Periodic Reporting for period 2 - frontierCities2 (frontierCities2 - Another Level of Impact)
Période du rapport: 2017-12-01 au 2018-11-30
The problem/issue being addressed
frontierCities2 (fC2) - Another Level of Impact focuses on supporting the development and market uptake of FIWARE-enabled solutions (powered-by-FIWARE solutions) in the Smart Cities domain. The problem being addressed is how to ensure optimal development and market uptake of smart cities solutions that use FIWARE. More specifically, in addition to seeking to tackle the challenges faced by start-ups and SMEs in developing innovation solutions and bringing them to market, other key problems include specific challenges in bringing solutions to the smart cities market, as well as the fact that they FIWARE ecosystem of start-ups and companies using FIWARE is still relatively small and with limited (but growing) exposure and recognition in cities across Europe. In addition to providing grant funding support through competitive calls, frontierCities 2 will also seek to facilitate grantee company access to cities and other potential customer segments, as well as providing other acceleration support such as fostering partnerships and investment facilitation.
Importance for Society
frontierCities2 is part of the wider emerging ecosystem that is promoting open-source platforms and technologies to foster societal innovations and tackle societal challenges. By fostering the development of start-ups and SMEs that use FIWARE in their solutions this is not only supporting innovation and innovative start-ups and SMEs, but is also increasing the range of open-source smart cities solutions that cities and other smart cities actors can tap into, allowing them to avoid vendor-lock in and increase the capacity to assemble various smart cities solutions as they see fit. This should provide better value for money over time, as well as increase the scope for replication across a larger number of cities, and help Europe in its effort to ensure that it remains competitive in the digital economy.
frontierCities2 Overall Objectives
Key frontierCities 2 Objectives include the following:
1. Build on the current success of the existing fC Accelerator by further developing the range of smart mobility solutions, while broadening into other Smart Cities areas, offering an increased range of proven FIWARE;
2. Building on the existing impact of frontierCities in European Cities to significantly expand the network of trial and deployment partner cities;
3. A significantly strengthened and focussed Market Acceleration Programme, to provide increased support for successful business development and market uptake;
4. A Call and market strategy that will offer superior impact and results in terms of i) Start-up and SME growth and employment and growth and ii) excellent societal impact by prioritising Acceleration2 grants to proven smart mobility solutions from the current frontierCities, thereby providing increased ‘impact return’ for EU taxpayers’ money;
5. A Cities deployment support and acceleration programme, to accelerate interest and take-up among cities, as well as providing learning, experience exchange and capacity development;
An investment and financing support service to support grantees (but also where needed cities) to secure financing and investment, including lending, seed and early-stage venture capital, Crowdfunding.
frontierCities2 (fC2) - Another Level of Impact focuses on supporting the development and market uptake of FIWARE-enabled solutions (powered-by-FIWARE solutions) in the Smart Cities domain. The problem being addressed is how to ensure optimal development and market uptake of smart cities solutions that use FIWARE. More specifically, in addition to seeking to tackle the challenges faced by start-ups and SMEs in developing innovation solutions and bringing them to market, other key problems include specific challenges in bringing solutions to the smart cities market, as well as the fact that they FIWARE ecosystem of start-ups and companies using FIWARE is still relatively small and with limited (but growing) exposure and recognition in cities across Europe. In addition to providing grant funding support through competitive calls, frontierCities 2 will also seek to facilitate grantee company access to cities and other potential customer segments, as well as providing other acceleration support such as fostering partnerships and investment facilitation.
Importance for Society
frontierCities2 is part of the wider emerging ecosystem that is promoting open-source platforms and technologies to foster societal innovations and tackle societal challenges. By fostering the development of start-ups and SMEs that use FIWARE in their solutions this is not only supporting innovation and innovative start-ups and SMEs, but is also increasing the range of open-source smart cities solutions that cities and other smart cities actors can tap into, allowing them to avoid vendor-lock in and increase the capacity to assemble various smart cities solutions as they see fit. This should provide better value for money over time, as well as increase the scope for replication across a larger number of cities, and help Europe in its effort to ensure that it remains competitive in the digital economy.
