9 July 2020

124 cities to take on the Intelligent Cities Challenge

124 cities to take on the Intelligent Cities Challenge

ICLEI took part in the assessment of cities’ applications to the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC). Together with our consortium partners, the team reviewed expressions of interest from over 150 cities wanting to take part in the programme.

The results of the assessment were announced on 3rd July, and 124 cities were shortlisted to take part in the Challenge (full list available here). The project will kick-start with a launch week scheduled for the week of 28 September. ICLEI will now continue to work closely with the consortium to manage the project, organise events and provide expertise to the participants. The programme will last 2 years, until Summer 2022.

ICLEI member cities and Procura+ Participants such as Barcelona, Antwerp, Tampere, Turku, Espoo, Hamburg were selected as mentor cities. Jyväskylä, Pori, Heidelberg, Métropole Européenne de Lille, Zagreb, Bistrita, Ljubljana, Budapest, Rome, Cork will be core participants.

As a unique smart city initiative from the European Commission, the ICC will provide its participants with technical support and knowledge-sharing opportunities to develop and implement smart action plans around 11 thematic areas. The goal is to help ambitious small to medium sized European cities unleash their potential to use advanced technologies to transform themselves,  become more sustainable and raise living standards for their communities.

The ICC will build on the success of the Digital Cities Challenge, which helped 41 EU cities develop a strategic vision and a roadmap for digital transformation. ICC cities will receive high quality and tailored guidance and expert support, access to advisory and city peer networks (European and international), and capability building tools, to drive priority policy goals and the uptake of advanced technologies.

Learn more about the ICC here.