Urenio Watch Watch: Intelligent Cities / Smart Cities

Smart Cities in Europe: Can public procurement be used as leverage to drive smart city solutions?

The Lawyer Research Service and Osborne Clarke have collaborated to produce ‘Smart cities in Europe – Can public procurement be used as leverage to drive smart city solutions?’. This white paper, which is part of the ‘Smart cities in Europe’ series of reports, sets out the shift in mindset and working practices needed for the public sector to truly champion smart solutions.According to the report:

Governments are huge purchasers of goods,  services and infrastructure. Across the EU, the  European Commission estimates that 14% of GDP  is generated directly through public procurement…So, given that governments across Europe, both  at the central and local level, want their cities to  operate in a smarter way, why not leverage this  abundant purchasing power to drive innovation?

The report also shares some of the success stories and which huge opportunities are under way for local authorities and government agencies to drive future innovations.

You can read the report here.