European Network of City Policy Labs
The European Network of City Policy Labs
Smart City is a global urban challenge. Its core is a complex combination of leveraging the city’s unique contribution to the globalized world, driving local communities’ sustainable development while adopting a digital transformation, energy transition, and mobility restructuring without significantly increasing its budget.
It is a mammoth of a task only for the Smarter Mayors.
That is why we, at Innovate City, perceived that mayors ability to drive a regulatory framework for a thriving city is a critical risk factor for cities to become smarter and more sustainable. But, turning the city smarter is a global challenge for all cities. The smartest starting point is to get all city leaders together in a collaboration network, and experience exchange focused on their primary activity: regulate to thrive!
Based on years of experience within the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities, we launched a European Network of City Policy Labs.
In common, most cities signed for the New Urban Agenda and EU’s Join Boost and Sustain, commit for the Paris agreement on carbon neutrality, and the Tallinn agreement on eGovernance among dozens of others.
If Mayors share the same visions, shouldn’t they also share the regulations supporting the visions? Why not going a step further and share the investments, partners and purchases to support such visions?
This EU Smart Cities Marketplace initiative is open to all local governments to cooperate in their activities, acting together, reducing the risks and the costs while implementing what works for their communities’ best.
The European Network of City Policy Labs has the objective to act in three main areas:
Smart City cooperative
Innovate.City has developed a cooperative model for research, adoption and acquiring Smart City Solutions. Cities can join forces in cooperative research programs, joint investments in a cooperative procurement body (CPB), joint EU calls or simply piggybacking on other urban processes.
By moving from a network to a cooperative of city leaders, a Policy Lab is the gateway for cities do more with less.
Digital Governance
From the evident inability from cities to regulate emerging businesses models (like extraction platforms pretending to be “shared” economy) and new advanced technologies (like Blockchain, drones and AI) in time and for the best interest of their local communities. Digital Governance is critical for local development, and yet, there is an evident lack of capacity that can be improved by a network of cities sharing their experiments while adopting anticipatory regulation. o.
Co-creation ecosystem
Open governance, sharing the city’s challenges or missions to all city stakeholders co-create solutions is definitely the post-pandemic new paradigm. Local governments must enable the development of this ecosystem, offering an urban structure (digital and brick and mortar) along with a team of experts to engage and bring together all relevant stakeholders. The ability to do so much more with less will make the city smarter while thriving communities will drive the ecosystem towards sustainable development.
Innovation
Curiously, most of the existing policy labs are installed in city incubators or accelerators! The reason why is because a Policy Lab can play a critical role in local innovators to thrive. As crucial as investors and mentors, a favourable regulatory framework along with a disruptive procurement process represents the boost for success. Significant innovation must mean a behaviour change for the better via an out of the box approach to the establishment. That often means barriers to disruptive innovation. Regulatory sandboxes are a significant leap forward without jeopardy of the commonwealth.
Regulatory Sandboxes
Regulatory sandboxes are protective environments to test and grow new technologies and business models with significant impact. Such testing environments are vital for city progress: it allows the local community to drive the change without legal restraints, building new and innovative models while the Municipality measure its impact and adapt regulations along the way (anticipatory regulation). Regulatory sandboxes play a fundamental role in attracting investments, developing the local economy, improving its sustainability and guaranteeing that new trends and emerging technologies are implemented in the city for the best of the local community.
If you are part of any local government contact us and we will guide you on the process. If you want your city to develop an FBE, sign up now, and we’ll help you make it happen!
EU Smart Cities Marketplace
Our initiative at the EIP-SCC
Some of our leading members had a long collaboration with the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) participating in several initiatives and organising workshops mostly about engagement and co-creation.
From experience in facilitating models and tools to better engage with citizens, it became clear that Sustainable Cities is not a bottom-up or top-down approach. It is a side-by-side co-creation process.
Urban stakeholders and their representative governments must meet half-way! That requires a new urban foundation adopting new instruments (like anticipatory regulation), innovative regulatory frameworks (like sandboxes) and a fixed urban structure open for co-creation (Policy Labs).
