Buildings with zero emissions, the end of rush hour traffic, and enhanced technology for first responders may sound like it’s a city from The Jetsons cartoon, but Innovate Cities is working to make smart cities a reality.
FedDev Ontario has announced an investment of up to $11,100,000 towards Innovate Cities.
So just who, or what, is Innovate Cities and what kind of work are they doing in Canadian cities? And how do we know if we can trust this new smart city technology?
What is Innovate Cities?
Innovate Cities is a consortium of seven information and communications technology (ICT) companies involved in launching a four-year made-in-Canada initiative to provide safer, more accessible, and more energy-efficient spaces for all Canadians through smart city technology.
“The Government of Canada shares our commitment to create safe, accessible, energy-efficient spaces that benefit all citizens, while delivering economic diversification and job creation.”
– Mikele Brack, Executive Director of Innovate Cities.
Innovate Cities knows the technology behind smart city must be built to protect the interests and privacy of Canadians, which is why they are working with expertise in data governance and cybersecurity to ensure the responsible deployment of this technology and use of data in urban Canadian environments.
What Will the $11.1M in FedDev Funding Be Used For?
Innovate Cities is creating two new cloud-based platforms to help with collaboration and education. The first online platform being developed will be called CommunityHub, where Canadian start-ups and scale-ups can design, co-develop and validate solutions to key urban issues. The second is a series of programs educating citizens and public/private sector leaders in smart building expertise and capacity.
The project is anticipated to create hundreds of new, highly skilled jobs while providing skill development opportunities for the middle-class workforce in Canada. The hope is to create an ecosystem that will help small and medium-sized Canadian enterprises to scale-up in order to compete in global markets.
Learn more about FedDev Ontario Funding
FedDev Ontario has provided over $27 million in investments, leading to over 5,400 jobs created, and the development of advanced skills for more than 20,800 Canadian workers employed at 735 manufacturing companies.
Find out how your business can get government grants of up to 50% of training costs to a maximum $100,000 for your business through FedDev Ontario.
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