Opportunities for GCTC Participants

Following up on the successful launch of a new round of the Global City Teams Challenge, I am writing to bring to your attention recent announcements and key dates concerning grant programs and applicable resources.

New Ideas and Partnership Requests

In GCTC 2016, we want to see more cities jointly deploy successful solutions. For the cities and technology providers interested in adopting the success of existing GCTC teams, you can see the descriptions of the projects and cities participated in the previous GCTC round (PDF version). You can also see the teams that are forming in GCTC 2016. In the next few days, we will begin announcing new team ideas on the GCTC LinkedIn

Resources for GCTC Participants

NIST, US Ignite, and our partners are offering the following resources to support teams participating in the Global City Teams Challenge:

• Intel is providing Intel IoT Developer Kits ("Dev Kits") to qualified teams participating in the GCTC. To apply, submit an application before December 18, 2015.
• IBM is providing the GCTC Participants with an extended free trial of the Bluemix cloud platform. Sign up information can be found here.

GCTC Virtual Kick-Off Event

NIST and US Ignite will be hosting two virtual kickoff events in January to allow interested parties from around the world to learn more about the GCTC challenge. The event will include a demonstration of IoT tools and platform that are available to GCTC participants.

• Event: Virtual GCTC Kickoff
• Date: Thursday, January 21, 2016
• Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST and 9PM - 10:30PM EST (repeating sessions)
• RSVP: Registration Coming Soon

National Science Foundation (NSF) Funding Opportunity

NSF has recently issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) inviting the academic research community to submit research proposals in support of smart and connected communities.

The deadline for proposal submission is March 1, 2016. Please note: all proposals must follow NSF's Grant Proposal Guide. Early submissions are encouraged.

Department of Transportation (DoT) Smart City Challenge

DoT has issued an invitation to American cities to submit proposals for a newly announced $50 million smart city challenge. The challenge is open to medium-sized cities (population between 200,000 and 850,000) that have a public transportation system. Of the prize, $40 million is coming from the DOT (subject to future appropriations) and the rest is coming from Vulcan, a philanthropic organization.

• Proposals are due in February and the DOT will announce five finalists in March. Each of those cities will get $100,000 to further develop their plans, and a final winner will be chosen in June.
• USDOT is convening a forum on December 15, 2015 at DOT Headquarters in Washington, DC. To RSVP please click here.

MetroLab is Accepting Applications

MetroLab Network is a recently launched network of partnerships focused on research, development & deployment of smart city solutions. MetroLab Network includes more than 20 partnerships across the country.

• The Network is now accepting applications for new city-university members and inquiries from corporations, think tanks, associations, incubators, and other who are interested in partnering with the Network.

SCOPE w/GCTC at CPS Week

The First International Workshop on Science of Smart City Operations and Platforms Engineering with Global City Teams Challenge (SCOPE w/GCTC) will take place on April 11, 2016 in Vienna, Austria. This conference is an opportunity for the GCTC teams and smart city stakeholders to present and publish their technical accomplishments. Many researchers in GCTC are part of the program committee. To learn more or submit a paper, please visit http://cps-vo.org/group/SCOPE-16.

I am thrilled to see all the recent activities and opportunities in Smart Cities and IoT. Everyone in the GCTC community is making a huge impact and truly contributing to the creation of virtuous cycle of Smart City/IoT innovation that will improve the quality of life. You are all pioneers!

Best Regards,

Sokwoo Rhee
Associate Director of Cyber-Physical Systems Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology