Intelligent Cities Challenge show the way on responsible recovery

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is a European Commission initiative that supports 136 cities in using cutting-edge technologies to lead the intelligent, green and socially responsible recovery. The ICC cities and their local ecosystems will be engines for the recovery of their local economy, create new jobs, and strengthen citizen participation and wellbeing.

Cities receive one-to-one strategic advice from international experts on fine thematic strands. Green economy and local green deals, improving the citizen participation and the digitalisation of public administration, green and digital transition in tourism, resilience of local supply chains, up- and reskilling of the workforce. They will get support by transversal services on access to data and access to finance. Intelligence through a marketplace full of innovative solutions.

The ICC is part of a wider EU support system . It recognises the importance of delivering on the promises made by the European Green Deal, the digital strategy, and other EU policies. It looks to move towards a more digital, service-oriented and low-carbon economy, supported by a knowledge-based society, that enables circular economy systems through ‘local value loops’, evidence-based reskilling, and sustainable investments.

Intelligent Cities Challenge

The Challenge supports the participant cities to transition to an intelligent and digital mode of governance of the local ecosystem. Stimulating citizen participation and digitization of public administration will reduce red tape and simplify interaction with businesses and SMEs. Intelligent solutions can also help improve citizen engagement.

Green – Intelligent Cities Challenge

The Challenge supports the sustainable development of participating cities to meet the challenges of building a modern, resource-efficient and competitive local economy where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. The ICC will support participating cities in implementing strategies for Local Green Deals:

• greening of industry
• renewable energy
• intelligent and green logistics
• sustainable construction
• green tourism
• sustainability and resilience of the food system
• efficient water management solutions

The Challenge will foster the development of urban management strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resource efficiency, benefitting both citizens and urban business ecosystems.

Social – Intelligent Cities Challenge

The Challenge will improve the well-being of citizens and support the development of business communities. Participating cities will receive support to become more resilient to crises and pandemics and to use advanced technologies and strategies to provide adequate public infrastructure and strengthen social services, including the delivery of safe, affordable and adequate housing as essential public welfare and on the other hand to facilitate the recovery of the current crisis supporting the growth of start-ups, SMEs and social entrepreneurship as well as the re-skilling of workers.

What is the ICC – Intelligent Cities Challenge?

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is a European Commission initiative bringing together 136 cities to achieve intelligent, socially responsible and sustainable growth through advanced technologies. The two-and-a-half-year programme builds on the previous success of the Digital Cities Challenge, which helped 41 EU cities to develop a strategic vision and roadmap for their digital transformations. In overcoming the difficulties of the pandemic, ICC cities are eager to become engines of economic recovery by creating new business opportunities, advancing sustainable developments and enhancing their cities both digitally and socially.

Taking an action-oriented and collaborative approach, the ICC will guide participating cities towards becoming the drivers of their own transformational growth. It will achieve this through providing five thematic tracks and transversal services. Opportunity for collaboration and innovative solutions are key to outcome delivery, therefore quickening the pace of technological integration into cities is important. Participating cities are encouraged to interact and learn from one another to creatively tackle city challenges. Cities are further recommended to form intelligent ecosystems and develop crucial long-term relationships with other ICC cities.

In addition to receiving expert advice that is unique to the challenges faced by each city, the ICC provides much more. Other offerings include regular networking opportunities and community gatherings for participating cities during the ICC City Labs, access to training, online toolboxes, and guidance from the ICC mentor cities. To ensure positive outcomes, the ICC programme helps cities to tailor build an assessment of prioritised issues and needs, in order to define a vision and a roadmap for implementation.

Thematic tracks of the ICC

These roadmaps focus on common city-challenges and advised upon by lead and thematic experts. Categorised into overarching thematic tracks, which are shaped according to the hopes and desired outcomes of each city. These include:

• Citizen participation and digitisation of public administration
• Green economy and local green deals
• Upskilling and reskilling
• Green and digital transition in tourism
• Supply chains, logistics and economics of mobilty

Empowering cities with transversal advisory services

In order to effectively engage with the thematic tracks and overcome their associated challenges, cities are given access to ICC’s transversal services. These offer flexible support to cities through cross-theme coaching so that cities can effectively plan for their digital transformations by refining and creating new effective strategies. Working with experts, cities will utilise these services to tackle common barriers and leverage local enablers. These transversal services include:

• Access to finance. In response to economic crises, this service is aimed at fostering a transformation of practices to secure different sources of funding on the road to smarter, greener, and fairer economic development. Looking to build city capacity to leverage external funding sources. This service will support and encourage cities to conduct performance assessments. It will help them to identify and engage new prospects and create knowledge sharing opportunities.
• Innovative and social public procurement. This service commissions research and development activities and uses the public sector as early adopters of innovative solutions. It facilitates the wide diffusion of these solutions by incentivising industry investment and research. This allows for the modernisation of public services assisting in growth opportunities and with financial solutions for companies.
• Open data platforms. Through this service, cities are familiarised with data concepts and implementation paths via workshops and e-learning materials. They will participate in City Labs on policy and tech. They will focus on open data policy and technological know-how for high implementation standards. To boost cities’ innovation potential, breaking data silos and developing sustainable services are fundamental steps for ICC’s open data platforms.

Tech4Good Marketplace access

Developed by cities, the Tech4Good Marketplace is a catalogue-style platform that presents technical solutions to challenges faced by cities. Canvassing city profiles and best practices, cities can share and learn from others while discovering solutions to common challenges. Cities can also benefit from creating opportunities through their own content.

Embedded in other key EU initiatives

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is part of a wider EU support system. This recognises the importance of delivering on the promises made by the European Green Deal. Therefore, the main challenge is to build an economy that works for everyone. Also a Europe that fits for the digital age. To maintain a focused vision, support from several EU initiatives aiming for greener city-wide changes play a formative role in the desired outcomes of the ICC. A non-exhaustive list of EU initiatives includes:

• European Green Deal
• European Climate Pact
• Pact for Skills
• New European Bauhaus
• Renovation Wave Initiative
• European Industrial Strategy
• European Climate Law
• The Recovery Plan for Europe

By committing the tracks to numerous EU initiatives, cities will stay up to date with fresh policy inspiration, sources of funding and the like. It means they all get the tools to individually deliver on the wider commitment to a more sustainable, advanced and accountable EU.

The tools, services and coaching are part of ICC’s overarching objective. They will empower and support cities in the process of becoming green, socially responsible and intelligent hubs. ICC’s are encouraging collaborations with other cities, focusing on economic recovery and resilience. They are also pinpointing areas of improvement for businesses, SMEs and citizens. The ICC will help participating cities become exemplar green hubs that attract economic growth.

eudebates Intelligent Cities Challenge