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Liza Verheijke, Community Manager at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, posted

HvA, HR and HU building the centre for Responsible Applied AI

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The Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht Universities of Applied Sciences have received a SPRONG grant from Regieorgaan-SIA, with which they - together with 24 partners from the field - can build an infrastructure for a powerful research group. A group that is regionally and nationally recognised as the centre for practice-based research in the field of Responsible Applied AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing rapidly with far-reaching consequences for the whole of society (all sectors, professions and citizens). Although AI offers new opportunities for institutions and (SME) companies, there are also many questions.

For example, there is a demand for research methods to meaningfully implement AI technology in a specific context (e.g. retail and care), taking into account the user and other stakeholders. There are also questions about the design process of AI solutions: how can you take ethical and social issues into account?

METHODOLOGY FOR RESPONSIBLE APPLIED AI

Current AI research is mostly fundamental and focused on technology. As such, it hardly provides answers to the questions mentioned above. The three universities of applied sciences in the SPRONG group conduct practice-oriented research into responsible AI solutions for companies and institutions. With these research experiences and results, the SPRONG group aims to develop a Responsible Applied AI methodology that helps to design, develop and implement responsible AI solutions.

CO-CREATION IN HYBRID LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

To develop this methodology, knowledge building and sharing is needed, which the universities of applied sciences develop together with companies and organisations. The starting point of the project is the development of three hybrid learning environments around the application areas of retail, business services and media. AI developers, problem owners, end users, researchers and students work together in these environments.

The goal is to develop practical tools, instruments, education and training from the learning environment that can be widely used for the application of AI in the relevant sector. Each learning environment is linked to specific courses of the participating universities and practical partners who contribute to the programme. During the SPRONG programme, the number of application areas will be expanded and, where possible, scaled up nationally.

SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE

A central supporting infrastructure will be developed, including processes and facilities for data management and strategic human resource management, an IT infrastructure, training courses and an impact model.

GET TO KNOW OUR PARTNERS IN THE FIELD

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Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Marineterrein Amsterdam joins the Amsterdam Smart City network (in Dutch)

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Het is nu officieel! Marineterrein Amsterdam en Amsterdam Smart City worden partners en gaan de samenwerking verder intensiveren. Het doel: kennis delen en samen aan de slag om tot oplossingen voor stedelijke vraagstukken te komen.

Amsterdam Smart City (ASC) zet zich vanaf het Marineterrein al jaren in voor open innovatie door als platform partijen en organisaties aan elkaar te verbinden. Kennis delen en samen aan de slag staan hierbij centraal.

Samenwerking
Een voorbeeld van zo’n samenwerking op het Marineterrein is het Responsible Sensing Lab, waarbij een aantal ASC-partners in de openbare ruimte experimenteren met verantwoorde detectiesystemen om bijvoorbeeld geluidsoverlast of drukte in kaart te brengen. Verschillende partijen brengen bij deze experimenten hun expertise bij elkaar om samen tot oplossingen te komen. De lessen die we daaruit leren zijn waardevol voor heel veel Smart City projecten.

Breder delen
‘Het Marineterrein bestaat uit een levendige community die zich bezighoudt met het oplossen van allerlei stedelijke vraagstukken’, zegt directeur van Bureau Marineterrein Liesbeth Jansen. ‘Er is op het terrein veel kennis aanwezig over nieuwe manieren van leren, wonen en werken, en door ons aan te sluiten bij het ASC-netwerk kan die kennis nu breder gedeeld worden. En andersom kijken we uit naar interessante samenwerkingen tussen het ASC-netwerk en Marineterrein Amsterdam Living Lab die onze community verder kunnen helpen.’

Leren in real life
Directeur van ASC Leonie van den Beuken ziet met de samenwerking veel kansen om nieuwe, innovatieve oplossingen in real life te testen. ‘Een van onze kernwaarden is leren door te doen. Het Marineterrein biedt een prachtig testgebied voor oplossingen die we in de praktijk willen uitproberen. We zijn daarom één van de partners in het Marineterrein Living Lab. Daarnaast staan wij beiden voor open innovatie ten behoeve van een leefbare stad. Aangezien het Marineterrein onze thuisbasis is, is het logisch om onze netwerken en ambities nog meer aan elkaar te verbinden.’

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Cornelia Dinca, International Liaison at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

City Deal “Smart City, This is How You Do It” Connects to International Best Practices

How can we learn from international smart city experiences to ensure that we do not keep reinventing the smart city wheel. In the City Deal “A Smart City, This Is How You Do It” 58 public and private parties are working together to collect, validate and scale smart city solutions in the Netherlands.

On 10 June, Future City Foundation (FCF) and Amsterdam Smart City (ASC) brought together more than 30 Dutch and international colleagues to connect the City Deal to international experiences and best practices. The session consisted of short pitches sharing the tools and solutions developed in the City Deal Working Groups. For every pitch the international experts were asked to share their experience with similar projects, and reflect on what is needed to improve and scale the solutions abroad.

