SCIC operations take on the fast line when Areal and Focus Groups launch activities. The first ones embark on in October. And more is to come throughout the last quarter of 2023. The Groups are launched through Webinar serie, and this post presents the roadmap. It all starts with an open Info Webinar for all Members. SCIC Info Webinar This Info Webinar shares all the info you need to know, to get the best out of SCIC services 2023. The content showcases the progress and upcoming steps in SCIC activities, and explains how to get in. Get an overview of SCIC Milestones - the 4 steps, where we are now. The webinar series is the stepping stone into the 3rd phase. To ensure access to as many Member organizations as possible, there are two Info Webinars with the same content. The dates are on 20th and 28th September, at 13:00. Contact people from each organization will get a calendar invite, and the Member letter gives more details. The content of SCIC Info Webinar 90 mins: Updates on the Opportunities Benefits for paid members Next Steps and launching the Groups Introduction for Expertise Platform Q&A 20th of September at 13:00 or 28th of September at 13:00 Follow your channels, and if any questions arise, please contact Michelle Snarberg (michelle.snarberg@scic.io) or Pertti Kortejärvi (pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io). SCIC Launching the Groups Webinars The SCIC Info Webinar starts the series of Launching Areal and Focus Groups. The dates are announced in the Webinars. Members signed in the Groups through Expertise Platform will be on the exclusive tier of communication. They will get the directed calendar invites and other centralized communication regarding the next steps. Read more about what are the Areal and Focus Groups, and the launch of the Groups. Follow your channels, and if any questions arise, please contact Michelle Snarberg (michelle.snarberg@scic.io) or Pertti Kortejärvi (pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io).

This post introduces the benefits SCIC creates for its members through concrete steps. The operations consist of different phases, and it all aims to fulfill the core reason SCIC exists. Mission Smart City Innovation Cluster stands for accelerating its members' business operations and exports. The cluster collects the forerunners, who hold the cutting-edge competence for Smart City solutions. This makes SCIC a highly valuable network. Both for the local cluster members and global players, who are looking for cooperators with specific qualifications. SCIC connects and creates a platform for co-creation. 1st step - Establishing the local and global network “If you want to go far, go together”, says an African proverb. Network creates synergies and possibilities that any company or organization can’t do alone. SCIC connects the operators locally in the Nordics, and globally through a worldwide partner network. Establishing the local and global partner network has been the main function in the first phase. SCIC has gathered over 100 forerunners as members. This makes SCIC the biggest Smart City cluster in Finland. Read more about who are the members and making SCIC.. 2nd step - Establishing the Groups for focused operations Focus creates results. In order to create more focus, SCIC creates Areal and Focus Groups. The Groups gather together companies with the same interests. As the name suggests, Areal Groups concentrate on operations at a certain geographical market. Focus Groups gathers companies from certain sectors. Areal Groups Active Areal Groups are Los Angeles, the USA, and Madrid, Spain, and Nusantara, Indonesia. Find more info about these opportunities behind the links. The Areal Group gathers companies interested in the certain market over the industry borders. Hence, Groups facilitate networking as well. Members in an Areal Group are in an exclusive tier of communication, and hear directed information on the opportunity. The Members in the group have special access to take part in the export operations. Areal Groups’ operations differ depending on the location. The project and its unique characteristics define the activities, naturally. To give an idea of the differences, a quick comparison: In Los Angeles, renewing the whole city heavily into smarter and greener, until 2045. In Madrid, idle areas are regenerated into Smart City areas with €25 billion. Indonesia is building a whole new capital of 11 million people, totally from scratch. The opportunities are highly different, and located in highly different business environments. SCIC professionals and the partner network are specialized to pave the way and create international cooperation. Focus Groups Focus Groups follow the same road as Areal Groups. But instead of geographical location, the focus is on a certain sector and its ecosystem. The aim is to create synergies inside the industry. The first active Focus Groups are Built Environment, Mobility & Transportation and Energy. The Groups will be launched later in 2023. Launching of the Groups takes place in a webinar series. The series starts with an Info session on 20th and 28th of September, open for all members. It continues with Areal Groups webinars, which are open only for signed members. The first ones launch in October and November. Stay tuned for Member letters and calendar invites to hear from the launches! 