IBM expands Smarter Cities program coverage

CEBU, Philippines - Technology solutions giant IBM announced that it is expanding Smarter Cities Challenge competitive grants program, which funds the deployment of IBM's top talents to perform pro bono problem solving in municipalities worldwide, including Cebu.

Cebu, through the Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Board (MCDCB),  has already an existing partnership with IBM on this program, which is the "Mega Cebu" project.

The Mega Cebu project involves an integrated master plan that will make greater Cebu-from Carcar City in the south to Danao City up north-a world-class metropolitan region.

Fully supported by IBM Philippines, through its Smart City campaign, this movement is seen to change Cebu's landscape in the next 30 years, benchmarking the successful mega regions in Canada, like Vancouver which also applied this concept.

In a statement, 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 Challenge's 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.

In the Philippines, Makati City received an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant for 2013, to be implemented in the first quarter of 2014. 

The grant will provide Makati City with access to some of IBM's top experts to analyze and recommend ways to help address the city's traffic management issues to become an even better place in which to live and work. 

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.

"Our Smarter Cities Challenge program can be a valuable resource especially to the new mayors and local government administrators in the country, with whom we can share successful strategies that have been put into place elsewhere," says Agnes Africa, Country Manager for Marketing, Communications and Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM Philippines.

Applications may be submitted to IBM beginning today through November 8, 2013 by visiting www.smartercitieschallenge.org.

IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is an outgrowth of IBM's Corporate Service Corps program, a pro bono problem solving initiative designed primarily for the developing world. 

IBM's Corporate Service Corps sends teams of some of IBM's most talented employees with a range of skills from around the world to regions grappling with issues that intersect business, technology, and society. 

 Corporate Service Corps is considered the largest program of its kind.  By year's end, approximately 2,400 IBM employees based in 50 countries will have been dispatched on more than 187 engagements, and undertaken 850 team assignments in 34 countries since the founding of Corporate Service Corps five years ago, in 2008. /JMD (FREEMAN)