IBM accepts applications for participation in the Smarter Cities Challenge program

In 2010, IBM launched the Smarter Cities Challenge project. The goal of the project is to help city administrations to solve the urgent tasks facing them. For each city, such a problem is individual, and its solution can be a difficult task. As part of the Smarter Cities Challenge initiative, IBM has already sent 700 of its specialists to city municipalities from different countries around the world, where they have provided free consultancy assistance to local governments in providing vital services to the public.

In the first four years of the program, most of the 116 municipalities that won the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants improved public safety, economic development, urban income, quality of social services, public transport, utilities, and increased citizen involvement in solving urban problems. . Each project Smarter Cities Challenge was estimated at approximately 500 thousand dollars.

After intensive training, each IBM Smarter Cities Challenge team consisting of six people spends three weeks in the designated region-owner of the grant. They analyze all the available data on the critical problem that the municipality has pointed out. Members of the IBM team personally meet with dozens of representatives from local government, business, non-profit and community organizations, as well as ordinary citizens. In the course of these meetings, they get acquainted with different points of view about the causes and possible ways of solving the problem, receiving information “first-hand”. After analyzing the information, IBM provides the municipality with comprehensive recommendations for improving the quality of service for citizens, which are accompanied by a detailed plan for the implementation of relevant projects. Such plans, among other things, contain examples of how other Smarter Cities Challenge grant holders successfully solve similar problems.
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The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant holders of previous years, following IBM recommendations, have significantly improved the quality of life of their citizens. For example:

Glasgow (UK) subsidizes senior citizens with low income heating costs. The city also secured additional funding in the amount of $ 40 million from the State Strategy Technology Council Board under the UK government.

Jacksonville (Florida, USA) opened a public resource, implemented as a dashboard that displays urban performance indicators and achievements in economic and social development, including city building permits issued, jobs created, benefits for veterans, and much more. This project has been praised by the United States Institute for Social Technology (Public Technology Institute).

Johannesburg (South Africa) has implemented a comprehensive technology solution for public safety and emergency management.
Nanjing (China) implemented a program using social media, which helped attract over 2 million people to participate in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games as volunteers.

Porto Alegre (Brazil) introduced the Digital PoA online platform, which facilitates digital interaction between citizens, city authorities, communities and local organizations.

Syracuse (New York, USA) analyze data to identify homes and neighborhoods that need “revitalization” - revitalizing, restoring and modernizing social and integration ties. Efforts under this initiative led, among other things, to a 69% increase in the collection of overdue property taxes.

Valparaiso (Chile) received from the government $ 100 million for projects in the field of urban transport.



According to Jennifer Kreuzer, IBM's vice president for global corporate social responsibility initiatives, it was decided to extend the project for one simple reason: “it works effectively. City leaders from around the world told us how IBM recommendations helped them solve difficult problems. In their opinion, the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a rare program that brings people together and produces amazing long-term results. We are very proud of this, and we invite the mayors of cities and regional leaders to also take this opportunity to solve their most complex and pressing problems. Let's see what we can do together. ”

Since the launch of the program, 116 cities from all over the world have participated in the project (500 settlements have submitted applications for participation in the project).

Applications for participation in the program can be filed with IBM from January 13, 2015 to February 6, 2015. Apply for this link .