EIP-SCC is the central marketplace for most Smart City solution providers and is attracting investors to fund some initiatives. The reason why was rebranded as EU Smart Cities Marketplace.
As an EIP-SCC initiative, our role is to bridge everyone’s interests in a partnership for sustainable development of the local community.
Our focus is to provide the tools and the urban structures to efficiently develop a Future Building Ecosystem, delivering to all stakeholders the necessary conditions to thrive sustainably.
As we’ve been saying for a long time:
Progress and quality of living improvements are the replicating formulae for sustainable cities!
Our initiative’s success in bringing to life great implementations has been critical to expanding our European Network of City Policy Labs and the success of many private companies listed on the EIP-SCC marketplace.
From an EU Smart City Marketplace initiative, Innovate.city is now a not-for-profit foundation for urban innovation with headquarters in Eindhoven. We are the best gateway to connect solution providers, city investors, policymakers, local communities and governments in a mission-oriented approach to sustainable development.
Let’s face the facts: there is no capacity from the private or public sector alone to deal with the future demand of a sustainable city transformation. A smart city can only be possible when all stakeholders are involved co-investing in the better common good!
Our blended implementation model is designed to benefit every member of the EU Smart City Marketplace by connecting each other towards a city mission.
Join our initiative when joining the EU Smart Cities Marketplace and the benefit of a guide and our participation models.
Innovate.city initiative at the EIP-SCC (now EU Smart City Marketplace) created the European Network of City Policy Labs. Because we perceived that if all cities share similar challenges and visions, then the smartest way to implement it is by joining forces.
Our initiative at the EIP-SCC is open to everyone and every contribution counts! From businesses, academia, citizens or local governments you are a valuable contribution to a network of sustainable citymakers!
Innovate.city @Nordic Edge
Join us at Nordic Edge to co-create an Energy community.
Nordic Edge will stage the launch of the new strategy proposed by Innovate.city and its European Network of City Policy Labs.
To thrive in the post-pandemic ‘new normality’ cities must develop a Future Building Ecosystem (FBE). Innovate.city has been actively developing the tools, methods and technologies to support a successful action of leading the new paradigm shift towards an all-inclusive urban sustainable development.
In our workshop on September 23rd at 14:00, we will launch our Sustainable Development Canvas developed in collaboration with UN University.
In the workshop, the same canvas will be used in co-creating Energy Communities as proposed by the Green Deal.
Investors, energy service providers, municipalities and every citizen that wish to join us will have the possibility to use this standard platform to co-create an energy community.
We intend to explain the dynamics of our co-creation canvas but is also possible to talk and share experiences about developing energy communities and perhaps connecting different communities towards an application to the green deal.
The only limitation is our capacity to co-create.
Join us! Be part of the global community, learn our tools and co-create the next paradigm shift from the Green Deal: energy communities!
Subscribe in the form below, and we’ll invite you into our session.
Calm over the horizon
Many years ago, I worked for my parents who own a video production company. Because it is a family business, you inevitably end up wearing many hats and being the czar of many different jobs. I mainly managed projects and worked as a video editor. On production, there were times that I was called on to work as an audio tech and was made to wear headphones on long production days. In those days, having a really good set of headphones that picked up every nuance of sound was essential to making sure the client got what they needed.
First impressions.
Naturally, my first impression of these headphones is based off of the look of them. They have a classic over-the-ear style that is highlighted by a blue LED light that indicates the power for the noise canceling. The padding on the ear pieces seems adequate for extended usage periods.
They are wired headphones, but the 3.5mm stereo mini-plug cable is detachable. Something else I noticed right of the bat was the very nice carrying case that comes with them. It has a hard plastic exterior with a soft cloth interior that helps to protect the surface of the headphones from scratches. I never truly appreciated cases for headphones until I started carrying them from place-to-place. Now I can’t imagine not having a case.
A perfect fit.
