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Karl Roche in
How often have you been told to ’stop doing that’ because x,y and z is bad for you? Plenty, if you’re anything like me.
We get these sorts of messages everyday with the earliest examples usually from our parents and schools. It’s a common theme throughout life that usually continues after school into work. Quite honestly, people stop listening, especially when the reason for not doing something isn’t adequately conveyed.
If we take the environment, which probably contains the largest number of groups telling people to stop doing this, that or the other, people begin to push back. People don’t like being told what not to do. Even reasonable people think that being told not to drive but use public transport when it will take them longer and will cost them more is just crazy – they want the alternative to be better.
So lets flip it. Lets ’start’ something. Today in London, IBM announced that it will be the exclusive partner for a nine day summit in September 2010 called surprisingly, START. It aims to explore what business can do for sustainability and what sustainability can do for business. In many ways it is just a start. Even though it is an event, START is also a national (UK) initiative of the The Prince’s Charities Foundation will continue way past September and a street in London coming to communities across the UK.
Over nine days, IBM summit at START will bring together a brains trust of thought leaders to come up with ideas that organisations can sign up to because it makes sense for them and their business – not just the environment. All the ideas, findings and debates will be published online. Each day will focus on a different topic, such as new skills, the future of cities, energy and transport. You can see that in all cases that no single organisation or government is responsible for everything within these topics, it requires a number of bodies to come together and work together. So the summit will try to build a community of collaboration, discuss ways we can all work together to make stuff really happen, to make the alternative better than what we have now.
At the launch in London today, Steven Leonard, Chief Exec for IBM UK said, “the challenge [is] bringing all the necessary constituents together to develop and deliver more complex solutions to make the world – literally work smarter.”
Collaboration between organisations, public and private, is essential to make this initiative work. I for one am excited about the opportunities that this could bring up, such as the need to develop new skills myself and the push it will give to widen the use of social tools within business. Is it going to be easy? No. Will it all happen in 9 days? I very much doubt it, but there needs to be a point where we say, things have to change and we mark the beginning with this event.
But before the event we have a few weeks, time in which partners and invited companies will be starting to collaborate using our collaboration tools. So that the final agenda for each day will be built on the basis of the combined expertise. Essential to begin as you intend to go on.
Caroline Taylor, VP leading Project Start in IBM raised an essential point at today’s launch about the next generation: “If sustainability is about securing the future, young people are that future, and they will be vital in ensuring we define genuinely 21st century and forward thinking solutions.” Day 4 and 5 are devoted to new skills and starting young.
It’s not all work, work, work…there will also be a 12 day public festival that apart from being great fun will also give clear, simple and positive ideas on how people can start doing things that will help them lead a sustainable future. There will be plenty of big names in attendance, including two of my favourite comedians, secret gigs, mystery artists and a host of other good stuff.
Where’s this all happening? IBM summit at START will be hosted in Lancaster House, The Mall, London, September 8th – 16th. with the START garden party happening right next door in Green Park. Hopefully we will also be able to broadcast large parts of the business event over Livestream, no doubt we will have more updates here.
Prince of Wales (centre) at the launch of the "IBM Summit at Start" which will be held over 9 day in September 2010
The Start founding partners include: IBM, B&Q, Virgin Money, M&S, Asda, EDF Energy, Addison Lee, BT Group plc and Waitrose. Full list of supporting organisations on the web site.
Read more about IBM Summit at Start.
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by Cary Barbour, IBM
IBMers are a proud lot for many reasons. One of the things that makes me proud to be part of this organization is the impact that we have in our communities, and our company’s overall social responsibility. In fact, citizens in general – and IBM employees in particular – are becoming more and more interested in their communities and societal engagement. A company that’s dedicated to making a difference and being a responsible corporate citizen is a company that more people are interested in working for and staying at.
But IBMers are not the only ones who value these traits – others are impressed by them too, and that’s helping to boost our brand equity. As many of you have seen, IBM was recently selected as #2 in BrandZ’s ranking of the Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands for 2010. Sure, some of the criteria used to rank companies are not surprising: building trust, making a brand personal, using heritage to create authenticity. Those make sense and they’re hugely important. But the things that resonate most with me might not be quite as intuitive when it comes to brand equity – citizenship and corporate social responsibility.
