Anna Forrester
IBM will provide pro bono consulting services to 16 municipalities around the world in an effort to address issues with citizen services through 2016 through a new set of grants awarded under the company’s Smarter Cities Challenge program.
The company said Tuesday it values each consulting engagement at around $500,000.
“[Cities] around the world are now able to better use data and transform the way they engage citizens, deliver service, and make their cities more livable,” said Jennifer Crozier, vice president of global citizenship initiatives at IBM.
“Over the next year, we’re eager to work with this new group of leaders to make their cities smarter.”
Municipalities chosen in this round include
- Allahabad, India
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Athens, Greece
- Denver, U.S.
- Detroit, U.S.
- Huizhou, China
- Melbourne, Australia
- Memphis, U.S.
- Rochester (New York), U.S.
- San Isidro, Peru
- Santiago, Chile
- Sekondi, Ghana
- Surat, India
- Taichung, Taiwan
- Vizag, India
- Xuzhou, China
IBM said it will utilize the IBM Watson Analytics Professional Edition tool to study city data and identify trends related to travel, public health and other areas of concern.
The company will also work with Twitter to provide $50,000 in services to Detroit, Melbourne and Memphis for analysis of city-related social media data.