Once I gave the headphones a thorough once-over exam, I tried them on. As I mentioned, they have a classic over-the-ear style and just looking at them, the padding on the ear pieces seem adequate and the peak of the headband seemed to be a bit lacking, but you don’t really know comfort unless you try on the product. So, I slipped the headphones on and found them to be exquisitely comfortable.
Quality.
Now that I had the headphones on my head, I was finally ready to plug and play some music. I plugged the provided cable into the jack on the headphones and then the one on my iPhone 6. Then I called up Pandora. I tend to have a very eclectic music purview and have many stations set up for different moods. From John Williams to Fallout Boy, the sound quality of these headphones was remarkable. There is an amazing depth of sound and incredible highs and lows that make listening to music a truly breathtaking experience.
It’s safe to say that because of my unique professional experiences, I’ve tested out a lot of headphones.
In order to test how voices sounded, and the overall art of sound mixing, I pulled up Netflix on my iPad Air 2 and watched a few minutes of a movie to hear all the nuances of the film. None of them were lost. In fact, I ended up hearing sounds that I hadn’t heard before. Echoes…birds chirping…wind blowing through trees…breathing of the characters…it was very impressive what the headphones ended up bringing out for me.
I would highly recommend these to any sound mixing specialist.
Inspired by clouds
Take your time.
I’ve got a Fujifilm X100s. It runs about $1300. It’s easily the best camera I’ve ever owned. I take care of it as best as I can, but I don’t let taking care of it impact the photography. Let me elaborate on that a bit better. You’ll get better at each section of what we talked about slowly. And while you do, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it all is and how the habit forms. The best way to get better at photography is start by taking your camera everywhere. If you leave your house, your camera leaves with you. The only exception is if you’re planning for a weekend bender — then probably leave it at home. Other than that, always have it slung over your shoulder. It would probably help to get an extra battery to carry in your pocket. I’ve got three batteries. One in my camera, one in my pocket, one in the charger.
When it dies, swap them all.
For me, the most important part of improving at photography has been sharing it. Sign up for an Exposure account, or post regularly to Tumblr, or both. Tell people you’re trying to get better at photography. Talk about it. When you talk about it, other people get excited about it. They’ll come on photo walks with you. They’ll pose for portraits. They’ll buy your prints, zines, whatever.
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
— Rabindranath Tagore
Breathe the world.
I’ve got a Fujifilm X100s. It runs about $1300. It’s easily the best camera I’ve ever owned. I take care of it as best as I can, but I don’t let taking care of it impact the photography. Let me elaborate on that a bit better. You’ll get better at each section of what we talked about slowly. And while you do, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it all is and how the habit forms. The best way to get better at photography is start by taking your camera everywhere. If you leave your house, your camera leaves with you. The only exception is if you’re planning for a weekend bender — then probably leave it at home. Other than that, always have it slung over your shoulder. It would probably help to get an extra battery to carry in your pocket. I’ve got three batteries. One in my camera, one in my pocket, one in the charger. When it dies, swap them all.
For me, the most important part of improving at photography has been sharing it. Sign up for an Exposure account, or post regularly to Tumblr, or both. Tell people you’re trying to get better at photography. Talk about it. When you talk about it, other people get excited about it. They’ll come on photo walks with you. They’ll pose for portraits. They’ll buy your prints, zines, whatever.
Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.
— Christopher Morley
Enjoy the morning.
The best way to get better at photography is start by taking your camera everywhere. If you leave your house, your camera leaves with you. The only exception is if you’re planning for a weekend bender — then probably leave it at home. Other than that, always have it slung over your shoulder. It would probably help to get an extra battery to carry in your pocket. I’ve got three batteries. One in my camera, one in my pocket, one in the charger. When it dies, swap them all.
For me, the most important part of improving at photography has been sharing it. Sign up for an Exposure account, or post regularly to Tumblr, or both. Tell people you’re trying to get better at photography. Talk about it. When you talk about it, other people get excited about it. They’ll come on photo walks with you. They’ll pose for portraits. They’ll buy your prints, zines, whatever. I’ve got a Fujifilm X100s. It runs about $1300.
