs. Thank you sponsors!
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