Canada-New Westminster: Intelligent City Challenge

Building leading-edge infrastructure to support collaboration and innovation

New Westminster believes in supporting new concepts and ideas that foster an ethos of innovation among its residents, businesses, and institutions. The City is home to a growing civic-owned dark-fibre network, and is pursuing a variety of initiatives to enable an intelligent and resilient New Westminster.

The challenge

Project Greenlight’s open call process solicits innovative ideas that address complex challenges facing public and private enterprises (“members”). Whether your submission involves an emerging technology you are bringing to market, or a commercially available solution used in an adjacent industry, it must be unique, scalable, and align with the City of New Westminster’s strategic priorities.

The Intelligent City strategy operationalizes New Westminster’s vision for building the most livable and technologically advanced city in Canada. The plan includes a framework for leveraging technology and external partnerships and acting as a testbed for new innovations.

The City of New Westminster is particularly focused on bringing positive and inclusive benefits in the digital economy while building on its community assets, including the BridgeNet open-access fibre network. The City is looking to leverage its assets to introduce innovation in the following areas:

1. Digital government
2. Improved service delivery and intelligent infrastructure solutions
3. Digital inclusion: Areas of consideration include proposals that promote digital inclusion in our community, promote learning and engagement for citizens, and leverage the City’s uniqueness in the region. At only 14 square kilometers, with five SkyTrain stations, two civic-owned public libraries, and its own electrical utility and fibre network, New Westminster provides an excellent opportunity to test new innovations that support digital inclusion.
4. The City is also interested in solutions that support active transportation methods, the development of arts and culture, and the technology and creative class that work and live in the community.

Desired outcome

The City of New Westminster is committed to driving continuous innovation in its delivery of programs, projects, and processes. Successful proponents may be invited to pilot their solution within the city’s infrastructure and asset portfolio. Proposals should directly relate to an identified priority or need.

Opportunity

Engaging the City of New Westminster could lead to one of the following scenarios:

• A proponent conducting a demonstration of its solution
• The City issuing a call to seek market responses to the goods and services being offered
• The City pursuing the proposal
• The City not pursuing the proposal

Published on 30 June, 2023.