1.     Open Urban Data Platform Tender

As more municipalities look to purchase urban data platforms, can we develop a generalized Program of Requirements? The Dutch cities of Rotterdam, Hilversum, and Helmond are working to develop such a flexible Program of Requirements, taking into account aspects such as scalability, flexibility and shareability of data, as well as privacy, cybersecurity, and data autonomy.  During the session, the city of Aahus shared the experience of Open Data DK, a collaboration of Danish municipalities and regions to not only tender, but collectively develop an open data portal, leading to improved collaboration and cost savings for Danish municipalities and their stakeholders.

2.     Model ByLaw Smart City in Public Space:

The public space is rapidly digitalization with many parties wishing to add sensors, beacons, cameras and other objects to enable various smart city applications. Local authorities need to find effective ways to regulate how this is done, so that the public space does not become a “Wild West” of smart applications. Within the City Deal, a model bylaw has been drawn and it is now being tested in Rotterdam. The question to the group was whether similar bylaws or initiatives been developed in other cities or jurisdictions? The city of Vienna shared its experience developing a Smart City Framework Strategy – a high level but binding document when it comes to designing bylaws related to various smart city domains.

3.     Citizen Measurement Initiatives:

Within the City Deal three Working Groups are exploring how to use citizen measurement to create smart, sustainable, and inclusive cities, and how to link these initiatives to policy. On this topic the group could learn from initiative like iScape and WeCount in Dublin’s Smart Docklands District, which focus on engaging citizens in measurement projects, and linking the results to city policy. And when it comes to engaging citizens in measuring their environment, city of Dublin had another suggestions for the Dutch colleagues: leverage the existing network of public libraries to engage and involve citizens and policy makers in citizen-measurement projects.

Second International Roundtable Planned
The discussion revealed there are a lot of shared challenges, for instance in scaling smart city projects, so it's necessary that we keep sharing approaches and lessons learned internationally.  Following the success of this first international roundtable, we are planning a second session on September 30.  Dutch and international experts who would like to participate, can send an email to Cornelia Dinca via cornelia@amsterdamsmartcity.com with a short explanation of how like to contribute to the session. For more information or any other questions about the City Deal please contact Wendolijn Beukers via wendolijn@future-city.nl.

Thank You to the Participants
ASC and FCF would like to thank all the Dutch and international colleagues who contributed their expertise during the session.

City Deal Working Groups Members
·       Noor van den Brink, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
·       Marcel Broekhaar, Smart City Program Management, City of Zwolle
·       Arjan Hof, CTO, WeCity
·       Daniel de Klein, Business Development Manager Digital City, City of Helmond
·       Anita Nijboer, Partner, Kennedy Van de Laan
·       Shahid Talib, Directeur Smart City, Heijmans
·       Simone Rodenburg, Advisor CIO Office, City of Enschede
·       Henri de Ruiter, Environmental Advisor, RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
·       Jeroen Steenbakkers, Owner, Agaleo

International Peers
·       Ulrich Ahle, CEO, FIWARE Foundation
·       Jamie Cudden, Smart City Program Manager, City of Dublin
·       Bo Fristed, CIO, City of Aahus
·       Gianluca Galletto, Managing Director, Global Futures Group
·       Lea Hemetsberger, Director Projects & Network, Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC)
·       Jong-Sung Hwang, Masterplanner Busan Smart City, South Korea
·       Nigel Jacob, Co-Founder New Urban Mechanics, City of Boston
·       Gabriella Gomez-Mont, Former Director of Laboratorio para la Ciudad, Mexico City & Founder of Experimentalista
·       Jonathan Reichental, Former CIO of Palo Alto & author of Smart Cities for Dummies
·       Florian Wollen, Coordinator, Urban Innovation Vienna

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Claire Gersen, Advisor Responsible Technology at Province of Noord-Holland, posted

Duurzaam, transparant en onafhankelijk: de nieuwe datastrategie van provincie Noord-Holland

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Provincie Noord-Holland heeft in mei 2021 een nieuwe datastrategie in concept vastgesteld. De wereld verandert snel en de strategie uit 2018 sloot steeds minder aan bij de huidige ambities. Het streven is om datatechnologie in te zetten voor optimale resultaten van onze maatschappelijke opgaven.

Hierbij zijn drie elementen van belang. Als eerste ‘duurzaamheid’. Wij willen profiteren van digitalisering op een manier die zo min mogelijk ten koste gaat van natuurlijke hulpbronnen. Het tweede element is ‘transparantie’. Wij zien in transparantie de kans om te innoveren mét het vertrouwen van onze inwoners. Het laatste element is ‘data-soevereiniteit’. Wij zien het als onze verantwoordelijkheid om onze onafhankelijkheid zo veel mogelijk te borgen. En misschien nog wel belangrijker: óók de onafhankelijkheid van de inwoners van Noord-Holland.

Om deze stip op de horizon te bereiken hebben we vier doelstellingen opgesteld:

Doelstelling 1
In 2023 zijn wij beter dan nu in staat om met data de maatschappelijke resultaten van onze opgaven te beschrijven, verklaren, voorspellen of optimaliseren.

