Subjects: ECO, CFG
Government of Canada announces funding to help Canadian communities explore and implement smart cities approaches
Providing advisory and capacity-building services directly to communities
OTTAWA, Oct. 11, 2018 /CNW/ - Fostering a culture of change, continuous improvement and innovation in Canadian communities through the use of data and connected technology will create more livable, inclusive communities and opportunities to continue growing Canada's middle class.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, announced that Evergreen will be funded under the Smart Cities Community Support Program.
The mandate of the Community Support Program is to support not-for-profit organizations that will provide advisory and capacity-building services directly to communities as they explore and implement smart cities approaches and also support current finalists and future applicants of the Smart Cities Challenge in advancing their thinking and developing strong final proposals.
After an open callout on June 7, 2018 to not-for-profit organizations across Canada, Evergreen was selected for its extensive experience working across multiple sectors, and leveraging community engagement, support and capacity-building to plan and deliver large-scale initiatives.
Evergreen will work with OpenNorth and the Future Cities Canada collaborative platform, and numerous non-profit institutions and foundations across Canada to deliver activities that will help ensure that all communities have access to the information and guidance they need to improve the lives of their residents through innovation, data and connected technology.
Quotes
"The Smart Cities Challenge is about creating innovative, inclusive and sustainable communities that Canadians are proud to call home, now and for years to come. The Government of Canada is pleased to be working with Evergreen and its diverse partners to support communities large and small across the country as they explore and implement ambitious smart cities ideas to improve the lives of their residents."
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
Quick facts
- The Community Support Program aims to foster a culture of change, continuous improvement and innovation in Canadian communities by supporting recipient not-for-profit organizations in offering advisory and capacity building support measures aimed at increasing communities' capacity to adopt smart cities approaches.
- Through the Investing in Canada plan, the Government of Canada launched the first of three rounds of the Smart Cities Challenge in November 2017, encouraging communities across the country to develop and implement smart cities initiatives. Finalists were announced on June 1, 2018, and winners will be announced in spring 2019.
Related products
- Announcement of Finalists: Smart Cities Challenge improving the lives of Canadians through innovation, data, and technology
- Government of Canada launches the Smart Cities Community Support Program to help communities improve the quality of life for their residents
- Smart Cities Community Support Program Application Guide
Backgrounder
Smart Cities Community Support Program
The Smart Cities Community Support Program will run in parallel with the Smart Cities Challenge, providing support to communities, organizations and citizens both within and outside the context of the Challenge.
As the organization selected to deliver activities under this program, Evergreen will act as a central, third-party advisor to all communities as they explore and implement smart city approaches. It will fill gaps in the reach of existing actors in the smart city space by helping to ensure that all communities across Canada ? including small and medium-sized cities, rural, remote, Indigenous, Northern and isolated communities ? have access to the information and guidance they need to improve the lives of their residents.
The open callout to select a Canadian not-for-profit organization to deliver the Community Support Program was announced on June 7, 2018. Interested not-for-profits had until July 20, 2018 to submit their applications. The Application Guide contains information on the Community Support Program requirements, process, roles and responsibilities.
Evergreen will work with OpenNorth, the Future Cities Canada collaborative platform, and numerous non-profit institutions and foundations to deliver activities across Canada.
It will bring together stakeholders to share their guidance, expertise and knowledge. It will also build networks and facilitate connections between subject matter experts and communities; conduct research and build awareness of emerging smart cities issues (i.e. data ownership, cybersecurity and privacy).
Evergreen will deliver support to communities through two broad categories:
- One-to-one advisory and capacity services: offering communities deep and specialized support.
- One-to-many advisory and capacity services: offering broad capacity-building supports that encompass awareness & community engagement, building & sharing community knowledge, and matchmaking & connecting the ecosystem.
Evergreen's plans include support activities for communities such as a Grant program to enable communities with limited resources to access information and guidance, an online Smart Cities Portal, a research network, a series of '100 in 1 Day' community engagement events, and regional idea camps, in addition to conferences, events and workshops.
In the longer term, the Community Support Program will bolster a culture of change, continuous improvement and innovation across Canadian communities, and build a lasting capacity in civil society that will continue to support the objectives of the Smart Cities Challenge beyond the life of the program.
Smart Cities Challenge
In November 2017, the Government of Canada challenged communities across the country to develop bold and ambitious ideas to improve the lives of their residents using data and connected technology.
Over 200 communities, large and small, from across Canada submitted their innovative ideas to the first of three rounds of the Smart Cities Challenge. An independent panel of 13 jury members evaluated these submissions based on the criteria set out in the Applicant Guide.
Twenty finalists were selected to move on to the next step of the Challenge and compete for four prizes: one of up to $5 million, two of up to $10 million and one of up to $50 million.
Each finalist community received a $250,000 grant to help develop its final proposal that outlines all design, planning, privacy, data protection and project management components of their plans. The grant can be used for activities such as staffing, professional services, feasibility assessments, capacity building, pilot projects, community engagement, communications, and relevant training.
Final proposals are due on March 5, 2019 and winners will be announced in spring 2019.
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