In a tight economy like the one we’ve been in for the past couple of years, corporate giving and philanthropy tend to be some of the first casualties. As companies around the globe have struggled through one of the toughest recessions on record, a lot of them have dialed down or entirely stopped community donations and volunteering programs. But not IBM.
Corporate social responsibility and community engagement are part of IBM’s nearly 100-year history. Our focus has always been on innovation that matters for our communities, helping IBMers feel fulfilled and developing the next bench of leaders. It’s our business culture and our community culture.
See IBM’s VP of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, Stan Litow, speak about this value to communities, employees and brand equity here.
The Corporate Service Corps is a perfect example of how IBM employees are engaging in communities, feeling more fulfilled in their jobs and enhancing their leadership development. This program is taking what’s at the heart of our Smarter Planet strategy and enabling groups of highly talented employees from a range of countries to volunteer their time and travel to emerging markets to help improve economic development, government services, and stimulate job growth.
There are three main advantages to programs like this. They benefit the cities in these emerging markets by helping them to leverage intelligence and improve critical systems such as transportation, water, food safety, education and healthcare. They benefit the groups of IBM volunteers by building their teaming abilities, providing a cultural learning experience, and offering a chance to broaden their skills and test them out in emerging markets.
And for IBM, which has created this program to enable this expert volunteerism, it provides an enormous benefit by building bridges between high-talent employees and important urban centers around the world and developing the type of leadership to help the company lead globally in the 21st Century.
With programs like this, we’re not just tossing our spare change back to the community, with the only goal being generosity. But rather we are taking what is most valuable to the IBM company – our innovation technology and the skill and talent of our people – and contributing it into the communities we live and work in. IBM’s overall approach to philanthropy goes beyond simple check writing and harnesses our company’s industry leading technology, the talents and passions of IBM employees, and our Smarter Planet vision. That’s one of the reasons we keep talented employees around, and it’s one of the reasons I’m proud to be an IBMer. It’s also helping to build our brand equity around the world, as more and more people see the value we’re creating in our communities.
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Yesterday I mentioned the opening of the new lab in Manchester.
Today I arrived in Manchester and spoke to some of the development team about the work they do and the changes they have seen coming into IBM.
Don’t forget, you can watch the brief opening remarks from Manchester tomorrow on Livestream at 11:30am BST.
Inside the lab with Technical Architects, Miles Howson and Geraint North.
Ross Keeping talks about his new role as Program Manager and working in a global organisation
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Ever wonder why your cat gets a note from the vet when it’s time for his immunization but you don’t get a one from your doctor? With all the focus on healthcare, it seems like improving on the basics is the best place to start. How about your family doctor?
This month, the New England Journal of Medicine and Health Affairs feature stories on the important role of the family doctor and how the face of primary care is changing in a way that just might keep us all healthier.
My colleague, Holli Haswell, spoke with Dr. Paul Grundy, IBM Director of Healthcare Transformation, about why primary care is important, and about the growing movement among doctors, patients, insurers and employers to embrace the idea of the Medical Home – the idea of having a real relationship with a primary care physician that acts as a coordinator for all your care. Here’s a transcript of their conversation:
Q: Why is primary care such a big area of focus for improving healthcare worldwide?
A: There is something really powerful about the healing relationship between a patient and a doctor that is foundational to keeping people well. When there is a real relationship and trust between the doctor and patient, it amplifies how important health and wellness are in life. People who have this type of relationship with their docs are sick less frequently, have fewer chronic illnesses, and this pays huge dividends for society in the end.
Q: How will primary care grow even more important in the future?
A: As our society ages and demography changes, not everyone will need new hips and knees. The healthcare system does much better at partial care delivered by specialists, but primary care is key to helping patients navigate a complex system and reduce costly diseases like diabetes and asthma. The Medical Home model of care, where the patient is supported by a primary care physician who advocates on the patient’s behalf, has proven results and has reduced the cost of care while improving quality everywhere it is practiced.
Q: What’s the payoff for Medical Home?
A: In most practices we see at the minimum a 5-20% reduction in medical costs all while providing patients with a much higher level of care and a more satisfying relationship for the patient.