Met datatechnologie dragen we bij aan de maatschappelijke resultaten die wij voor onze opgaven willen bereiken. Die resultaten verschillen per opgave. Daarom zullen wij voor elke opgave de datapositie in kaart brengen, zo kunnen we tegemoetkomen aan de specifieke behoeften. Voor een aantal complexe deelopgaven starten we bijvoorbeeld een experiment, waarbij we  de mogelijkheden van een ‘digital twin’ onderzoeken.

Doelstelling 2
In 2023 zijn de digitaliseringsbelangen van onze provincie adequaat behartigd op het niveau van de Europese Unie, de Rijksoverheid, de Tweede Kamer en de regio Amsterdam.

Digitalisering en AI vertegenwoordigen een steeds groter economisch en maatschappelijk belang. Zij hebben meer en meer politiek-bestuurlijke aandacht. Zowel op het niveau van de Europese Unie, de Rijksoverheid, de Tweede Kamer als de regio Amsterdam. Dat is relevant voor onze lobby.

Doelstelling 3
In 2023 is meer data van de provincie open en toegankelijk beschikbaar en weten de inwoners van Noord-Holland waar ze deze data kunnen vinden.

Open data is voor de provincie om twee redenen van belang. Allereerst draagt het bij aan transparantie, wat essentieel is voor het vertrouwen van onze inwoners. Daarnaast stelt open data externe partijen, bijvoorbeeld startups, in staat om applicaties te ontwikkelen. Hiervoor richten wij in 2021 een open dataregister in. En hebben wij in 2023 onze meest relevante open datasets gepubliceerd.

Doelstelling 4
In 2023 ervaren inwoners, bedrijven en onze partners dat wij inzet van data en datatechnologie afwegen tegen de Tada-waarden: inclusief, zeggenschap, menselijke maat, legitiem en gecontroleerd, open en transparant, van iedereen - voor iedereen.

We werken vóór onze inwoners en bedrijven. Dus zorgen we dat ons werk met data geen negatieve gevolgen voor hen heeft. Kortom: we gaan verantwoord om met data en datatechnologie. Om dit waar te maken experimenteren we in 2021-2023 met het toepassen van de Tada-waarden en werken we toe naar het publiceren van onze algoritmen in een register. Zo innoveert de provincie Noord-Holland mét het vertrouwen van haar inwoners en bedrijven.

Note van ASC: Wil je nog net iets meer weten? Laat het weten in de comments.

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Herman van den Bosch, professor in management development , posted

Beyond the smart city: Digital innovation for the Good of citizens

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About ten years ago, technology companies started to provide cities with technology, luring them with the predicate ‘smart(er)’, a registered trademark of IBM.  At that time Cisco's vice-president of strategy Inder Sidhudescribed the company’s ‘smart city play’ as its biggest opportunity, a 39,5 billion dollar-market. During the years, that followed, the prospects rocketed: The consultancy firm Frost and Sullivan estimated the global smart city technology market to be worth $1.56 trillion by 2020.

The persistent policy of technology companies to suggest a tight link between technology and the wellbeing of the citizens, angers me. Every euro these companies are chasing at, is citizens’ tax money. What has been accomplished until now is disappointing, as I documented in the IET Journal.  According to The Economist it is not surprising that a ‘techlash’ is underway: Many have had it with the monopolistic dominance of behemoths like Google, Amazon, Facebook and the like, because of their treatment of sensitive data, the lack of transparency and accountability of algorithm-based decision making and the huge profits they make from it.

Regaining public control

However, let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater and see how digital innovation can be harnessed for the Good of all citizens. Regaining public control demands four institutional actions at city level.

1. Practicing governance
Before even thinking about digitalization, a city must convert into best practices of governance. Governance goes beyond elections and enforcing the law. An essential characteristic is that all citizens can trust that government represents their will and protects their interests. Therefore, it is necessary to go beyond formal democratic procedures and contact stakeholders directly, enable forms of participatory budgeting and deploy deliberative polling.
Aligning views of political parties and needs and wants of citizens takes time and a lot of effort. The outcome might be a common vision on the solution of a city’s problems and the realisation of its ambitions, and a consecutive political agenda including the use of tools, digital ones included.

2. Strengthening executive governmental power
Lack of cooperation within the departmental urban organizations prevents not only an adequate diagnosis of urban problems but also the establishment of a comprehensive package of policy instruments, including legislation, infrastructure, communication, finance and technology. Instead, decisions are made from within individual silos, resulting in fragmented and ineffective policies. Required is a problem-oriented organization instead of a departmental one and a mayor that oversees the internal coherence of the policy.

3. Level playing field with technology companies
Cities must increase their knowledge in the field of digitization, artificial intelligence in particular. Besides,  but they should only work with companies that comply with ethical codes as formulated in the comprehensivemanual, Ethically Aligned Design: A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, drafted by the influential Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
Expertise at city level must come from a Chief Technology Officer who aligns technological knowledge with insight in urban problems and will discuss with company representatives on equal foot. Digitalisation must be part of all policy areas, therefore delegating responsibility to one alderman is a bad idea. Moreover, an alderman is not an adequate discussion partner for tech companies.