3rd step - Focused activities in the Groups SCIC serves the Members directly through activities in Areal and Focus Groups and common events. In addition to the value of access to the biggest Smart City network in Finland. The value comes from creating a platform for connections. The Groups facilitate creating connections and initiating co-creation processes. Operations may include. delegation visits, negotiations and matchmaking, among others. The actions will be decided based on competences and wishes of the Members. That’s why it’s important to share the capabilities and requests on Expertise Platform. Then SCIC professionals can serve the members best, and scout for the most suitable opportunities from its partner network. 4th step - facilitating the creation of joint solutions When the activities of Areal and Focus Groups generate a Challenge, and a team takes on the Challenge, launches the 4th phase. This is the core co-creation operations of SCIC. Read more about what Challenges mean in this scene, and how the SCIC Facilitation process works. The facilitation may take two separate tracks, depending if there’s existing solution that can be used, or if the process requires innovation. This phase creates the results and realizes the business opportunities. Real-life solutions and PoC’s are created. Members, stay tuned for the Member letters and calendar invites for the communication regarding Expertise Platform. If you have any questions, reach out to CEO Pertti Kortejärvi. Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

Jakarta, the biggest city in South-East Asia, is drowning. The capital will be covered in water, resulting from rising sea level and sinking ground under the massive city. In addition, the capital is facing extreme congestion, pollution and overpopulation. This is an extreme example of the world’s cities’ challenges, but is not exceptional. The solution is unique, though, in its scale and implementation. Building a city from ground up Indonesia solves the problem by building a new capital. The massive project is called Nusantara, The Capital City Archipelago. The city is expected to become a sustainable city that will drive the country's economy in the future. The city is literally built from scratch. The building process was launched in 2022 by ground work in the area of Nusantara, by over 150 000 Indonesian workers. All the actions aim to build a happy capital for happy people. To reach this, Indonesia is looking to create the capital of the future by utilizing advanced Smart City solutions . Now is the time to call for those solutions. The aim of Nusantara is to be the Happiest City in the world. And Finland, the Happiest Country in the world, is giving aid to make it happen. Expo House to showcase solutions The need for solutions is wide, as the whole city is being rebuilt. To scout the suitable solutions and showcase the PoC's, IKN has launched a year long Exhibition House. The Expo House showcases solutions that can be used in building Nusantara. The Expo house will host visitors from the President office, politicians, investors, representatives from other cities and members of the community. This increases inclusivity within stakeholders and broadens the possibilities in the Indonesian markets. The opening ceremony of the Exhibition House was held on 17th of August 2023, the independence day of Indonesia. The Exhibition is on until the same date on 2024. The Finnish booth includes several companies from SCIC members, and getting on board is possible throughout the year. For more information, please contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi. Indonesia as an opportunity The investment potential in Nusantara Capital is huge, with opportunities in various sectors, including housing, transportation, energy, and tourism. The city is also expected to become a center of innovation, with plans to establish research and development centers and attract technology companies to the city. Operating party of the project is IKN, Otorita Ibu Kota Nusantara, “The New National Capital City”. IKN is a superhub that combines 6 economic clusters and 2 supporting clusters. The superhub combines the business and public sector, and aims to support the economic growth of Indonesia. SCIC builds bridges with IKN for Finnish-Indonesian -cooperation, and will sign a MOU to strengthen the strings. This creates opportunities for Members to access Indonesian markets, and beyond to the whole South-East Asia. If you are interested in taking part of Expo House in Indonesia, or to take part in other activities in Indonesia, please contact Pertti Kortejärvi. Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

