SME4SMARTCITIES - Mediterranean SMEs and municipalities working together to make cities smarter

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As cities continue to grow, so is the number of challenges they are facing. Environmental, economic or social emerging issues call for new and unproven urban solutions. The increasing need for urban innovation will result in the development of a significant number of smart cities initiatives, creating new business opportunities for Mediterranean SMEs.

If we want our cities to be efficiently managed and more livable for communities, public authorities and SMEs have to work together to come up with the best technological solutions. SME4SMARTCITIES will make this collaboration possible by reinforcing the capacities of Mediterranean cities and SMEs. On the one the hand, the project will help cities to be the front-runners of innovation, in particular through the use of Public Procurement of Innovative solutions. On the other hand, the project will support Mediterranean SMEs in order to guarantee that their products and services meet the expectations and needs of smart cities.

SME4SMARTCITIES was selected for funding by the ENICBCMED program, the total EU contribution is 2.1 million euro for three years. The Porter School for Environmental Studies, through the Urban Innovation and Sustainability lab, is a central partner and has been granted 345,000 euro. Altogether the consortium is comprised of 7 partners from 5 countries.

Expected achievements

1 training programme dedicated to support SMEs in entering the smart cities solutions market

1 platform for providing consultancy services to SMEs in idea generation, concept definition, concept development, market testing and access to new markets

1 co-creation, co-innovation programme to foster cooperation among Mediterranean SMEs

5 Smart Cities solutions (innovative and technological products and/or services for improving the cities answers to the urban challenges they face) developed and tested

For further information: orlironen@gmail.com

Key information

Acronym: SME4SMARTCITIES

Full title: Mediterranean SME working together to make cities smarter

Thematic objective: A.1 Business and SMEs development

Priority: A.1.2 Euro-Mediterranean economic clusters

Highlights

What will be improved?

The development of new products and services will generate “ready to deploy” solutions to address smart cities challenges while creating business opportunities for SMEs. As a result of the project, the collaboration between cities and SMEs will be enhanced through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements towards a more sustainable, efficient and smart urban growth.

Who will benefit?

50 SMEs supported
6 Mediterranean cities and 50 of their civil servants
Business support organisations, clusters, business associations, universities and R&D centers
Local urban communities benefitting from the implementation of new smart initiatives

Expected achievements

1 training programme dedicated to support SMEs in entering the smart cities solutions market
1 platform for providing consultancy services to SMEs in idea generation, concept definition, concept development, market testing and access to new markets
1 co-creation, co-innovation programme to foster cooperation among Mediterranean SMEs
5 Smart Cities solutions (innovative and technological products and/or services for improving the cities answers to the urban challenges they face) developed and tested