4. Approving and supporting local initiatives
Decentralization of decision-making and delegating responsibility for the execution of parts of the policy to citizen’s groups or other stakeholders helps to become a thriving city. Groups of citizens, start-ups or other local companies can invoke the right of challenge and might compete with established companies or organizations.

In summary: steps towards seamless integration of digitalization in citizen-orientated policy

1.     Define together with citizens a vision on the development of the city, based on a few central goals such as sustainable prosperity, inclusive growth, humanity or - simply - happiness.
2.     Make an inventory of what citizens and other stakeholders feel as the most urgent issues (problems and ambitions).
3.     Find out how these issues are related and rephrase them if desirable.
4.     Deepen insight in these issues, based on available data and data to be collected by experts or citizens themselves.
5.     Assess ways to address these issues, their pros and cons and how they align with the already formulated vision.
6.     Make sure that digital technology has been explored as part of the collected solutions.
7.     Investigate which legal, organizational, personnel and financial barriers may arise in the application of potential solutions and how to address them.
8.     Investigate undesired effects of digital techniques, in particular long-term dependence ('lock-in') on commercial parties.
9.     Formulate clear actions within the defined directions for dealing with the issues to be addressed. Involve as many expert fellow citizens as possible in this.
10.  Make a timetable, calculate costs, and indicate when realization of the stated goals should be observable.
11.  Involve citizens, non-governmental and other organizations in the implementation of the actions and make agreements about this.
12.  At all stages of the process, seek support from those who are directly involved and the elected democratic bodies.
13.  Act with full openness to all citizens.

I can't agree more than with the words of Léan Doody (smart city expert Arup Group): I don't necessarily think 'smart' is something to strive for in itself. Unlike sustainability or resilience, 'smart' is not a normative concept…. The technology must be a tool to deliver a sustainable city. As a result, you can only talk about technological solutions if you understand which problems must be solved, whether these problems are rooted in the perceptions of stakeholders and how they relate to other policy instruments.

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Liza Verheijke, Community Manager at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, posted

Centre of Expertise Applied AI launches magazine

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science permeate all the capillaries of society. The scientific developments in these fields are rapid. The applications affect all sectors and professions - to a greater or lesser extent - for which the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) trains.

The AUAS Centre of Expertise Applied AI exists since February 1, 2021 and focuses on the meaningful application of AI techniques in a specific context (healthcare, accountancy, media, retail, etc.). In seven application-oriented labs we work together in co-creation - with education, research, business and civil society organizations - on innovation.

In this way, we train students and retrain professionals to be change-makers for companies and organizations. In this way, we are shaping the digital transition in a real, responsible and inclusive way. And we make the connection between fundamental and practical research, aimed at the daily application of AI in companies and other organizations. In this way, the AUAS contributes to an inclusive digital transition.

In our magazine we proudly present our seven labs and discuss the importance of our Centre of Expertise. We hope you get a good impression of our methods and approach.

You can find the digital magazine (in Dutch) here 👉🏻 https://heyzine.com/flip-book/552a2865a3.html#page/1

Would you like to receive a hard copy? Then leave your details here 👉🏻 https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=HrsHCfwhb0eIQwLQnOtZp8XlcpMWAw9ErQhBMXC83PVUQUhKUjJXUUZMU0o2V003S1ZPMk5VRVU4WS4u

If after reading this you are interested in working together, please contact us at appliedai@hva.nl

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Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

De extreem ambitieuze missie van Amsterdam Smart City: Bruto Menselijk Geluk voor 2030

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Onze inzending voor ‘Missie Nederland’ van de Volkskrant (wat kan eigenlijk niet, maar wil je toch voor elkaar krijgen), oftewel een “Moonshot”, is het creëren van Bruto Nationaal Geluk met digitale sociale innovatie. In 9 punten de missie die we samen met Future City Foundation, het G40 Stedennetwerk, BTG Branchevereniging ICT en Telecommunicatie Grootgebruikers hebben ingestuurd.

Om dit te bereiken, moeten we zorgen dat íedereen kan meedoen in onze maatschappij, onze democratie. Ook de groep mensen die we nu niet horen. Met digitale technieken maken we nieuwe verbindingen mogelijk. Zodat je mee kan doen, bij kan dragen, ook als je de deur niet uit kunt, verbaal minder sterk bent of amper tijd hebt. Zo kan iedereen bijdragen aan het eigen geluk én aan dat van een ander.

In 2030 ...

… is geen enkele Nederlander meer digibeet, in plaats daarvan is elke Nederlander digitaal vaardig.

… heeft elke inwoner van Nederland toegang tot hoogwaardig internet. Dat betekent dat elk huis wordt aangesloten op snel vast en mobiel internet en elk huishouden in staat is om apparaten te kopen waarmee toegang mogelijk is. Een goede laptop is net zo belangrijk als een goede koelkast.

… wordt het internet op een nieuwe manier gebruikt. Toepassingen (software en
hardware) worden vanuit de gebruikers gemaakt. Met als uitgangspunt dat iedereen ze kan gebruiken. Programma’s en de daarvoor benodigde algoritmen worden zo geschreven dat ze ten dienste staan van de samenleving en niet van het bigtech-bedrijfsleven.

