Key Takeaways
- Alignment on the need for feasibility studies based on the desired outcomes by SCTCA member Tribe.
- Tribal capabilities and constraints share certain themes, but each Tribe has distinct governance, priorities, and competitive advantages / challenges.
- Tribal data needed for mapping likely requires special confidentiality protocols and Tribal Chair authorization.
- TECC has begun to identify initial member Tribes for feasibility studies but wanted to quantify potential value across identified partnership models to help gauge value against other Tribe priorities and economic goals.
- Multiple SCTCA member Tribes have expressed a desire to be more than passive host sites for pilot deployments or to simply be end users.
- TECC team is looking for advisory board guidance on how to quantify potential value and partnership frameworks for the Tribes.
- UCSD program that fast-tracks pilot deployments can be a model for Tribes.
- Selected vendors save time by bypassing certain approvals.
- Need to understand how risk is balanced.
- Tribal governance and community participation
- Many Tribes are governed by General Council, which involve all voting age members. Opportunities must be explained clearly to membership.
- Program awareness and funding continuity.
- CA legislators do not have visibility into the impact this funding has.
- Members recommended coordinated legislative education to communicate the value of the ecosystem and help position it for future funding.
- Broader opportunities and program frameworks
- The group discussed intertribal power authorities, shared infrastructure, geothermal resources, water resources, seismic monitoring, transmission, fiber, rail, gas pipelines, and other projects that could benefit multiple Tribes and create greater regional economic impact.
Action Items
- Develop a lightweight Tribal readiness / site feasibility questionnaire and decide on confidentiality protocol for Tribal infrastructure and site information.
- Follow up with Will Micklin (EBKI) to confirm and accurately capture legal, tax, jurisdictional, and governance points.
- Follow up with Byron Washom (UCSD) on lab-to-market pilot processes and internal safety review practices.
- TECC team share list of grant metrics at next meeting
- Review and determine path forward on legislative education on TECC and Innovation Ecosystem programming. Reach out to Advisory Board members to see if there is any interest in collaborating.
Previous Action Items
- Develop educational material on Tribal engagement, capabilities, and constraints for both advisory board and prospective companies. Utilize material from ATCE.
- Explore what educational material and outreach is needed for SCTCA Tribal governments and communities.
- Develop understanding of regulatory constraints and advantages related to a technology pilot deployment on Tribal lands.