It’s easily the best camera I’ve ever owned. I take care of it as best as I can, but I don’t let taking care of it impact the photography. Let me elaborate on that a bit better. You’ll get better at each section of what we talked about slowly. And while you do, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it all is and how the habit forms.
There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds and this is real.
— Gilbert K. Chesterton
Free your mind.
The best way to get better at photography is start by taking your camera everywhere. If you leave your house, your camera leaves with you. The only exception is if you’re planning for a weekend bender — then probably leave it at home. Other than that, always have it slung over your shoulder. It would probably help to get an extra battery to carry in your pocket. I’ve got three batteries. One in my camera, one in my pocket, one in the charger. When it dies, swap them all.
I’ve got a Fujifilm X100s. It runs about $1300. It’s easily the best camera I’ve ever owned. I take care of it as best as I can, but I don’t let taking care of it impact the photography. Let me elaborate on that a bit better. You’ll get better at each section of what we talked about slowly. And while you do, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it all is and how the habit forms.
For me, the most important part of improving at photography has been sharing it. Sign up for an Exposure account, or post regularly to Tumblr, or both. Tell people you’re trying to get better at photography. Talk about it. When you talk about it, other people get excited about it. They’ll come on photo walks with you. They’ll pose for portraits. They’ll buy your prints, zines, whatever.
Photography is better shared.
Make it clean and simple
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Just the other day I happened to wake up early. That is unusual for an engineering student. After a long time I could witness the sunrise. I could feel the sun rays falling on my body. Usual morning is followed by hustle to make it to college on time. This morning was just another morning yet seemed different.
Witnessing calm and quiet atmosphere, clear and fresh air seemed like a miracle to me. I wanted this time to last longer since I was not sure if I would be able to witness it again, knowing my habit of succumbing to schedule. There was this unusual serenity that comforted my mind. It dawned on me, how distant I had been from nature. Standing near the compound’s gate, feeling the moistness that the air carried, I thought about my life so far.
This is what has happened to us. We want the things we have been doing forcefully to fail. And then maybe people around us would let us try something else or our dreams. We are accustomed to live by everyone else’s definition of success. We punish people for the things they are passionate about, just because we were unable to do the same at some point in our life.
I was good at academics, so decisions of my life had been pretty simple and straight. Being pretty confident I would make it to the best junior college of my town in the first round itself, never made me consider any other option. I loved psychology since childhood, but engineering was the safest option. Being born in a middle class family, thinking of risking your career to make it to medical field was not sane. I grew up hearing ‘Only doctor’s children can afford that field’ and finally ended up believing it. No one around me believed in taking risks. Everyone worshiped security. I grew up doing the same.
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‘Being in the top will only grant you a good life’ has been the mantra of my life. But at times, I wish I was an average student. I wish decisions would have not been so straightforward. Maybe I would have played cricket- the only thing I feel passionate about. Or maybe I would have studied literature (literature drives me crazy). Isn’t that disappointing- me wishing to be bad at academics. It’s like at times I hate myself for the stuff I am good at.
I feel like these concrete buildings have sucked our desires and our dreams. We are so used to comfort that compromise seems like a taboo. We have lost faith in ourselves. If we can make through it right now, we can do the same in the days to come. You only need a desire to survive and nothing more- not money or cars or designer clothes.
Staying locked up in four walls have restricted our thinking. I feel like our limited thinking echoes through this wall. We are so used to schedules and predictable life that we have successfully suppressed our creative side.
When you step out of these four walls on a peaceful morning, you realize how much nature has to offer to you. Its boundless. Your thoughts, worries, deadlines won’t resonate here. Everything will flow away along with the wind. And you will realize every answer you had been looking for, was always known to you.
It would mean a lot to me if you recommend this article and help me improve. I would love to know your thoughts!
Real time design tools
Just the other day I happened to wake up early. That is unusual for an engineering student. After a long time I could witness the sunrise. I could feel the sun rays falling on my body. Usual morning is followed by hustle to make it to college on time. This morning was just another morning yet seemed different.
