Smart City Strategy

9 ways your city can become smarter and more sustainable – faster!

Using the experience, insights and technical detail established in IRIS cities and beyond is key. But, however you seek to replicate smart, innovative solution; ensuring they make financial sense will turbo charge investment and take up.

IRIS partner IMCG International drew on their extensive experience and interviews with local authorities to identify how cities can better manage innovation and create impact.

Here, they boil it down to key takeaways and proven actions to create your roadmap when adopting smart and sustainable solutions:

1

Establish impact goals clearly related to the field in which the city aims to make a transition – for instance mobility. These goals should be embedded in a well-packaged story-line of WHY the decision makers aim for this, HOW the targets will be reached and WHAT the future city will consist of. The impact goal should also clearly describe the future business ecosystem in the city region.

2

Agree a decision-making process so that it is clear how the city will select among innovations to replicate and in what field and to manage the innovation initiatives. Identify what city function that will be the innovation or Impact manager and have the mandate to make decisions. To implement all this, an innovative culture should be nurtured – the base for all this is the Innovation Strategy.

3

Establish a timeline for the roadmap and preferably also a district-by-district sequence to orient the local businesses about upcoming new quality criteria.

4

Gather information on investment costs – and discuss them with the city that already has implemented the solution you are interested in

5

Investigate suitable funding – make a financial roadmap that clearly shows how you intend to finance the implementation of the solution.

6

Understand the business model – for instance, check available business model fact sheets, discuss with solution providers and the cities that already have the solution, and secure knowledge transfer. There are many relevant business model tools available. Aim to consult those that look at the value chain needed to make implementation possible.

7

Plan to identify and overcome national regulatory and legal framework barriers – sometimes what is written can be re-interpreted

8

Involve citizens – learn from cities already implementing the solution and listen to their citizens description of the problem – which is key for being able to deliver better, smarter, more sustainable and attractive services to the citizens

9

Monitor and evaluate – identify how the city would like to measure its’ innovation management process.

Get in touch

Any questions
info@irissmartcities.eu

Roel Massink

Project Coordinator IIRIS Smart Cities

Gemeente Utrecht
Ontwikkelorganisatie Ruimte
PO Box 16200, 3500 CE Utrecht
Stadsplateau 1, Utrecht, The Netherland

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