Smart Cities Penticton

Here is an overview of Penticton's submission to the Smart Cities Challenge. Go to smartcitiespenticton.com for more information.

We will build a physically & mentally healthier, strongly-connected Penticton where each person has access and opportunity to maximize their health potential. Community and individual well-being is influenced by social, cultural, economic and environmental factors and good health is key to a flourishing and prosperous community. This is the fundamental principle behind our Challenge Statement.

We believe that through data and open technology we can make a meaningful impact on the social determinants of health, strengthen ties between residents and promote good physical and mental health for our citizens.

To achieve this, we have identified seven bold, ambitious, meaningful projects that will build on existing technologies and leverage community talent to transform health in our community. Our projects fall under two categories: Community Connections and Transportation/Mobility. The former addresses projects that enable Penticton’s community to find the resources, information, and individuals that will help them reach their maximum health potential and improve key social determinants of health. The latter seeks to create a holistic transportation approach that will encourage people to be more active in the community and use alternative modes of transport to engage in the community and more easily connect to services needed.

Based on your feedback in their first survey, the Smart Cities Challenge volunteers have narrowed down the theme of Penticton’s Challenge Statement to “Healthy Community” and they are on the hunt for 10 big ideas. Complete their second survey and tell them what a healthy community means to you and what big ideas you have to use technology to create a healthier Penticton. New to the challenge? Learn more here.

That's the question a group of volunteers is asking the community as part of preparing Penticton's application for Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge. The winner for a community of our size will receive $10 million in funding from the federal government to solve the biggest challenge facing Penticton using open data and technology. The first task is to identify what challenge the community wants to tackle. Is it connection? Is it health? Is it sustainability? Complete a brief survey (now closed) to share your views. Then stay tuned on their Facebook page Smart Cities Penticton as they work through the project and submit (and hopefully win!). #HowMightWe

To begin, each community will need to define its Challenge Statement. The Challenge Statement is a single sentence that defines the outcome or outcomes a community aims to achieve by implementing its smart cities proposal. The Challenge Statement must be measurable, ambitious, and achievable through the proposed use of data and connected technology.

Applicants will need to begin the Smart Cities Challenge process by engaging with residents about the most pressing issues their community faces. These consultations will help applicants define their Challenge Statements. With their Challenge Statements established, applicants will develop the ideas and activities that will make up their preliminary Smart Cities Challenge proposal.

Once applications are screened for eligibility, Infrastructure Canada will post the summaries on a public website. Applicants will be required to post the full versions online. Eligible applications will be reviewed by experts from inside and outside government and will then be evaluated by an independent Jury. The Jury will select finalists by summer 2018. Each of these finalists will receive a $250,000 grant to develop their final proposal.

The Smart Cities Challenge (SCC) is a pan-Canadian competition, initiated through the Federal Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities and is open to communities of all sizes, including municipalities, regional governments and Indigenous communities (First Nations, Métis and Inuit). The Challenge encourages communities to adopt a smart cities approach to improve the lives of their residents through innovation, data and connected technology.

Communities will be competing for the following prizes:

• One prize of up to $50 million open to all communities, regardless of population;

• Two prizes of up to $10 million open to all communities with populations under 500,000 people; and

• One prize of up to $5 million open to all communities with populations under 30,000 people.

A smart cities approach aims to achieve meaningful outcomes for residents by leveraging the fundamental benefits that data and connected technology have to offer:

Openness
When communities make their data truly accessible, usable, and barrier-free, their decision-making processes become transparent, empowering citizens and strengthening the relationship between residents and public organizations.

Integration
Data and connected technology empower communities to break down silos that exist within local governments and public organizations.

Transferability
When tools and technological approaches are open-source, transparent, and standardized, they can be used by communities across the country, no matter their size or capacity.

Collaboration
Connected technology enables communities to bring traditional and non-traditional partners together to collaborate.