Select for Cities
Select for Cities is an EU program that aimed to create a new and innovative IoT platform for cities
Select for Cities was a program that aimed to create a new and innovative IoT (Internet of Things) platform for cities. The program was launched by Copenhagen, Antwerp and Helsinki who in 2015 agreed on an innovative tender through Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) on the development of an Internet of Everything (IoE) platform. The open innovation challenge for the European companies was:
How can the cities reinvent themselves as linked and large-scale “Internet of Everything” labs, with an easy access to developers and innovators to pilot, test and validate their solutions?
Select for Cities is an EU Horizon 2020 project which, with a budget of 5.6 million Euros, offers companies funding for developing prototypes and testing them in real-world conditions. The aim is for the prototypes to lead to the future purchase of IoT platforms in European cities.
The companies that have participated in the process says that they are currently running a better project due to the specific feedback they have received from the cities and have sold their platforms to several different countries in southern Europe.
The winner of the project
Three companies with each their platforms made it to the third and last phase of the project, where they had to set up and validate an operative solution in the cities of Antwerp and Helsinki. In the end the company Snap4City developed the best solution and took the 1st place for its great capabilities in data aggregation, data analytics, dashboard, complete interoperability, and flexibility, also permitting the installation in less than one hour. Read more about Snap4City and their solution here
I your are interested in the Pre-Commercial Procurement and the insigts gained from the process you can take a look at the booklet 'Procuring Smart City Innovation Through PCP' based on the experience from the Select for Cities project.
You can also find more information on the project's website select4cities.eu