… heeft elke inwoner van Nederland een ‘self-sovereign-identity’ waarmee ze vrij, binnen de context van hun eigen grenzen, digitaal kunnen opereren en acteren.

… is nieuwe technologie ontwikkeld die de inwoners en bedrijven de kans mee te
denken en beslissen over en mee te ontwikkelen en handelen aan welzijn regio’s,
steden en dorpen.

… hebben alle Nederlandse politici verstand van digitalisering en technologisering.

… is het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven leidend in de ontwikkeling van deze oplossingen.

… zorgt dit alles voor meer welzijn en niet alleen voor meer welvaart.

… is het internet weer van ons.

Laat ons weten wat je ervan vindt in de comments. Lees ook de hele  moonshot.

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Tom van Arman, Director & Founder at Tapp, posted

Marineterrein smart data shows our Corona curfew behavior

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Wednesday was the official end of the Avondklok curfew in the Netherlands. Since 22 January 2021 the royal Dutch government issued a 9pm curfew to combat the third wave of the corona virus. The AD.nl reports that over these last 3 months, the dutch police have issued more than 95,000 fines for violating curfews.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the DrukteMeter 3 month Avondklok period to see if the Marineterrein community actually adhered to the national curfew.

The data says: yes, we did!

The table in the picture above illustrates that there are little to no people on the Marineterrein between the hours of 9 and 6am. Each night, activity on the Marineterrein stops, or flatlines just before 9pm (and 10pm as of 01 April). These insights tell us that we were all home in time and avoided curfew penalties and fines.

The Marineterrein DrukteMeter (or busyness-meter) anonymously counts the number of people in and around the innovation campus in order to keep the Marineterrein livable - especially during the Corona pandemic. This summer we’ll be using the DrukteMeter to visualize the safe and responsible transition into the New Norm and measuring the post pandemic “PULSE” of Amsterdam most popular destinations.

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Noëlle Koomen, Communications Intern , posted

Amsterdam Smart City Program director on Smart Societies

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Program director Leonie van den Beuken joined the SmartCom Summit a few weeks ago to share her thoughts on Smart Societies. We give you a short recap on what came up and added a few interesting insights on the biggest challenges we face working from home and some possible solutions.

Due to the pandemic, we discovered that technology can lead to new opportunities. It also raised a lot of questions on ownership of data, privacy and autonomy. Technology needs not only to be trustworthy, but also to be perceived as trustworthy. Next to that it needs to me available and accessible. Let’s make sure that everyone can have access to hardware, wifi and understandable software. So every kid can join an online class and even older people are able to understand a mobility app.

“Climate change does not wait for us to decide who is in charge”

Used well, technology is an indispensable part of creating sustainable cities. Mobility and energy transitions need the use of data. That way we can create smart grids for example. But who is in charge of creating these smart sustainable societies? ‘A pack of leaders is in charge’,  Leonie says. ‘I like to compare it to the Tour de France. In different stages of the race, different cyclists take the lead. All aiming to support the star: sustainable society. And again, trust between parties is the most important thing when working together.’

Smart Communication

Covid has shown that with the support of technology we can meet anywhere online. But technology also comes with difficulties. The biggest challenges for the audience to work from home came out during a poll:
- 62% said ‘Not being around people’
- 24% said ‘Management’
- 100% said ‘Straining our Human Minds’

How can smart communication tools be of help within a company?

During the pandemic, employers manage 100 “offices” instead of one because everyone is working from home. There’s lots of technology available to monitor employees. Even though everyone agreed that trust is always better, camera’s and software to track activities on a device could stimulate and motivate.

Want to know more? Check out the talkshow.

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Cornelia Dinca, International Liaison at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Update Intelligent Cities Challenge & Opportunities To Get Involved

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The 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is a European Commission (EC) initiative that supports 136 cities with using cutting-edge technologies to lead the intelligent, green and socially responsible recovery. The goal is to accelerate ICC cities and their local ecosystems as engines for post-pandemic recovery, creating new jobs and strengthening citizen participation and wellbeing.

The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, represented by Amsterdam Economic Board and Amsterdam Smart City (ASC), has joined the ICC as a mentor region. A key task for ASC is to connect and share best practices from the Amsterdam region with the ICC network.

Here are a few of the upcoming opportunities for ASC partners and community members who would like to get involved in the ICC:

  1. Sharing best practices during the 3rd ICC City Lab, May 18 – May 21: During this four day event, ASC partners have the opportunity to contribute to various knowledge and working sessions across a range of topics including: circular economy and Local Green Deals (LGD’s), energy efficient renovation, digitalization of government services, digital twins, and citizen participation.
  2. Contributing to Tech4Good Marketplace:Within the scope of ICC, the EC is developing a digital platform where cities can share their experience and recommendations for validated and deployed smart city solutions.  During the April - June timeframe, ASC will collect transferable solutions and best practices from the Amsterdam Region which will be shared on the Marketplace.
  3. Advise on the development of the European Interoperability Framework for Smart Cities and Communities (EIF4SCC): Acknowledging the importance of interoperability for smart cities and communities, the EC contracted Deloitte and KU Leuven University to develop a proposal for a European Interoperability Framework. The aim of the EIF4SCC is to provide European local administration leaders with definitions, principles, recommendations (including practical use cases) and a common model that enables public service delivery across domains, cities, regions and borders.  The first draft of the Framework is open for stakeholder consultation via the following survey until April 12.

