ARMONK, N.Y. - 07 Oct 2013: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it is extending the Smarter Cities Challenge competitive grants program, which funds the deployment of IBMs top talent to perform pro bono problem solving in municipalities worldwide.
IBM is now encouraging regional governing bodies -- not only cities -- to also apply for grants that will fund consultative engagements with IBM experts in 2014.
By extending the program, IBM is building on the success of Smarter Cities Challenges first three years, beginning in 2011. Since that time, IBM has deployed 600 experts on six-person teams who have provided strategic and practical advice to 100 municipalities. These highly prized three-week engagements, each valued at USD $400,000, have helped cities address key challenges in the areas of economic development; water, energy and environment; health and social services; transportation; and public safety.
During engagements, IBM teams spend three weeks in the winning region gathering and analyzing all available data, then meeting in person with dozens of members of the government, citizen, business, and not-for-profit communities. In doing so, they gather diverse perspectives about the causes and potential solutions to the challenge at hand. At the end of engagements, IBM presents comprehensive recommendations for solving the problem, followed weeks later by a more detailed, written implementation plan. Included in the plan are examples of how other cities have successfully addressed similar issues.
Past grant recipients have implemented IBMs Smarter Cities Challenge recommendations and tangibly improved the lives of their citizens. For example:
Cheongju, Korea invested USD $2.7 million to redesign bus routes, and won the national Ministers Citation of Public Administration and Security.
Da Nang, Vietnam and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor are improving the coordination and timeliness of multiple municipal agencies as they manage complex events and projects.
Eindhoven, Netherlands has reduced crime with strategies that include citizens use of social media.
Edmonton, Canada has improved road safety.
Glasgow, United Kingdom announced a new £1 million fuel subsidy to provide affordable warmth to low-income elderly citizens. The city also won a £24 million grant from the Technology Strategy Board.
Jacksonville, United States has hired an economic development officer and passed legislation that streamlines city council processes for economic development.
Ottawa, Canada is developing the neighborhoods near its light rail system by giving incentives to developers and streamlining the permit process.
St. Louis, United States created a chief performance officer for public safety; better information about criminals is provided to judges; and voters returned control of the police department to the mayor.
Syracuse, United States created one of New York State's first land banks, enabling the city to reclaim nearly 4,000 vacant properties and re-purpose them in ways that revitalize neighborhoods and restore the tax base by as much as USD $11 million over eight years.
Townsville, Australia earned the prestigious National Smart Infrastructure Award for the IBM / Townsville Smart Water Pilot currently underway to reduce water consumption.
Tshwane, South Africa launched a project where citizens can report water leaks via text. The data will be used to map their water distribution network.
Smarter Cities Challenge is an elite program, having picked only 100 cities out 400 applicants over the last three years. Strong applications propose projects designed to address high priority problems of critical importance to citizens. The city or region must be able to share detailed information to help the IBM team analyze the issue. Leaders must also guarantee face-to-face access to city, regional, civic and business stakeholders for interviews with IBM team members so that they may comprehensively assess a given problem and recommend solutions.
IBM dispatches IBMers on these engagements who hail from all over the world, and who offer skills in the areas of marketing, communications, technology, research and development, government, human resources, finance, business, legal matters and specific disciplines such as transportation, energy and health.
For the 2014 cycle, the Smarter Cities Challenge is open to local and regional, general purpose governing bodies, including cities, counties, prefectures, boroughs, and districts.
"Effective service delivery in cities requires collaboration of so many stakeholders," said Stanley S. Litow, IBM vice president of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, and president of IBMs Foundation. "One of IBMS goals with Smarter Cities Challenge is to help city leaders gather data and organize a community around a shared set of facts. This is so that in spite of budgetary constraints that are so widespread, real progress can be made.
Jennifer Crozier, IBM's vice president of Global Citizenship Initiatives, and whose team directs the Smarter Cities Challenge, said, "We believe that our program can be an especially valuable resource to new mayors, with whom we can share successful strategies that have been put into place elsewhere. Were humbled by the reception this program has enjoyed all over the world these past three years, and were pleased that we can continue Smarter Cities Challenge for 2014."
Applications may be submitted to IBM beginning today through November 8, 2013 by visiting www.smartercitieschallenge.org A video summarizing the first three years of IBM Smarter Cities Challenge can be viewed here.
IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is an outgrowth of IBMs Corporate Service Corps program, a pro bono problem solving initiative designed primarily for the developing world. IBMs Corporate Service Corps sends teams of
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
23/10/2025
The new solution is industry's first multi-channel receiver available for L3Harris's resilient tactical high-frequency data waveforms....
23/10/2025
NEW YORK During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (A...
23/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK Fox Weather has tapped T-Mobile as its preferred communications provider and said all of its reporters will be equipped with SuperM...
23/10/2025
RASTATT, Germany Broadcast and media workflow technology vendor Lawo has tapped Mike Wright as VP of sales, North America....
23/10/2025
MONTREAL European cultural broadcaster ARTE has selected Grass Valley LDX 135 cameras and Creative Grading solution as part of its move from SDI/1080i to a nati...
23/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has named Daniel Parsons as its new chief information security officer, effective Oct. 20....
23/10/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Northern Michigan broadcaster WWTV recently completed a major IP-based upgrade that connects its new Traverse City studio with its control room ...
23/10/2025
A deadline is looming for a new carriage deal between Verizon's Fios TV and Nexstar, with both Verizon and the pay TV-backed American Television Alliance bl...
23/10/2025
NEW YORK During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (A...
23/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK Fox Weather has tapped T-Mobile has as its preferred communications provider and announced that all Fox Weather reporters are being...
23/10/2025
PBS will use generative AI from Amazon Web Services to provide enhanced search results to viewers on the PBS App and PBS LearningMedia platforms, the network an...
23/10/2025
Back to All News
The Resurrected' Marks First Chinese-Language Series to L...
23/10/2025
RT is today publishing a statistical summary from the Register of External Activities for the second quarter of 2025.
The RT Register of External Activities ...
23/10/2025
Series three of the award winning, hit comedy entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back on your screens, celebrating the very best of all t...
23/10/2025
Performances by Michael Flatley, Andy Irvine, Cuckoo's Nest, Foster and Allen and more
Friday 24 October, 8pm on RT One and RT Player
Fleadh Cheoil re...
23/10/2025
The nights grow longer and the shadows get bolder with Vampire The Masquerade: B...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
ARMONK, N.Y. - 07 Oct 2013: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it is extending the Smarter Cities Challenge competitive grants program, which funds the deployment of IBMs top talent to perform pro bono problem solving in municipalities worldwide. 
