Three African cities to benefit from IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants
COMPUTING
By BiztechAfrica - March 24, 2014, 4:21 p.m.
IBM has named Mombasa County in Kenya, Durban in South Africa and Abuja in Nigeria among its IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant recipients for 2014.
Smarter Cities Challenge is a competitive grant program that sends teams of some of IBM's most talented experts to select cities and regions worldwide to provide pro bono consulting expertise on the most critical issues faced by communities today. This year, the company will be helping at least 16 cities and regions around the world this year address issues ranging from clean water, healthy food, and revenue generation, to job development, efficient transportation, and public safety.
For these consultative engagements, IBM teams invest months studying a local issue chosen by a winning municipality. They then spend three weeks on the ground in the region gathering and analyzing all relevant data, while meeting in person with dozens of members of the government, citizen, business, and not-for-profit communities. In doing so, they gather diverse perspectives about the causes and potential solutions to the challenge at hand. At the conclusion of these studies, IBM presents comprehensive recommendations for solving the problem, followed weeks later by a more detailed, written plan for its implementation.
An IBM team will visit Mombasa County later this year to review and recommend strategies for enhancing revenue collection and management.
“We are honoured and elated to receive this award. We are confident that it will go a long way in helping us to elaborate mechanisms that will increase efficiency in revenue collection and ultimately improve service delivery to our citizens and to Mombasa as a preferred tourist destination,” said Mombasa Governor Mr. Hassan Joho.
Smarter Cities Challenge was originally conceived in 2011 as a three-year grant program, but highly positive feedback and effective results have encouraged IBM to extend the initiative. In its first three years, IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge deployed 600 experts on six-person teams who provided strategic and practical advice to 100 municipalities. These highly prized three-week engagements, each valued at USD $500,000, have helped cities address key challenges in a variety of spheres.
The following cities and regions have been announced as winners of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants for 2014:
Abuja, Nigeria
Ballarat, Australia
Baton Rouge, United States
Birmingham, United States
Brussels, Belgium
Dallas, United States
Dublin, Ireland
Durban, South Africa
Jinan, China
Mombasa County, Kenya
Niigata, Japan
Perth, Australia
Suffolk County, United States
Tainan, Taiwan
Vilnius, Lithuania
Zapopan, Mexico
Many previous grant recipients have implemented IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge recommendations and tangibly improved the lives of their citizens. For example:
· Da Nang, Vietnam and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor are improving the coordination of municipal agencies as they manage complex projects.
· Date, Japan now provides more and better information to consumers about the safety of its agriculture -- key for a city perceived as near the site of a nuclear power plant disaster.
· Eindhoven, Netherlands has reduced crime with strategies that include citizens' use of social media. Meanwhile, St. Louis in the United States provides better information about criminals to judges prior to sentencing.
· Edmonton, Canada has improved road safety by analyzing accident data and improving education programs. Meanwhile, Boston in the United States is using data to manage traffic more efficiently and reduce pollution.
· Jacksonville, United States has hired an economic development officer and passed legislation that streamlines city council processes for economic development.
· Ottawa, Canada is developing the neighborhoods near its light rail system by giving incentives to developers and streamlining the permit process. Meanwhile, Providence in the United States has streamlined and shortened the process for reviewing and approving construction plans and permits by putting more processes online and by creating a nimble agency. This will improve economic development and inspire the streamlining of other city services.
· Syracuse, United States created one of New York State’s first land banks, enabling the city to reclaim and work with the private sector to transform vacant properties. This is revitalizing its neighborhoods and restoring its tax base.
· Townsville, Australia is reducing its water and energy costs. Its efforts have earned it that country's prestigious National Smart Infrastructure Award. Meanwhile, Tshwane in South Africa conducted a successful crowd sourcing project to pinpoint and reduce water leaks.
Smarter Cities Challenge is an elite program, having picked only 116 cities out 500 applicants over the last three years. Strong applications propose projects designed to address high priority problems of critical importance to citizens. The city or region must be able to share detailed information to help the IBM team analyze the issue. Leaders must also guarantee face-to-face access to city, regional, civic and business stakeholders for interviews with IBM team members so that they may comprehensively assess a given problem and recommend solutions.
IBM dispatches IBMers on these engagements who hail from all over the world, and who offer diverse perspectives and skills in the areas of marketing, communications, technology, research and development, government, human resources, finance, business, legal matters and specific disciplines such as transportation, energy and health.
Jennifer Crozier, IBM’s vice president of Global Citizenship Initiatives, and whose team directs the Smarter Cities Challenge, said, "Congratulations to the cities and counties that secured an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant for 2014. You can look forward to tapping a treasure trove of skills and knowledge from some of IBM's best and brightest. We hope to be a useful resource here and be a catalyst for progress."
COMPUTING
By BiztechAfrica - March 24, 2014, 4:21 p.m.
IBM has named Mombasa County in Kenya, Durban in South Africa and Abuja in Nigeria among its IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant recipients for 2014.
Smarter Cities Challenge is a competitive grant program that sends teams of some of IBM's most talented experts to select cities and regions worldwide to provide pro bono consulting expertise on the most critical issues faced by communities today. This year, the company will be helping at least 16 cities and regions around the world this year address issues ranging from clean water, healthy food, and revenue generation, to job development, efficient transportation, and public safety.
For these consultative engagements, IBM teams invest months studying a local issue chosen by a winning municipality. They then spend three weeks on the ground in the region gathering and analyzing all relevant data, while meeting in person with dozens of members of the government, citizen, business, and not-for-profit communities. In doing so, they gather diverse perspectives about the causes and potential solutions to the challenge at hand. At the conclusion of these studies, IBM presents comprehensive recommendations for solving the problem, followed weeks later by a more detailed, written plan for its implementation.
An IBM team will visit Mombasa County later this year to review and recommend strategies for enhancing revenue collection and management.
“We are honoured and elated to receive this award. We are confident that it will go a long way in helping us to elaborate mechanisms that will increase efficiency in revenue collection and ultimately improve service delivery to our citizens and to Mombasa as a preferred tourist destination,” said Mombasa Governor Mr. Hassan Joho.
Smarter Cities Challenge was originally conceived in 2011 as a three-year grant program, but highly positive feedback and effective results have encouraged IBM to extend the initiative. In its first three years, IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge deployed 600 experts on six-person teams who provided strategic and practical advice to 100 municipalities. These highly prized three-week engagements, each valued at USD $500,000, have helped cities address key challenges in a variety of spheres.
The following cities and regions have been announced as winners of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants for 2014:
Abuja, Nigeria
Ballarat, Australia
Baton Rouge, United States
Birmingham, United States
Brussels, Belgium
Dallas, United States
Dublin, Ireland
Durban, South Africa
Jinan, China
Mombasa County, Kenya
Niigata, Japan
Perth, Australia
Suffolk County, United States
Tainan, Taiwan
Vilnius, Lithuania
Zapopan, Mexico
Many previous grant recipients have implemented IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge recommendations and tangibly improved the lives of their citizens. For example:
· Da Nang, Vietnam and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor are improving the coordination of municipal agencies as they manage complex projects.
· Date, Japan now provides more and better information to consumers about the safety of its agriculture -- key for a city perceived as near the site of a nuclear power plant disaster.
· Eindhoven, Netherlands has reduced crime with strategies that include citizens' use of social media. Meanwhile, St. Louis in the United States provides better information about criminals to judges prior to sentencing.
· Edmonton, Canada has improved road safety by analyzing accident data and improving education programs. Meanwhile, Boston in the United States is using data to manage traffic more efficiently and reduce pollution.
· Jacksonville, United States has hired an economic development officer and passed legislation that streamlines city council processes for economic development.
· Ottawa, Canada is developing the neighborhoods near its light rail system by giving incentives to developers and streamlining the permit process. Meanwhile, Providence in the United States has streamlined and shortened the process for reviewing and approving construction plans and permits by putting more processes online and by creating a nimble agency. This will improve economic development and inspire the streamlining of other city services.
· Syracuse, United States created one of New York State’s first land banks, enabling the city to reclaim and work with the private sector to transform vacant properties. This is revitalizing its neighborhoods and restoring its tax base.
· Townsville, Australia is reducing its water and energy costs. Its efforts have earned it that country's prestigious National Smart Infrastructure Award. Meanwhile, Tshwane in South Africa conducted a successful crowd sourcing project to pinpoint and reduce water leaks.
Smarter Cities Challenge is an elite program, having picked only 116 cities out 500 applicants over the last three years. Strong applications propose projects designed to address high priority problems of critical importance to citizens. The city or region must be able to share detailed information to help the IBM team analyze the issue. Leaders must also guarantee face-to-face access to city, regional, civic and business stakeholders for interviews with IBM team members so that they may comprehensively assess a given problem and recommend solutions.
IBM dispatches IBMers on these engagements who hail from all over the world, and who offer diverse perspectives and skills in the areas of marketing, communications, technology, research and development, government, human resources, finance, business, legal matters and specific disciplines such as transportation, energy and health.
Jennifer Crozier, IBM’s vice president of Global Citizenship Initiatives, and whose team directs the Smarter Cities Challenge, said, "Congratulations to the cities and counties that secured an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant for 2014. You can look forward to tapping a treasure trove of skills and knowledge from some of IBM's best and brightest. We hope to be a useful resource here and be a catalyst for progress."