For more information about ICC or any of the above points, please contact Cornelia Dinca, ASC International Liaison via cornelia@amsterdamsmartcity.com

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Nancy Zikken, Trade developer Smart City / Sustainable Built Environment at Amsterdam Trade, posted

“Rolling out technology without citizen participation does not work”

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One of our 8000 community members is Tom van Arman. Tom is founder and director of Tapp, an agency that develops responsible urban technologies. Tom is full of ideas about the digital city. 'And citizens must be much more involved in the implementation of technology in the public space', he says.

He uses the data principles of the Tada Manifesto, inclusivity, tailored to people, control, legitimacy, transparancy and for people, in his work.

In this interview Tom explains how entrepreneurs could learn more from each other about developing ethical technology and how Tada can act as a library for the exchange of knowledge.

Check out the interview (in Dutch):

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Eline Meijer, Communication Specialist , posted

Metropolitan Mobility Podcast met Maurits van Hövell: van walkietalkies naar het Operationeel Mobiliteitscentrum

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“Voorheen werd er gewoon rondgebeld: ‘Wij zitten in de instroom van de ArenA. We hebben nu 20.000 man binnen. Hoe gaat het bij jullie op straat?’” In de achtste aflevering van de serie A Radical Redesign for Amsterdam, spreken Carin ten Hage en Geert Kloppenburg met Maurits van Hövell (Johan Cruijff ArenA). Hoe houdt je een wijk met de drie grootste evenementenlocaties van het land, bereikbaar en veilig? Ze spreken elkaar in het Operationeel Mobiliteitscentrum over de rol van de stad Amsterdam, data delen en het houden van regie. A Radical Redesign for Amsterdam wordt gemaakt in opdracht van de Gemeente Amsterdam.

Luister de podcast hier: http://bit.ly/mvhovell

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Yvonne Roos, Smart Health Amsterdam at Smart Health Amsterdam, posted

Smart Health Amsterdam is looking for an intern Communication & Events

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Looking for an internship where you can develop new skills in communications, marketing, PR and event management? Do you have an interest in how AI & data science can contribute to a healthier society and better medical care? Want to work as part of a fun and inspiring team?

As Amsterdam’s key network for data- and AI-driven innovation Smart Health Amsterdam (Gemeente Amsterdam & Amsterdam Economic Board) in #the #life #sciences and #health sector, we’re looking for an intern. Interested? Get in touch today.

https://smarthealthamsterdam.com/p/jobs-at--smart--health--amsterdam Smart

Yvonne Roos's picture #DigitalCity
Audrie van Veen, Director Strategic Partnerships at Amsterdam Economic Board, posted

Inkopen met Impact - hoe start je daarmee?

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Met elke euro die je als organisatie uitgeeft aan producten en diensten, heb je de keuze voor het duurzamer, eerlijker of innovatiever alternatief. Denk aan circulaire en energiebesparende producten en diensten, maar ook aan verantwoorde inzet van technologie. Daarmee is inkopen een belangrijke driver voor een slimme, groene en gezonde toekomst. Budgetten worden anders ingezet en systemen en gewoontes worden zo doorbroken.
De Amsterdam Economic Board heeft inmiddels een heel Insights dossier gericht op Inkopen met Impact. Daarin vind je achtergrondartikelen, maar ook quickstarts die je op weg helpen bij het verantwoorder inkopen van bijvoorbeeld bedrijfscatering, werkkleding of bouw en onderhoud van je organisatie. Je vindt  al deze quickstarts in het dossier Inkopen met Impact. Je vindt er ook links naar hoe je je kunt aansluiten bij activiteiten van de Board die je helpen met beter inkopen.

Audrie van Veen's picture #CircularCity
Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Branchevereniging ICT en Telecommunicatie Grootgebruikers (BTG) is partner van Amsterdam Smart City

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Branchevereniging ICT en Telecommunicatie Grootgebruikers (BTG) sluit zich als Associate Partner aan bij Amsterdam Smart City. Dit betekent dat we onze netwerken aan elkaar verbinden, relevante verbindingen leggen en gezamenlijke events organiseren. BTG is ook lid geworden van de Network Council van de Amsterdam Economic Board.

“Bij het netwerk van Amsterdam Smart City gaat het om het maatschappelijk waardevol inzetten van technologie. Publieke waarde creëren, en technologie inzetten vanuit een menselijk perspectief. Met BTG delen we deze doelstelling en hebben we een gedeeld, maar zeker ook aanvullend netwerk. Hiermee kunnen we elkaar versterken en samen nog meer waarde aan onze maatschappij toevoegen”, aldus Leonie van den Beuken, programma directeur Amsterdam Smart City.