frontierCities2 Overall Objectives
Key frontierCities 2 Objectives include the following:
1. Build on the current success of the existing fC Accelerator by further developing the range of smart mobility solutions, while broadening into other Smart Cities areas, offering an increased range of proven FIWARE;
2. Building on the existing impact of frontierCities in European Cities to significantly expand the network of trial and deployment partner cities;
3. A significantly strengthened and focussed Market Acceleration Programme, to provide increased support for successful business development and market uptake;
4. A Call and market strategy that will offer superior impact and results in terms of i) Start-up and SME growth and employment and growth and ii) excellent societal impact by prioritising Acceleration2 grants to proven smart mobility solutions from the current frontierCities, thereby providing increased ‘impact return’ for EU taxpayers’ money;
5. A Cities deployment support and acceleration programme, to accelerate interest and take-up among cities, as well as providing learning, experience exchange and capacity development;
An investment and financing support service to support grantees (but also where needed cities) to secure financing and investment, including lending, seed and early-stage venture capital, Crowdfunding.
The work carried out by the frontierCities2 consortium has included:
1. Setting up the project management and communications practices and tools, including the fC2 website
2. Designing the fC2 Calls Strategy and Calls Programme, and the Call Promotion Strategy and Call Assessment Approach
3. Launching the fC2 FI-TECH, and Market Acceleration Grant (MAG1) Calls, and promote these Calls
4. Contracting the 6 successful MAG Candidates selected
5. Contracting the 8 successful FI-TECH Candidates selected
6. Development of the Grant Management System
7. Development of the Acceleration Strategy and Work Programme
8. Development of the Cities Market Uptake Strategy and Work Plan
9. Development of the Partnerships and Financing Support Strategy and Work Plan
10. Implementing the Acceleration support for the FI-TECH Grantees
11. Implementing the Acceleration support for the MAG Grantees
12. Launching of the MAG2 Call and Call promotion
13. Launching of fC2 Cities Market uptake and contact programme
14. Contracting the 5 successful MAG2 Candidates
15. Implementing the Acceleration support for the MAG2 Grantees
16. Implementing the Partnership and Financial Support programme
1. Setting up the project management and communications practices and tools, including the fC2 website
2. Designing the fC2 Calls Strategy and Calls Programme, and the Call Promotion Strategy and Call Assessment Approach
3. Launching the fC2 FI-TECH, and Market Acceleration Grant (MAG1) Calls, and promote these Calls
4. Contracting the 6 successful MAG Candidates selected
5. Contracting the 8 successful FI-TECH Candidates selected
6. Development of the Grant Management System
7. Development of the Acceleration Strategy and Work Programme
8. Development of the Cities Market Uptake Strategy and Work Plan
9. Development of the Partnerships and Financing Support Strategy and Work Plan
10. Implementing the Acceleration support for the FI-TECH Grantees
11. Implementing the Acceleration support for the MAG Grantees
12. Launching of the MAG2 Call and Call promotion
13. Launching of fC2 Cities Market uptake and contact programme
14. Contracting the 5 successful MAG2 Candidates
15. Implementing the Acceleration support for the MAG2 Grantees
16. Implementing the Partnership and Financial Support programme
Progress beyond the state of the art
• Progress beyond the state of the art has been recorded by some frontierCities2 grantees, with respect to their solutions and/or their market uptake.
• fC2 has started working to fully understand the level of market penetration of FIWARE in European start-ups and SMEs achieved under past FI-PPP phases. In particular, the Phase 3 A16 Programme in order to further understand needs and target support.
• Acceleration work support in 2018 included four further acceleration BootCamps in January, March, July and September. The BootCamp held in March was a back to back event with the largest EU transport and mobility gathering in Europe (Intertraffic Amsterdam). Also there was the international participation of the fC2 grantees to the SCEWC Barcelona, Spain, 2018; the Polis Annual event 2018 in Manchester, UK; and the FIWARE Summit in Malaga November 2018.
• Progress beyond the state of the art has been recorded by some frontierCities2 grantees, with respect to their solutions and/or their market uptake.
• fC2 has started working to fully understand the level of market penetration of FIWARE in European start-ups and SMEs achieved under past FI-PPP phases. In particular, the Phase 3 A16 Programme in order to further understand needs and target support.
• Acceleration work support in 2018 included four further acceleration BootCamps in January, March, July and September. The BootCamp held in March was a back to back event with the largest EU transport and mobility gathering in Europe (Intertraffic Amsterdam). Also there was the international participation of the fC2 grantees to the SCEWC Barcelona, Spain, 2018; the Polis Annual event 2018 in Manchester, UK; and the FIWARE Summit in Malaga November 2018.