THE CHALLENGE:
Intelligent City

Project Greenlight’s open call process solicits innovative ideas that address complex challenges facing public and private enterprises (“members”). Whether your submission involves an emerging technology you are bringing to market, or a commercially available solution used in an adjacent industry, it must be unique, scalable, and align with the City of New Westminster’s strategic priorities.

The Intelligent City strategy operationalizes New Westminster’s vision for building the most livable and technologically advanced city in Canada. The plan includes a framework for leveraging technology and external partnerships and acting as a testbed for new innovations.

The City of New Westminster is particularly focused on bringing positive and inclusive benefits in the digital economy while building on its community assets, including the BridgeNet open-access fibre network. The City is looking to leverage its assets to introduce innovation in the following areas:

1. Digital government
2. Improved service delivery and intelligent infrastructure solutions
3. Digital inclusion

  • Areas of consideration include proposals that promote digital inclusion in our community, promote learning and engagement for citizens, and leverage the City’s uniqueness in the region. At only 14 square kilometers, with five SkyTrain stations, two civic-owned public libraries, and its own electrical utility and fibre network, New Westminster provides an excellent opportunity to test new innovations that support digital inclusion.

4. The City is also interested in solutions that support active transportation methods, the development of arts and culture, and the technology and creative class that work and live in the community.

Desired Outcome

The City of New Westminster is committed to driving continuous innovation in its delivery of programs, projects, and processes. Successful proponents may be invited to pilot their solution within the city’s infrastructure and asset portfolio. Proposals should directly relate to an identified priority or need.

Opportunity

Engaging the City of New Westminster could lead to one of the following scenarios:

  • A proponent conducting a demonstration of its solution
  • The City issuing a call to seek market responses to the goods and services being offered
  • The City pursuing the proposal
  • The City not pursuing the proposal

Note: all inquiries and proposals must be submitted through the Project Greenlight website. If you have a question, check the FAQ for commonly asked questions; alternatively, you can submit your query using the Contact Us form. Please do not contact members directly.

Evaluation Criteria

Show all criteria

Successful proposals will address the following:

  • Any product that is already commercially available would be subject to standard procurement processes, including an open RFP, and will not be considered through Project Greenlight.
  • Proponents should propose new and innovative technology that requires testing.
  • The City is only interested in no-cost proposals at this time.

Successful proposals will address the following:

  • The City of New Westminster has limited financial and staff resources to proceed with projects that do not meet the above-stated priority areas, and that do not address a specific need or present a clear outcome. Note: Solutions that include engagement platform, traffic signal optimization, or fleet monitoring devices will not be considered at this time.
  • The City of New Westminster is targeting companies with solutions that land between six and nine on the technology readiness scale (TRL), although it will consider lower TRL solutions on a demonstration basis if they are especially novel.
  • Proponents must explain how their proposed solution meets the basic certifications and/or minimum standards required to deploy any product and/or service (i.e. CSA, Technical Safety BC, Health Canada, National Sanitation Foundation, WorkSafe BC).
  • Proponents must demonstrate Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) compliance for any solution that handles personal information.
  • If applicable, proponents should explain coverage (i.e. how many nodes will the solution need?), effectiveness (how well will the solution mitigate risks or improve performance?), and reliability (how well does the solution perform in real-world environments?).

All Project Greenlight review processes have the following criteria:

  • All companies must demonstrate financial stability and ongoing operational readiness.
  • Proponents should explain their intellectual property strategy, including appropriate protections secured or in process.
  • Proponents should identify their technology’s associated risks, including those that may emerge during deployment and operation, and outline a corresponding plan to mitigate them.
  • Proponents should make a strong business case for any submissions, with a return on investment that can be subjected to a sensitivity analysis based on performance metrics.
  • Proponents should explain their desired outcomes with respect to promotion of the results of any engagement.

 

Review Process

The Project Greenlight team (Vancouver Economic Commission and Foresight sector leads) undertakes a standardized review process across all challenges. Proponents should review the eligibility criteria for their specific challenges, as each has its own requirements. Proponents should also closely review the Application Handbook [PDF].

Read more about the review process

The process begins with an initial review of submissions, checking for completeness and ensuring compliance with minimum criteria. The Project Greenlight team will advise proponents of their eligibility for further consideration.

The Project Greenlight team will then pass on eligible submissions to the member, which will review them for relevance and quality. The Project Greenlight team will support this process and act as an intermediary between the member and proponent if any further clarification is required.

At this time, given the heightened demands on the City’s staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Project Greenlight team will take the lead to review proposals on an ongoing basis, and will forward promising proposals to the City of New Westminster. The City will endeavour to review shortlisted proposals on a capacity informed, semi-regular basis.

A shortlist of proponents may be invited to make a direct pitch to relevant City of New Westminster senior managers. We will provide templates and the format in advance, giving proponents at least 14 days of lead time to develop a presentation. Pitches will be followed by a Q&A.

Proponents should not be discouraged if they are not selected for a particular challenge. We encourage multiple applications and re-applications as deficiencies are addressed.

 

Additional Resources