[Sdi-northamerica] IBM Smarter Cities Challenge

[Kate Lance]

http://www.smartercitieschallenge.org/
IBM annnounces new grant program to create smarter cities
IBM has inaugurated the Smarter Cities Challenge, a competitive grant program 
through which IBM will award a total of $50 million worth of technology and 
services to a hundred municipalities across the globe. 

Over the next three years, IBM will send top experts to those cities that have 
made the strongest case for participating in the Smarter Cities Challenge. IBM 
consultants will immerse themselves in local issues involving the administration 
of healthcare, education, safety, social services, transportation, 
communications, sustainability, budget management, energy, and utilities.
IBM consultants and technology specialists will help participating 
municipalities analyze and prioritize their needs, review their strengths and 
weaknesses, and learn from the successful strategies used by other cities. After 
studying the role that intelligent technology might play in uniting and 
advancing different aspects of city life, IBM will recommend concrete strategies 
designed to help make regions healthier, safer, smarter, more prosperous, and 
attractive to current and prospective residents and businesses.
Cities will also have access to a wide array of IBM resources throughout the 
grant engagement, potentially including: technological expertise, assistance 
with strategic planning, workshops on social networking tools, and City Forward, 
a powerful new tool which allows cities to analyze, compare and visualize data 
across systems. City Forward applies IBM's expertise in data analysis and 
visualization to public data sets, enabling citizens and policymakers to reveal 
new insights and relationships in city systems. As part of the grants, cities 
may also receive assistance in preparing and analyzing data sets with City 
Forward. 

Municipalities will be selected based on a number of criteria, including the 
ability to clearly articulate between two and four strategic issues that can 
potentially and reasonably be acted upon. Also considered will be the city's 
track record of innovative problem solving, commitment to the use of technology 
and open data, and demonstrated willingness to provide access to and time with 
city leaders. 

The most successful proposals will offer clear, compelling evidence that a 
particular city is poised to best utilize the resources offered through the 
competition, that the grant has the potential to substantially enhance a city's 
capacity to act on key issues, and that the city is ready to match IBM's 
investment with its own commitment of time and talent. 

Municipalities of all sizes are eligible, although IBM believes cities with 
populations between 100,000 and 700,000 will gain the most from the experience. 

The approximate value of each Smarter Cities Challenge grant will be equivalent 
to $400,000. Each city's team will comprise top IBM talent who bring their 
unique expertise to the program. The engagement will be conducted in a 
collaborative, constructive, and transparent manner, with IBM team members 
working alongside leaders from the public, private, and volunteer sectors. 

Following the November 2010 program launch, applications will be accepted 
annually, with the first cycle closing December 31, 2010.



      
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