In communities across the nation, employers, health insurance companies and primary care doctors are coming together to improve how primary care is delivered. A Washington state pilot saw a 20 percent drop in emergency room visits. A North Carolina project experienced a 40 percent drop in hospitalizations for asthma and a 16 percent drop in emergency room visits. A Pennsylvania health care system reported $3.7 million in net savings in its pilot. The federal government has also emphasized primary care as the centerpiece of its plans for the Veterans Administration and Department of Defense health care programs.
Q: How does technology help keep people healthier?
A: The simple ability to contact a caregiver 24/7 via e-mail, telephone or access to information via a patient portal can reduce the number of doctor visits and keep people out of the emergency room. Tools like remote monitoring and wellness devices allow doctors to keep a close eye on patients while keeping them in the comfort of their home.
Technology can also lighten the administrative burden on doctors — I believe most practices spend 30 percent of their time, energy and resources on administrative tasks. There are so many ways the right technology can help improve processes and efficiency — from making it easier to share electronic medical records to e-prescribing to improve prescription drug safety and accuracy. These tools have an important role in the medical practice of the future.
Q: What is IBM’s role in this transformation?
A: IBM is one of the nation’s largest purchasers of health insurance so we have a vested interest in finding ways to improve care and keep our employees healthier. When one of our employees has a primary care provider as their usual source of care. it costs IBM 1/3 less money, the mortality rate drops by 19 %, and the employee is 12 % less likely to be obese and 7% less likely to smoke.
IBM also develops a broad range of technology for healthcare and life sciences – from drug discovery, to health supply chains, to genetic research, to modeling the brain. We have a worldwide staff of more than 4,000 employees dedicated to healthcare, including more than 60 medical doctors and 350 other healthcare professionals. Creating a smarter, more connected healthcare system that puts the patient at the center of care is an important goal for all of us.
by Dr. Jack McGourty, Columbia University
Around the world, businesses, communities and governments are undertaking smarter cities transformation projects to make aging infrastructures such as buildings, electricity grids, water and transportation systems more sustainable. Here in the U.S., the Obama administration plans to help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next decade to help build a clean energy future.
The technology is available. The dollars are beginning to flow. But what about the availability of new skills to support these transformations? 
It’s only fitting that during this Earth Week the Columbia University School of Engineering and IBM are embarking on a new, collaborative initiative to help prepare the next generation of Columbia’s students for the emerging green economy.
This new Smarter Cities Skills Initiative is designed to help students find new ways to make infrastructures more sustainable. It builds upon our university’s existing academic programs and research efforts on sustainability issues, which spans diverse disciplines including business, law and engineering to name a few. Today, we offer more than 23 courses related to green and sustainability.
Through these research initiatives, academic programs, and our own environmental stewardship efforts, Columbia is committed to advancing the sustainability of local, national and global communities. Cutting-edge research by our scientists and engineers is helping develop a smarter electrical grid, improve energy efficiency, and make the New York City community more resilient to increasing energy demands.
In New York City, the population is expected to grow to an astounding 9.1 million in 20 years. Managing that population includes new challenges that go far beyond traffic congestion.
Columbia students and faculty, and IBM are working closely with city government to help achieve PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making the city more sustainable by 2030.
It’s a challenge that we’re working to solve, and this initiative with IBM couldn’t have come at a better time.
With the new initiative, Columbia faculty and students will begin to receive no-charge access to IBM software here at the university or via the cloud for developing applications for sustainability and green projects. IBM’s leaders in energy and the environment will provide technical support for our related courses that show students how to build energy efficient IT infrastructures for smart buildings, smart grids and smart water systems. And our faculty and students also will have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with IBM Research experts on projects related to the future of smarter cities and sustainability.
Building smarter cities, or a smarter planet, can’t be achieved by any one group. It takes collaboration among many. Government, private and public sectors, and academia must not only cooperate, they must actively take new steps and engage with each other to create this new world for our own and future generations.
We’re very much looking forward to growing our relationship with IBM — for our university, of course, but more so, for a smarter city, country and planet.
