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IBM has announced Christchurch has won an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant – one of 31 cities globally for 2013.
The grant provides Christchurch with access to some of IBM’s top experts to analyse and provide recommendations to drive economic development and sustained growth for the city.
Launched in 2011, the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a three-year, 100-city, US$50-million competitive grant program and is IBM’s single-largest philanthropic initiative. The Challenge teams address urban issues including economic development, transportation, education, energy, public safety, urban planning and health care. As part of the pro bono engagement, a team of six IBM experts will be assigned to Christchurch in 2013, working with Christchurch City Council and the Canterbury Development Corporation.
Canterbury Development Corporation chief executive, Mr Tom Hooper said, “Our vision for this project is to create a ‘smart framework’ that will improve the city’s innovation eco-system and help create opportunities for both collaboration and commercialisation of ideas. By understanding and implementing such a framework, it is anticipated that the city would generate higher levels of economic growth across all sectors following a sustained period of earthquake-related rebuild activity.”