“De digitalisering verandert onze wereld razendsnel; met COVID-19 en de uitrol van 5G als recente aanjagers. BTG zet vol in op deze digitale versnelling samen met haar Solution Partners en Leden. Op deze wijze wordt de leefbaarheid in steden en regio’s verhoogd. Nieuwe innovaties in het smart domein staan hoog op de agenda bij BTG door de inzet van de diverse Expertgroepen op het vlak van IoT, 5G, AI, Security, Smart Society etc. De verkregen best practices worden door BTG ingezet bij het Amsterdam Smart City netwerk. Co-creatie en complementaire
werking, pur sang,” aldus Petra Claessen, CEO BTG/TGG.

Het partnership heeft al geleid tot het gezamenlijk organiseren van twee events in november vorig jaar. Onder de noemer ‘De mindset voor een menselijke slimme stad’ en ‘Hoe kan 5G bijdragen aan verduurzaming van steden?’ hebben we twee bijeenkomsten georganiseerd waarin we met belangrijke stakeholders in gesprek zijn gegaan over de vragen 'Hoe creëren we duurzame en leefbare steden?' 'Hoe kan technologie hierin een nuttig middel zijn?' 'Hoe zetten we mensen centraal in deze steden en nemen we hun waarden mee in de ontwikkeling?'

Bekijk hier de Highlights van beide events.

Belijk hier een verslag van ‘De mindset voor een menselijke slimme stad’

Amsterdam Smart City's picture #DigitalCity
Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Latest developments in the Amsterdam Smart City program

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Last December, the 20 partners of Amsterdam Smart City came together to present the progress of innovation projects, ask for input, share dilemmas and involve other partners in their initiatives.

Following the thought that nobody wants to live in a smart city but in a nice, friendly, cosy city we work on challenges in which people play a central role. These gatherings are called Demo days and occur every 8-10 weeks. Get a quick overview of the topics and projects about to happen in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and let us know if you want to be involved!

ELSA Lab: AI, Media & Democracy

Pascal Wiggers, senior lecturer Responsible Artificial Intelligence at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, is working on an Ethical Legal Societal Aspects Lab to investigate and shape the impact of AI on our society. The University of Applied Sciences is doing this in co-creation together with residents, companies, knowledge institutions and governments. Partners want to understand how AI-driven applications in the media and public space
influence democracy. They also want to experiment with new applications of AI in the media and in the democratic process and draft new ethical and legal guidelines. Pascal is looking for parties that want to join the consortium. Various Amsterdam Smart City partners are interested to join. You too?

Object Detection Kit

Keeping the city streets clean is a major challenge. Maarten Sukel from the City of Amsterdam developed an image recognition system that shows streets in real time maps. For example, garbage bags and other unwanted objects in
the street scene are recognized. The system is based on machine learning and ultimately, we can clean Amsterdam more efficiently and sustainably. The system is continuously improved and tested. In the future it might be used for the recognition of water puddles in the streets, track missing pets, link with a module that shows the value of objects on the streets and more.

Seenons

Seenons believes in a future with 0% residual waste as a standard. Seenons makes it easy to separate waste and then pick it up separately and sustainably. Citizens and companies offer their separate flows via an app, the Seenons platform proposes the optimal route with the best transport options and delivers the residual flows to processors who make new products of them. Seenons also prevents contamination of flows through clear separation and fine-meshed collection. Environmental friendly transport is used, such as cargo bikes.

Mapping of material flows

Maintaining the value of the raw materials was a central topic at this Demoday. Martijn Kamps from Metabolic started with a presentation about recycling of materials. Based on cases in Rotterdam and Philadelphia he showed that there is a lot of construction and demolition waste that is still dumped or burned. This is issue is still not solved because there is too little data available about these materials. According to Metabolic, urban mining can help. A lot information about volumes of waste is available, but there is no business case yet. You can see where flows come from, identify them, decide where you store materials in the meantime and then, where you want to reuse them. The PUMA project was one of the first projects in this field and current projects are all a sequel to PUMA.

Arnout Sabbe from Geofluxus continued. Geofluxus is a startup which originates from REPAIR, a project with Metabolic and AMS Institute, among others. Geofluxus is working on a reclassification model for raw materials. Currently, there are many databases in which raw materials are registered. Geofluxus brings these together as a combination of data sources from industrial waste. In the Geofluxus monitor you can see how p.e. wood from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area eventually spreads all over the world. It shows the impact on the road network and CO2 emissions for certain waste streams elsewhere. Geofluxus is developing this monitor for the City of Amsterdam and expects to have it ready by the end of next year, although the municipality is dependent on the availability of data. New partnerships are therefore necessary. But a first success is already visible: through the monitor is clear that 70% of the waste in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is caused is used by only 7% of companies. A result worth continuing this work and something to hold on to!

Collaboration between governments and innovative companies

In order to innovate we have to work together; governments and innovative companies. That is not always easy. Various organizational cultures and interests collide. Everyone is in their own system and has its own pace. We had an open and honest discussion on this based on two cases. One of the companies started with some positive feedback: the region is at the forefront of circularity, there is a lot of attention and ambition. But collaborating is different. The company experiences a lot of reluctance, especially from governments. There is little willingness to take
responsibility and work outside existing frameworks. In addition, there is an enormous fragmentation of tasks and a fear of explicitly saying yes or no. For the other company this story is recognizable. They experience a lot of enthusiasm about their company, but still it takes a huge amount of time to involve different departments and decision making is very slow. They noted it is time to get out of the pilot sphere and important to mention business models early on.