Dr. Jack McGourty is Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University
By Peter Ward, IBM SMS for Life Project Manager, Tanzania
1. What was the aim of the project?
Stock-outs of malaria treatments at the health facility level in many sub-Saharan African countries have been a persistent problem for many years. A stock-out is the unavailability of medicine at the health facility. In Tanzania, 93 percent of the population are at risk for malaria infection. The number of malaria cases is estimated to be 11 million resulting into 60-80 thousand deaths per year or 220 deaths per day in Tanzania alone.
The goal of the SMS for Life pilot project was to develop a flexible and scalable solution to bring up-to-date visibility of anti-malarials within the Tanzanian Public Health Sector with a potential to reduce or eliminate stock-outs of five drugs (four dosage forms of ACTs and Quinine Injectable) in all health facilities in a pilot sample of three districts.
2. What was IBM’s involvement?
The concept was developed on an Extreme Blue internship programme with Novartis. IBM provided project management to the pilot project and also made LotusLive, IBM’s cloud-collaboration services, available to the global project team to ensure every member of the team was kept up to speed and remained in touch with one another on every detail of the weekly stock data, the updated locations of health facilities, the most current versions of documents and activities critical to the success of the program.
3. Pete, what was your personal involvement and observations on the ground?
I was the project manager from the initial 3.5-week recce across the three pilot districts in Tanzania in May 2009 until the delivery of the final report to the Minister of Health in April 2010. I participated in the recce, subsequently created the project plan, participated in delivering the end user education in Dar es Salaam and the 3 pilot districts, managed the work remotely through the 21-week pilot running period, and had heavy involvement in creating the final reports.
My personal observations are that this project is a simple yet effective way of addressing a previously intractable problem. The use of end user technology which appears simplistic is appropriate for the harsh environments found in sub-Saharan Africa, while the complex server/application technology that drives the solution remains hosted in the developed world. I anticipate that the success of the project will encourage a speedy rollout in Tanzania and also in other countries across the African continent where malaria is a problem. I also expect the solution to be applied to other similar requirements.
4. What were the results of the pilot?
The pilot delivered against three primary objectives:
A. The SMS for Life system provided visibility of accurate anti-malarial stock levels of the health facilities, and this visibility has supported the districts in better stock management and the elimination of stock-outs.
The SMS for Life pilot provided, for the first time ever, reliable weekly stock information on anti-malarials at the health facility level. This information was provided via the Internet or mobile phones and accessed by district management and project team staff. At the beginning of the pilot project, all three districts had high stock-out rates of one or more of the five medicines (Lindi Rural at 57 percent, Kigoma Rural at 93 percent and Ulanga at 87 percent). During the pilot, malaria medicine availability improved significantly in all three districts, such that at the end of 21 weeks, stock-out rates were reduced to zero percent in Lindi Rural, 47 percent in Kigoma Rural and 30 percent in Ulanga.
B. The SMS for Life application is a viable, easy-to-use system leveraging common everyday technology.
The project team successfully designed and implemented a complex data repository application system, with built-in automated workflow and error message handling in addition to on-line statistical analysis, graphing and stock reporting. The system is located in an industrial data centre used by the banking industry in London, UK, with guaranteed availability, backup and all the normal fire suppression, standby generators, multiple communications and multiple electricity sources required to ensure continuous availability. While hidden from users, the ease of access by the health care workers and NMCP and district management staff is demonstrated by system usage/data access statistics showing average access per user group of more than once per day. The pilot project collected 13,500 stock-level data points from 129 health facilities across three remote districts in Tanzania over 21 weeks utilizing the SMS for Life application.
C. The SMS for Life public-private partnership model is an effective organizational structure to identify, build and implement a solution to help resolve long-standing societal problems.
The SMS for Life pilot created a unique public-private partnership model that enabled the problem to be precisely identified, a technical solution to be designed, built, and implemented in three rural districts in Tanzania in less than one year. No formal budget, legal contracts, or MOUs were developed between any of the partners. The concept of creating a partnership from multiple public and private organisations, and assembling a very lean team combining all the expertise, skills and influence necessary to tackle a complex problem, has worked very well. Each partner committed their unique resources and covered their associated project costs, eliminating the need to source and manage budgets on a project level. This model also made it easier, faster and more efficient to obtain results, by passing the often lengthy and difficult approval processes for project funding allocation and transfer.
