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

2023 Smart City Challenge

City intends to award Smart City Challenge contracts to 7 vendors

Our staff are the frontline experience between residents and the City. They know the ins and outs of how to provide excellent customer service and know where issues often come up. As part of the 2023 Smart City Challenge, five City staff project managers selected seven technology vendors that they intend to partner with to deploy no-cost, short-term, innovative pilot projects that will meet the key challenges that they identified.

Challenge	Intended Vendor(s) to Award
Parks, Recreation, and Marine Department: Immersive Travel Experience	Innovative Playground Company
Technology and Innovation Department: Digital Front Door	Citibot
Technology and Innovation Department: Geographic Ticketing System	Buzz Clan, LLC
Technology and Innovation Department: Help Desk Improvement	Aisera, Inc. and Qualtrics, LLC
Water Department: Meter Evaluation	SES North America and Olea Networks

Building Digital Rights Through Tech Transparency

City and CSULB awarded National Science Foundation grant to deploy and test beta Digital Rights Platform

In partnership with CSULB's Dr. Gwen Shaffer and Dr. Tyler Reeb, the City has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities grant. The team will design and deploy a beta digital rights platform that will feature text and iconography that visually conveys how the City uses specific technologies, what data the devices collect, and how the City utilizes that data.

This project builds upon on two previous efforts from last year: (1) the launch a digital rights platform and signage prototype, and (2) a series of "data walks" that we led with more than 40 Long Beach participants to gather feedback on the signage prototypes from a usability and legibility perspective.

Learn more about this NSF grant-funded project!

Project Spotlights

LB Co-Lab Kickoff!

Over 30 Long Beach community members joined our team last week at Long Beach City College Pacific Coast Campus for our first Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab) workshop!

The LB Co-Lab is a brand new immersive technology training program where community participants will design a neighborhood tech solution and learn career skills for navigating the tech world.

Featured Pilot Partner: Acta Solutions

Staff from the City Manager's Office, Economic Development Department, and Financial Management Department are working with Acta Solutions to pilot a solution to streamline customer service by reducing staff time spent on repetitive calls and emails through user-friendly response templates.

We learned about Acta Solutions after they sent us a pitch through Pitch Long Beach!

Vote Today! LB Co-Lab Recognized as Finalist for IDC Smart Cities North America Award

The Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab) technology training program was recognized as a finalist for the IDC Smart Cities North America Awards in the 'Civic Engagement' category. The awards recognize how Long Beach uses tech and innovation to meet the needs of our community.

Visit http://bit.ly/3JKtpvn to vote for the LB Co-Lab by Friday, March 31!

Blog Post: City Auto Program Teaches Youth About Safety Innovations and Career Paths

It was early on a Thursday morning at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and a large group of inquisitive students was assembling in the school’s Automotive Department, waiting to get a closer look at a bright blue, customized Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon parked nearby. The vehicle was on campus as part of a “Connected Vehicle” workshop, and the students were eager to learn about the new technology inside.

Read the full blog post!

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