Smart Cities Challenge

Join us for this complimentary event and hear from Jessie Adcock, Chief Technology Officer for the City of Vancouver, and Sean Simpson, the Director of Information Technology for the City of Surrey, about their joint bid in the national Smart Cities Challenge competition.

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The Smart Cities Challenge is a national competition open to all municipalities, local or regional governments, and Indigenous communities across Canada. The Smart Cities Challenge is intended to inspire communities across the country to define their future with the help of both their residents, local governments and businesses using a Smart Cities Approach.

The City of Surrey and the City of Vancouver are excited to join forces to submit a joint Smart Cities Challenge proposal for the opportunity to be awarded up to $50 million in prize money, should they ultimately have the winning proposal!

What is a Smart Cities Approach?

A smart cities approach aims to achieve meaningful outcomes for residents by leveraging the fundamental benefits that data and connected technology have to offer, including:

• Openness - When communities make their data truly accessible, usable, and barrier-free, their decision-making processes become transparent, empowering citizens and strengthening the relationship between residents and public organizations
• Integration - Data and connected technology empower communities to break down silos that exist within local governments and public organizations
• Transferability - When tools and technological approaches are open-source, transparent, and standardized, they can be used by communities across the country, no matter their size or capacity
• Collaboration - Connected technology enables communities to bring traditional and non-traditional partners together to collaborate

Smart Cities Challenge Objectives

Realize Outcomes For Residents

Because the Smart Cities Challenge is all about achieving community outcomes, it will be vital for communities to measure where they are starting from, when they are making progress, and when they have achieved success. Establishing a baseline and measuring results will be central to doing this.

Forge New Partnerships And Networks

Communities will need to undertake meaningful engagement with residents, local governments and businesses to forge relationships with new and non-traditional partners.

Empower Communities To Innovate

Communities should take risks and think big and identify significant, pressing and perceived "un-solvable" problems, and seek to achieve outcomes through a Smart Cities Approach.