The Smarter Cities Challenge is a three-year, £32m grant programme in which cities (including those inthe UK) can apply for free consultancy from IBM's top technical experts and consultants. Each grant has an equivalent value of approximately £250K in talent and technology. 



In March 2011 Glasgow was the first UK city to receive a Smarter Cities grant, and IBM’s advice led to the City Council launching (on November 22nd) a £1m affordable warmth initiative marking the start of efforts to eradicate fuel poverty in the city. 



This IBM grant programme provides selected cities with access to teams of IBM employees with expertise on a variety of city-related matters. After collaborating with officials, citizens, businesses, academics and community leaders, the IBM teams recommend actions to make the delivery of services to citizens more efficient and effective. Issues addressed have included jobs, health, public safety, transportation, social services, recreation, education, energy and sustainability.   


“Following the success of our affordable warmth work in Glasgow,
I hope we see some strong proposals from cities in the UK," says 
Mark Wakefield, IBM Corporate Citizenship manager, "Our Smarter Cities work is about looking at data and trends to make better decisions about the challenges that cities are currently facing. I’m sure there are some extremely worthwhile projects in the UK where we can make a real difference."
 

For more information or to apply for a grant 
City leaders can contact Mark Wakefield: wakefim@uk.ibm.com  direct.