Witnessing calm and quiet atmosphere, clear and fresh air seemed like a miracle to me. I wanted this time to last longer since I was not sure if I would be able to witness it again, knowing my habit of succumbing to schedule. There was this unusual serenity that comforted my mind. It dawned on me, how distant I had been from nature. Standing near the compound’s gate, feeling the moistness that the air carried, I thought about my life so far.
I was good at academics, so decisions of my life had been pretty simple and straight. Being pretty confident I would make it to the best junior college of my town in the first round itself, never made me consider any other option. I loved psychology since childhood, but engineering was the safest option. Being born in a middle class family, thinking of risking your career to make it to medical field was not sane. I grew up hearing ‘Only doctor’s children can afford that field’ and finally ended up believing it. No one around me believed in taking risks. Everyone worshiped security. I grew up doing the same.
This is what has happened to us. We want the things we have been doing forcefully to fail. And then maybe people around us would let us try something else or our dreams. We are accustomed to live by everyone else’s definition of success. We punish people for the things they are passionate about, just because we were unable to do the same at some point in our life.
I feel like these concrete buildings have sucked our desires and our dreams. We are so used to comfort that compromise seems like a taboo. We have lost faith in ourselves. If we can make through it right now, we can do the same in the days to come. You only need a desire to survive and nothing more- not money or cars or designer clothes.
Staying locked up in four walls have restricted our thinking. I feel like our limited thinking echoes through this wall. We are so used to schedules and predictable life that we have successfully suppressed our creative side.
When you step out of these four walls on a peaceful morning, you realize how much nature has to offer to you. Its boundless. Your thoughts, worries, deadlines won’t resonate here. Everything will flow away along with the wind. And you will realize every answer you had been looking for, was always known to you.
It would mean a lot to me if you recommend this article and help me improve. I would love to know your thoughts!
Hey DJ play that song
Many years ago, I worked for my parents who own a video production company. Because it is a family business, you inevitably end up wearing many hats and being the czar of many different jobs. I mainly managed projects and worked as a video editor. On production, there were times that I was called on to work as an audio tech and was made to wear headphones on long production days. In those days, having a really good set of headphones that picked up every nuance of sound was essential to making sure the client got what they needed.
Keep me dancing.
Naturally, my first impression of these headphones is based off of the look of them. They have a classic over-the-ear style that is highlighted by a blue LED light that indicates the power for the noise canceling. The padding on the ear pieces seems adequate for extended usage periods.
They are wired headphones, but the 3.5mm stereo mini-plug cable is detachable. Something else I noticed right of the bat was the very nice carrying case that comes with them. It has a hard plastic exterior with a soft cloth interior that helps to protect the surface of the headphones from scratches. I never truly appreciated cases for headphones until I started carrying them from place-to-place. Now I can’t imagine not having a case.
All night long...
Once I gave the headphones a thorough once-over exam, I tried them on. As I mentioned, they have a classic over-the-ear style and just looking at them, the padding on the ear pieces seem adequate and the peak of the headband seemed to be a bit lacking, but you don’t really know comfort unless you try on the product. So, I slipped the headphones on and found them to be exquisitely comfortable.
Play me something for me and my darling, want you to make everything.
Now that I had the headphones on my head, I was finally ready to plug and play some music. I plugged the provided cable into the jack on the headphones and then the one on my iPhone 6. Then I called up Pandora. I tend to have a very eclectic music purview and have many stations set up for different moods. From John Williams to Fallout Boy, the sound quality of these headphones was remarkable. There is an amazing depth of sound and incredible highs and lows that make listening to music a truly breathtaking experience.
In order to test how voices sounded, and the overall art of sound mixing, I pulled up Netflix on my iPad Air 2 and watched a few minutes of a movie to hear all the nuances of the film. None of them were lost. In fact, I ended up hearing sounds that I hadn’t heard before. Echoes…birds chirping…wind blowing through trees…breathing of the characters…it was very impressive what the headphones ended up bringing out for me.