5. What are the implications for other projects going forward?
We recommend the following actions:
- Implement the SMS for Life solution in all districts of Tanzania
- Implement SMS for Life in other African or non-African countries that have a need to bring visibility to medicine stocks at the health facility and district levels, and eliminate/reduce stock-outs
- Encourage countries to use the SMS for Life solution to track other medicines of priority in their national environments
- Apply the SMS for Life solution to disease surveillance
- International bodies and governments should utilize the public-private partnership model that has been piloted, which harnesses the diverse skills and expertise across the public and private sectors, to tackle other societal problems.
In other words, the solution must be rolled out and will save lives across Africa.
10:07
If there’s one trend that underpins nearly every topic and post we’ve addressed here on this blog in the past 18 months, it is data. The reason we instrument the world is to generate and collect data. The reason we collect data is to analyze it. The reason to analyze data is to understand better the world around us. And the reason to understand the world around us better is to make decisions that improve that world.
It is all very simple, really, in a linear sort of rationale. The challenge, of course, is the inherent complexity at each of those steps.
Which is where human expertise, computing power and analytical software play a huge role. You can’t create a congestion charging system without software and sensors. You can’t create predictive models to understand the spread of infectious diseases without massive computing power. And you can’t apply it in the context of human behavior without a fundamental understanding of psychology, culture and politics.
Why am I talking about all of this? And what’s it got to do with the video above? If you live in the United States and happen to own a television, you are likely to come across a whole new slate of IBM TV advertising in the coming days that at a very high level does two things: 1) reinforces the point that data is fundamental to creating a Smarter Planet; and 2) highlights just a few of the thousands of IBMers whose day jobs are to think about data on a smarter planet.
Following are a few of the ads you’ll begin to see soon.
Featuring Julia Grace, IBM Researcher working on social and collaborative computing:
Featuring John Cohn, IBM Fellow and “Distinguished Agitator” (and a familiar face here on this blog):
Featuring Jeff Jonas IBM Distinguished Engineer and Chief Scientist, Entity Analytic Solutions, IBM Software Group:
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Following is a guest post from Gary Cohen:
Just a little more than a year ago, IBM began a global conversation about the promise of a smarter planet. Since then, we’ve worked with governments and institutions across the world to implement innovative solutions to make companies, industries and cities literally work better.
Yet, the responsibility of building a smarter, more sustainable planet extends well beyond these interactions with a few, select decision-makers. All of us – from parents and teachers to future generations of citizens and leaders – play a part.
Earlier today, IBM and Disney unveiled a new SmarterPlanet exhibit at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot in Orlando, Florida. In exploring this exhibit, millions of Epcot visitors from every corner of the world will understand the individual role they play in creating a smarter planet. When they leave, we hope they are inspired to consider how they can contribute to making the world work better.
The exhibit brings to life the many ways technology is woven into the way we live, work and play. It demonstrates how – by embedding sensors into everyday items – intelligence is being built into things we wouldn’t recognize as computers: our cars, appliances, roadways, power grids, clothes, even natural systems like agriculture and waterways. By connecting these systems and infusing them with intelligence, we can be more efficient, more productive and more sustainable.
The exhibit is powered by a new IBM smart data center that allows visitors to get a behind-the-scenes view of the technology and infrastructure required to address issues like reducing road traffic and city crime or improving food safety and local water supplies.
IBM and Disney have enjoyed a strong partnership for nearly 50 years. I think the reason for this is simple, and it lies in our shared values. IBM’s vision of a smarter planet is driven by our commitment to delivering innovation that matters for the world. That’s not so far afield from the importance that Disney places on Innovation, Community and Optimism. Together, these values speak to a shared sense of hope about what is possible in the world. At the SmarterPlanet exhibit at INNOVENTIONS, we offer visitors a glimpse of what is possible when hopes and ideas meet technological reality.
Gary Cohen is the general manager of IBM’s Communications Sector.
Editor’s note: CNET (among others) has a very nice recap of the exhibition.