There was a lot of understanding and recognition from the government side. They recognized the stories about the silos and indicated that it takes a lot of people and time to make decisions. Governments are less likely to think outside the box and both parties must invest in building trust. The advice that came out for both parties: embrace complexity, be persistent, be open to each other, be clear about expectations, go where the energy flows. And as a positive conclusion: once collaboration is there, governments are nice, loyal and reliable partners.

CleanMobileEnergy (CME)

Cenex The Netherlands is in the middle of the development of an intelligent Energy Management System (iEMS), based on three urban pilots in Nottingham (UK), Arnhem (NL) and Schwabisch Gmund (DE). The goal is to develop a transnational and generic iEMS. In these cities, the pilot elements are currently being put out to tender and connected to the iEMS. Cenex would like to know which mobility and energy initiatives could be suitable for integrating in this iEMS.

Sharing Energy in Almere Haven

The City of Almere joined Amsterdam Smart City as a partner and has many great initiatives to share with the network. In 2020 Almere started EARN-E to reduce the use of electricity and gas in people's homes. Next year, Wijkie will be launched: this combines the energy transition with social needs in a neighbourhood. The core is the sharing of energy with your neighbours in your neighbourhood. In order to set up Wijkie successfully, it is important to enter into dialogue with residents.

The Energy Transition Explained

The energy transition is "hot". Much has been reported in the media, but the reporting is not always easy to understand and sometimes even confusing. Knowledge is needed to critically follow the news about the energy transition. That is why Sanne de Boer wrote the book ‘De energietransitie uitgelegd’. The book provides all the basic knowledge needed to follow news and form informed opinions in discussions. Sanne is looking for suggestions for where to market her book to be able to transfer this knowledge.

Curtailment for solar panels

As an energy platform, Vandebron is an innovative player in the field of sustainable energy. They took us along in the story of solar panel curtailment: remotely on and off switching of energy. A well-known phenomenon in the energy world is that the electricity demand is reasonably stable, but due to the volatility of renewable energy there are significant peaks in the electricity supply every year. The result is that the energy grid becomes full due to the surplus of electricity. This creates problems for the grid operator, who is then forced to hand out a fine. In this case, this means a possible fine for Vandebron, who then has to pass it on again to the producer. Nobody is happy about that.

Curtailment could be a solution. Curtailment makes sure that a surplus can be avoided, when solar panels are switched off in time. The central question is: "How to do this effectively?" It is clear that some degree of curtailment is inevitable, but it is also important to determine whether the energy surplus can be reduced in another way. There is still a world to be won with out-of-the-box thinkers on board.

Energy from braking power

The engine of a train or tram is comparable to the dynamo of a bicycle. In addition to powering the train, the motor is also able to generate energy. This happens, for example, during braking. How can we return the energy that is generated to the grid? And what are the options to apply this in neighbourhood hubs? Arcadis told us that energy generated with the brake of a train, can provide an average household with energy for 2.5 weeks.

This offers a lot of opportunities. Braking energy can be deployed immediately in your own system, it can be stored and then deployed, it can be made available to other parties via neighbourhood hubs. And there is more. Suggestions at that popped up at the demoday: returning energy to grid operators, making a link with buses, ferries and taxis, supplying shops at the station, neighbourhood batteries. To get a step further, possible obstacles have to be overcome as well of course. Experts will work on technological challenges and the saving of a lot of energy in a short time among others. In January, Arcadis, the City of Amsterdam, AMS Institute and Alliander will continue working on this topic. Interested? Then contact us.

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Tom van Arman, Director & Founder at Tapp, posted

Future Fitness Garden

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Getting fit and healthy again in 2021? Since the citywide lockdown, members of local sport-clubs have been forced outdoors. One of the most popular (outdoor) fitness areas on the Amsterdam waterfront has been the Marineterrein. In our latest project “Future Fitness Garden” we explore how smart lighting can remind us of safe distancing and capacity in public space during Corona.

Using algorithms we can anonymously detect proximity and density of people working out. For example if they come within 1,5 meters to one another the LED strips turn BLUE. If there are too many people occupying the area the LED will turn RED. This system gently reminds guests to respect each other’s space while sharing the future fitness garden.

Thanks to project partners Marineterrein Amsterdam.  Compliments to AI genius Markus Pfundstein, Electrical Mechanical Wizard Werner Pfundstein

Tom van Arman's picture #DigitalCity
Amsterdam Smart City, Connector of opportunities at Amsterdam Smart City, posted

Apologies for the spam messages of the last few days

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Hi community members,

In the last days, we experienced some remarkable accounts and messages on this online platform. Some of you got e-mail alerts and experienced the messages as spam.

The messages were in fact mainly test messages from ethical hackers.
We would like to let you know we're on it and we aim to solve some bugs very soon.

Our apologies for the the inconvenience in your mailboxes.

Best,
Amsterdam Smart City team

Amsterdam Smart City's picture #DigitalCity