The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and the Smart City Works Actuator are seeking applications for the Fall 2017 (F17) Cohort session from entrepreneurs, startups, and companies with emerging products that are aimed at making cities smarter, more livable, and more resilient. The Fall 2017 Cohort session is an expansion built upon the successful Spring 2017 pilot program that was launched in March 2017.
Smart City Works is the world’s first business actuator and a premier business accelerator for improving livability, operations, and resilience in cities. The program’s unique focus on the built environment aims to dramatically change the way we design, build, and operate civil infrastructure. With unmatched capability and a world class network of technical resources and cities, we go beyond traditional accelerators to more rapidly move the best technology solutions cities need into the hands of city managers and solution-providing companies.
Our program is designed to equip companies with the skills, market awareness, and validated products to be highly competitive, growth oriented, and investment ready. The accelerator is open to startups globally whose visionary founders are willing to bring their ideas and passions to participate in person in a unique and impactful acceleration process.
In particular, we seek innovative commercial solutions that address significant social and civic challenges—safety, security, livability, and resilience—in urban environments across the United States and the world. These solutions may impact any impact of the infrastructure lifecycle from planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and final disposition.
For the Fall 2017 Cohort, we are looking for solutions that will focus on one of the following key areas of the infrastructure challenge:
- Transport – Solutions that reduce costs, extend serviceable life, reduce congestion, improve parking, improve inter-modalities/ facilitate multi-modal transportation (car, train, bus, bike, pedestrian) and ubiquitous mobility, or leverage smart, autonomous, and intelligent transportation solutions to improve our transportation infrastructure network.
- Resilience and Public Safety – Solutions and/or IoT technologies that address the safety and security of the urban public; that mitigate the impact of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, or other natural or man-made shocks; that protect critical infrastructure; or those solutions that allow cities to be more livable and sustainable. Of particular interest are unmanned aerial systems suitable for indoor use and indoor sensing suites that can deliver building renderings and post event change detection using video, imagery, or other technologies. Additionally, solutions that provide sustainable-energy-based, clean-drinking water.
- Construction Techniques – Solutions that improve the design, construction, or maintenance of infrastructure; reduce lifecycle costs or improve safety, schedules, or margins.
- Use of Urban Data and IoT Technologies – Solutions that utilize community, city, state, national, or global data sets to better understand and solve for the most pressing urban issues; that utilize Blockchain methodologies to improve the value, use, and trust of infrastructure data sets and supply chains; or that leverage IoT technologies and devices to improve urban outcomes.
- Energy – Metering, controls, and IoT applications that reduce usage and waste of energy; alternative and renewable energy sources; alternative and improved transmission and distribution of energy sources; and smart lighting as a central core of intelligent services.
- Caring Cities – This Fall we have reserved up to two slots in our cohort for qualifying not-for-profit organizations focused on at-risk communities. While the emphasis on smart cities is traditionally on reducing congestion, improving public safety, facilitating sustainable energy use, etc., other critical challenges of growing urban communities for those most in need — the poor, the disabled, the homeless, those without access to the Internet—are sometimes ignored. Organizations with disruptive high-impact solutions to support those most in need are encouraged to apply as well.
Applications will continue to be accepted but participants are highly encouraged to apply by August 13th to be considered for the Fall 2017 Cohort.