Today I am beginning the installation of a solar energy system for my house. The aspect that is different in this system is how I will pay for it. I have thought about solar energy for a long time, however I have never had the appetite to invest the huge up-front cost of the system. When my electricity bill reached a new all-time high this past July here in Los Angeles, I decided to do a little research. With one search of Google using the search terms “solar lease California”, I simply called the first two companies that showed in the search results. I thought that leasing would provide a more attractive financial proposition than purchasing.
After a couple of phone calls to these two companies, I discovered an even more enticing program. I could simply have one of these companies install the system on my house and pay them for the power it generates. I wouldn’t pay for, lease, maintain, nor own the system. They would effectively become another electricity supplier that just happened to reside on my roof. The cash outlay was $1000 to pay for the permits and installation basics. Beyond that I will only pay for the electricity it generates. The cost per unit will be half of what the traditional electric company charges, the price is locked in for eighteen years with them maintaining the equipment, and any extra energy that the system generates that I don’t use, goes back into the grid and I get a refund on my traditional bill. This is a completely turn-key program that I didn’t need to do a thing to participate, including securing the permits, etc. This program sounds pretty good!
So, today the crew began the installation. It will take a few days to get done and then I will be part of a greener community of people around the world! Be sure to talk to the solar energy provider in your area to see if they will offer a similar program.
Now, I need to to convert my cars to hydrogen and them I will truly be the Smarter Consumer!
Please let us know what you’re doing to be a smarter consumer!
Click to listen to podcast: Building a Smarter Planet – Patents
Manny Schecter, IBM Chief Patent Counsel told me that “patents are the currency of innovation.”
Approximately 150,000 U.S. patents are granted to investors each year and for the last 17 years, IBM has received more U.S. patents than any other company in the world. According to IFI Patent Intelligence, in 2009 IBM was issued 4,914 U.S. patents. So IBM is clearly a major player in the world of innovation.
Yet it’s still the case that some don’t know what IBM does. It’s clear based on numbers that IBM is an “innovative” company, sure, but what does IBM invent and why?
What I found out from speaking with Kathryn Guarini and John Gunnels, two IBMers with a number of IBM patents is that, believe it or not, inventors don’t want to spend their time reinventing the wheel to pad their portfolio, they’re looking toward innovation that matters (a company line which I understand better now that I’ve spoken with some true innovators). Guarini, director of Systems and Technology Development for IBM Systems and Technology Group says, “We want to innovate where there is real value. We don’t want to innovate everywhere, all the time.”
Mr. Gunnels is a research scientist in the area of high performance computing. He has worked on several projects and is named on multiple patents related to IBM’s Blue Gene Supercomputer which was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009. Blue Gene systems have helped map the human genome, investigate medical therapies, safeguard nuclear arsenals, simulate radioactive decay, simulate brain power, envision financial scenarios, predict weather and climate trends, and identify fossil fuels. And he told me that there have actually been cases where Blue Gene predicts the outcome of an experiment, which were only later verified with an actual experiment.
Several patents have been issued around Blue Gene in 2009, but consider another patent which IBM was issued this year:
U.S. Patent 7,612,655 – “Alarm System for Hearing Impaired Individuals Having Hearing Assistive Implanted Devices”
This patent describes a method for alerting profoundly deaf sleepers to danger, such as fire and carbon monoxide, or to circumstances such as a doorbell, phone call or wakeup alarm. The concept works best for deaf individuals who have cochlear implants. These people typically deactivate their implants when they bathe or sleep for reasons of comfort and safety. They do so by detaching a small device normally worn outside the ear, and which normally functions as a signal transmitter to an implanted component. During sleep or bathing activities, they typically can’t or won’t wear a device that vibrates, nor can they rely on flashing lights to catch their attention. The patented method enables the implanted component to begin buzzing abnormally or stay silent, depending on what occasion for which the user has programmed it to respond.
As an IBMer, it’s a source of job-related pride to see companies like mine investing in something that actually makes a difference for our company and for the world. “Innovation that matters”, not just a catchy slogan or corporate mantra. It is one of our company values. Something we, as IBMers, take pride in and use as inspiration everyday. And I think that the real thing to take away from all the reports on patents and patent leadership is this: a great number of these innovations being patented are helping to make the world safer, cleaner, more efficient and most notably, smarter; for people, societies, and for the world.
To read about more IBM innovations and their impact, see this article from IBM Research.
