The existence of numerous innovative urban intelligence projects that are being developed in the different counties of our country has created a unique opportunity for the exchange of experiences and for the construction of a knowledge sharing community.
The NOVA Cidade – Urban Analytics Lab’s ambition to play an active role in building an urban and territorial intelligence ecosystem in Portugal is materialized in SMART PORTUGAL.
Nowadays SMART PORTUGAL is a collaborative network bringing together the territory (municipalities), academia and companies that organically build, together, a more intelligent and sustainable country based on the territory, its identity and its endogenous resources.
SMART PORTUGAL’s action was developed through: a set of events that annually dynamize and mobilize the community in sharing knowledge and identifying challenges and opportunities, through the Smart Cities Tour and the Summit of the Mayors; the establishment of international connections and the projection of Portugal as an exporting country of good practices and innovative products and services; and the construction of a social network of urban intelligence in Portugal, where the public knows what is best done in the country and the local community has access to an intranet for sharing knowledge.
As Jane Jacobs, stated, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
To achieve this ambition, the NOVA Cidade – Urban Analytics Lab has partnered with ANMP to implement an annual plan of activities aimed at promoting the sharing of information between different municipalities and relevant entities in the areas of Smart Cities.
The goal is to accelerate the innovation of Smart Cities projects in Portugal, making the country an example of excellence worldwide.
Smart Portugal #SCEWC
It is an initiative that extends the scope of Smart Portugal to entities, other than Portuguese municipalities, and has the collaboration of AICEP Portugal Global, E.P. – Agência para o Investimento e Comércio Externo de Portugal and the Smart Cities Portugal Cluster, as well as NOVA Cidade – Urban Analytics Lab, NOVA IMS of NOVA University Lisbon and the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP).
This initiative aims to:
- share and inspire innovation;
contribute to a Portuguese concept of a Smart and Sustainable City, and - promote and affirm national companies in the global Smart Cities market.
- It takes the form of Portugal’s participation in “Smart Cities” events, including the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, the world’s leading event for cities and a unique meeting point for the entire smart cities ecosystem.
Corporate leaders, public representatives, entrepreneurs, experts and academics from all over the world gather at this type of event to learn from each other, share experiences, talk about best practices and open up new avenues for international collaboration.
The sustainable development of the territory is also achieved through the digital transformation of cities, and Smart City Expo World Congress is the showcase for global innovation in cities.
The Smart Cities Tour is a hub for knowledge sharing and itinerant reflection that travels through several cities in mainland Portugal and the islands.
This initiative, organized by the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), through the Smart Cities Section in partnership with NOVA Cidade, and other partners, aims to discuss the new challenges of the cities and make known the solutions that will allow to improve the quality of life for people creating more modern, efficient and sustainable cities.
The results have, therefore, been very positive, both on the side of the municipalities that need to know new solutions, and for the companies themselves that must adapt the capabilities of technology to the needs of each urban reality. Here, the university plays an extremely relevant role in defining new content and management models, training the necessary human resources to implement new methodologies associated with intelligent data management in the city.
Smart Portugal Platform
The SMART PORTUGAL platform aims to support the knowledge management of urban intelligence in our country and constitute itself as a municipal network of people and projects that supports the sharing of good practices and the lessons learned in the process, facilitating access not only to projects, but more importantly, to those responsible for them, aiming to create a community of practice in the context of Smart Cities in Portugal.
The dynamics that are experienced today in Portugal in the context of smart cities, which can be proven by the countless urban intelligence projects that currently emerge in the cities and towns of the country and the fact that the Section of Smart Cities Municipalities is, in the space of two years, the largest section of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities, poses the challenge of sharing knowledge to the actors of this true revolution.
