The background to this project is the fact that many cities have started testing connected sensors and the internet of things (IoT) with the purpose to understand how to use data to streamline existing processes, get a better overview and offer optimized services to the inhabitants and so on. The cities have come a long way, but up until now, no Swedish city has achieved implementation of technical and/or organizational mechanisms that make it possible to collect real-time data from different sources and share data between the administrations or with suppliers.

Regardless of size, Sweden’s municipalities have similar challenges regarding data management and it would be of great value if Swedish cities and municipalities collaborate on data / IoT platforms. The project includes the municipalities Gothenburg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Malmö, Lund, Karlskrona, Kalmar, Linköping, Katrineholm, Örebro, Eskilstuna, Stockholm, Västerås, Uppsala, Hudiksvall, Sundsvall, Umeå and Skellefteå. Through joint pilot projects (so-called Proof of Concepts; PoCs), about IoT and data management (where the starting point is a minimum framework of a data platform) issues, challenges and solutions are addressed jointly.

The target of the project when using a common, standardized framework is the following:

• It should be easy to share data within a city
• It should be easy to move data driven services between cities

The PoCs must demonstrate that this is possible. An important aspect will also be to secure national anchorage among all relevant actors and to propose a national management model of the minimum framework, including relevant standards.
Another part of the project is to create a “Smart City Lab” – a “hub” for collaboration that will assist municipalities, cities, technology – and service providers and also citizens in sharing knowledge and experience in the development of the smart city – the city as a platform.

The project is an innovation project within the strategic innovation program Viable Cities. The work is coordinated with the sister program IoT Sweden. The initiative was initiated within the framework of the Government’s collaboration program for smart cities and financed by Vinnova.

In relation to this project, the short film describing the vision of the smart city was also launched: