Welcome to the 2025 Smart City Initiative Newsletter, the central hub for news and updates on pilot programs, partnership opportunities, events, and upcoming challenges! 



As we embrace the season of renewal, we're excited to share the latest innovations, trends, and essential tips to enhance your Long Beach tech experience. Join us as we explore what’s blooming in the world of technology this spring.

We Need your Help Selecting the Final Three Challenge Ideas

Over the past three months, the LB Co-Lab team has been busy engaging with City officials to gather innovative, human-centered challenge ideas that affect Long Beach community members like you. As we prepare for the exciting journey towards the 2028 Olympics, it's time for you to weigh in!  

We're seeking your input to help us select the final three challenge ideas that will be a part of our community-led design efforts. The final challenges will each receive $75,000 in funding for solutions, led by teams of City officials and community members. Join us in shaping the future of our city and enhancing services for everyone. Your voice is important—let's create a lasting impact together! 

Cast your vote today at lbcity.info/LBCo-LabCommunityPoll

Poll closes on Wednesday, April 16!  

For more information, visit our website. If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Welch at Ryan.Welch@longbeach.gov. 

We Want to Hear from You!

The City of Long Beach is reaching out to the technology community to get your feedback on its smart city technology pilot programs: The Smart City Challenge, Pitch Long Beach!, and the Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab).  

As a participant in one of these programs, we'd like to hear from you! We welcome your input on how effective these programs are at meeting these stated goals. We seek to understand how they help (or hinder) your ability to pilot innovative technology solutions for the City of Long Beach and how well they align with your own goals and needs. 

+Take the vendor experience survey here!  

These programs are intended to enable city officials to explore, prototype, and implement innovative solutions to longstanding problems on a pilot basis before committing to a multi-year, prescriptive contract — all in alignment with the City's open and competitive procurement standards. 

At the same time, we aim for these programs to provide value to vendors and solutions — allowing you to build relationships with government clients, demonstrate the capabilities of your products and services, and provide a clear pathway to move from proposal to pilot to full contract if you demonstrate delivery of measurable impact.  

Please complete the short survey by Friday, April 25. 



Help us Shape AI Training in Long Beach!

Long Beach’s Technology and Innovation Department (TID) wants to hear from you! We’re exploring how generative AI (like ChatGPT & Microsoft CoPilot) can benefit our community, and we want your input. 

Please take this quick survey https://lbcity.info/AICommunitySurvey by Monday, May 12, to help us design AI training and resources that work for everyone.  

We believe in understanding community needs before implementing solutions, so we’ve launched the Generative AI Community Survey. We are interested in gathering your thoughts, interests and concerns around Gen AI. Your input will help shape the future of AI learning, enablement, and empowerment in Long Beach! Thank you!  

The survey is available in English but we are actively working to translate it into Español, ខ្មែរ:, and Tagalog. 

City Seeks Vendors to Provide Inclusive Community Outreach and Engagement

The City of Long Beach is seeking qualified vendors to provide community outreach and engagement services across various sectors, including climate resiliency, equity, public health, housing and homelessness, parks and open space, public safety, technology, transportation and other disciplines. 

The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) opened on Tuesday, March 4, and will remain open until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20. Qualified organizations are encouraged to submit qualifications through the City’s procurement portal, Long Beach Buys. 



City of Long Beach Publishes Technology Planning and Partnerships 2024 Annual Report 

The City of Long Beach’s Department of Technology and Innovation (TID) has published its third annual report on the Technology Planning and Partnerships Division. This division oversees the Smart City Initiative, the data privacy program, and the strategic planning of technology efforts to implement emerging solutions. The report highlights the accomplishments of innovative technology and data privacy initiatives from the past year. Its purpose is to publicly share our progress in delivering value to the Long Beach community and to ensure that the technology deployed in Long Beach is ethical, responsible, and beneficial.



Listening to Residents: How User Research Transforms City Services

Every day, millions of residents interact with city services. From filling out forms, accessing online resources, reporting issues, and seeking information, there’s big and small touch points across every service. But how often do cities truly understand what residents experience when they’re using these services? U.S. Digital Response (USDR) and the City of Long Beach, California both believe user research, a methodology that prioritizes listening plus action, is the key to better government. 

City Releases Updated Digital Inclusion Resource Guide and New Asset Map

The Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion has introduced two resources to promote digital inclusion: an updated multilingual Digital Inclusion Resource Guide and a new Digital Inclusion Resources Asset Map. These tools aim to help residents bridge the digital divide by providing access to essential digital services.

The updated Digital Inclusion Resource Guide offers information on low-cost internet options, computing devices, digital skills training, free public Wi-Fi, and resources from the Long Beach Public Library, available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Khmer.

The Digital Inclusion Resources Asset Map is an interactive tool that allows residents to find local resources and programs by location, type, or needs on the longbeach.gov/digitalinclusion website.

If you need help accessing digital inclusion resources, please call the Digital Inclusion Hotline at 562-570-7000 or email digitalinclusion@longbeach.gov. 

Limit Personally Identifiable Information on Social Media

Meet Lisa, a well-meaning public employee who loves sharing life updates on social media. One day, she posted a picture of her new office badge to celebrate her promotion. The badge clearly shows her full name, job title, and agency. In another post, she checks in at her workplace every morning with a timestamped post: "Another day at City Hall!" 

A few weeks later, Lisa's department started receiving suspicious emails spoofed to look like they were from her. Hackers had pieced together her name, role, location, and schedule from public posts—making their phishing attempts much more believable. 

This incident highlights the importance of being cautious about what you share online. Protect your privacy and safeguard your organization by being mindful of your social media activity!