IBM experts to help selected cities get smarter

BANGALORE, INDIA: IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge program will be sending teams of company experts to Allahabad, Surat and Vizag to help them address city-specific challenges such as waste management, citizen services and disaster management.

The 16 winners for 2015-16 were selected from a competitive pool of more than 100 cities around the world that applied for a grant of consulting services from IBM.

By the end of 2016, IBM will have made such Smarter Cities Challenge grants to more than 130 cities worldwide chosen from more than 600 applicants, with nearly 800 of IBM experts delivering pro bono services valued at more than USD $66 million.

Here's how a typical Smarter Cities Challenge engagement works: IBM Smarter Cities Challenge teams, made up of six IBM experts, spend three weeks working closely with city staff in each winning city, analyzing data about a critical issue facing the municipality.

After working closely with city leadership, the IBM team then recommends innovative and specifically tailored ways to address the issue it studied in that particular city, providing a road map on how the city can improve.

Today, IBM has announced the following cities and regions as winners of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants for 2015-2016: Allahabad, Surat,Vizag, India, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Athens, Greece, Denver, United States, Detroit, United States, Huizhou, China, Melbourne, Australia, Memphis, United States, Rochester, New York, United States, San Isidro, Peru, Santiago, Chile, Sekondi, Ghana,Taichung, Taiwan, Xuzhou, China.