The 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge: Looking Back & Looking Forward

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Over the past 2.5 years, the 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) of the European Commission’s DG GROW (Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) brought together 136 cities in a peer network aimed at transitioning to the green economy.
 
The main beneficiaries of the program were the 80 core cities that received policy advice and project implementation support.  Additionally, all ICC participants engaged in collective learning and knowledge exchange during a series of “City Labs”.
 
The Role of Amsterdam Metropolitan Region (MRA)
The MRA, represented by Amsterdam Economic Board and Amsterdam Smart City program participated in the ICC as one of sixteen mentors, sharing experiences and best practices throughout the ICC journey. Thirteen experts and stakeholders from MRA contributed to sixteen knowledge-sharing sessions on topics such as local green deals, multi-stakeholder governance, up-skilling & re-skilling, smart mobility, circular economy, and citizen-led initiatives.  Amsterdam Smart City and Amsterdam Economic Board also shared knowledge and advice in bilateral meetings with several ICC core cities and participated in the ICC Advisory Board.
 
Closing Conference
The closing conference of the first phase of the ICC took place in Barcelona during the Smart City Expo World Congress on November 15-16. The conference brought together 40 European mayors, vice-mayors, political representatives, and city leaders. Marja Ruigrok, vice-mayor of the city of Haarlemmermeer, shared MRA’s experience and approach on multi-stakeholder collaboration and several Green Deals initiated by Amsterdam Economic Board. The development of Local Green Deals has become a cornerstone of the ICC which supported 42 cities in designing Green Deals through the development of a Green Deals Blueprint, and tailored support.
 
Looking Forward to Phase 2 of ICC
In Barcelona, the European Commission confirmed that the second phase of the ICC initiative will start in 2023. Phase 2 will focus on strengthening the existing network of cities and improving the ICC methodology for city-to-city learning, collaboration, and capacity building. Phase 2 also aims to ensure and improve complementarity between the ICC and other EU initiatives, particularly the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.
 
For more information about the first phase of the ICC, visit:
ICC Website: https://www.intelligentcitieschallenge.eu/
ICC Project on ASC platform: https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/updates/project/the-100-intelligent-cities-challenge

https://www.intelligentcitieschallenge.eu/

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