By CHAT News Today

Federal government announces Smart Cities Challenge

Nov 23, 2017 | 2:17 PM

The Federal Government has officially launched a program aimed at encouraging innovations in cities.

Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi officially announcing the Smart Cities Challenge Thursday afternoon at the NAIT Campus in Calgary. The challenge will give communities across Canada the ability to apply for an opportunity to potentially receive millions of dollars for their communities.

“This challenge—the first of its kind in Canada—will encourage communities to innovate and take risks to improve people’s lives,” said Sohi in a news release. “Across the country, communities large and small are bursting with new ideas. The Smart Cities Challenge will help bring them to life, and find solutions that achieve real and positive outcomes for Canada’s middle class.”

The government says the winning proposals must be easy to replicate in other communities, must incorporate data and technology, and must establish measurable and achievable outcomes.

Cities of all sizes are available to apply for the challenge. One prize of up to $50 million is available for all cities, regardless of size, while two prizes of up to $10 million is available for cities with populations under 500,000 people. A prize of up to $5 million is available for communities of 30,000 people and below.

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All finalists will receive $250,000 to help develop their final proposal.

The deadline for proposals is April 24, 2018. Finalists will be announced in Spring 2019, with the final winners being announced Summer 2019. All entries will be examined by an independent jury.