A good partner in any project is priceless. When the competencies complement each other, and the common goal is clear, it seems nearly effortless to work together. Unfortunately, reaching this point is far from easy. Especially when you try to find a collaborator outside your own organization. SCIC has a tool to make this easier. Expertise Platform gathers all its members across the sectors and maps out the competencies and interests of each organization. Expertise Platform is designed for bringing professionals together and co-creating cutting-edge solutions. Shortcut to matching collaborators globally The profiles of each member showcase their competencies and interests. Based on these profiles, SCIC directs its operations in scouting for challenges and developing global partner networks. This is how SCIC ensures its activities serve the members needs. Expertise Platform makes it more seamless to find needed talent and collaborators in the partner network. Madrid WCC (the cluster for Madrid Nuevo Norte) is currently mapping its member companies’ skills and goals, to be able to optimize Spanish-Finnish collaboration. With the Expertise Platform, extra surveying for mapping these qualities is not needed by SCIC. Attending Focus and Areal Groups for accelerating exports Applying and taking part for the Focus and Areal Groups happens at the Expertise Platform. The Groups centralize operations for accelerating exports, and are exclusively available for active members. Read more about Focus and Areal Groups. To take part in export operations, the company must apply at the Expertise Platform. After joining the Group, the company is part of an inner circle - which means, they can impact on the direction of export operations, and are the first tier of communications about the markets. This increases the chances for a successful market entry drastically. Applying for the Challenges through Expertise Platform SCIC operations are Challenge based. It means, each created solution is initiated by an actual challenge, owned by a city, region or a community. Read more about the Challenges. The new Challenges are announced through Expertise Platform. Also applying for each Challenge happens on the Platform. It is the e-meeting point for co-creators of the solutions. After the team of solvers is created, the team itself decides the communication channels. Multiple users from one organization Each company has its own profile. The profile showcases the competencies and interests of the organization at hand. After filling in the organization profile by the invited admin, they can invite additional members from the community to operate on the Platform. The Expertise Platform collects the forerunners of Smart City field. Therefore, it’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity to network with the top tier organisations and their key players. The Platform gathers 100 forerunner operators in Finland. If You are interested in taking part in it, please contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi. Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

SCIC aims to connect the solution-makers to cities’ challenges, especially the ones investing to solve the challenges. To make it efficient, SCIC has created Focus and Areal Groups. The Groups combine the solvers interested in certain markets, concerning expertise or geographical area. SCIC is forming focus groups for Built Environment, Digitalization and Connectivity, Energy and Urban mobility. At the moment, The Areal Groups aim to accelerate exports to Los Angeles, the USA, and Madrid, Spain. Later this year, Groups for Nusantara, Indonesia, and Fukuoka, Japan. Read more about the existing Areal opportunities below. Areal Groups accelerate exports for the USA and Spanish markets Los Angeles New Green Deal and Madrid Nuevo Norte are potential for long-term collaboration and continuous source of challenges. To generate suitable challenges directly for interested members, SCIC establishes Areal Groups to gather the ones aiming for the markets of the U.S.A and Spain. The Los Angeles New Green Deal is an ongoing program until 2045, with a yearly budget of $2-8 billion. The focus for Finnish operators is in mobility and transit, renewable energy, and the built environment. Madrid has been acknowledged as one of the most prominent areas of urban development in Europe. The most notable project of Madrid is Nuevo Norte, with the purpose to regenerate the northern area of the city with a total budget of €25 billion. The focus is in mobility, waste management and building materials, to mention a few. SCIC has assigned an official partnership agreement with Madrid World Capital Cluster (MWCC), the organizing association of Nuevo Norte, to enable Finnish - Spanish cooperation. MWCC is mapping the Spanish companies and organizations in order to match them with SCIC members. Focus Groups bring the expertise together Big things are done together. That’s why Focus Groups bring the experts of each field together, to enter new markets and create change-making products. During the fall, Focus Groups in Built Environment, Digitalization and connectivity, Mobility & Transportation and Energy are launching. Built Environment covers for example smart buildings, urban infrastructure and carbon-neutral construction. The demand for smarter construction is high around the world to cut the emissions and costs of housing. A wide range of solutions are needed for green field projects as renovation of older infrastructure, and Finland is a forerunner in many smart building and construction solutions. Mobility & Transportation is focusing on improving the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of urban transportation systems. The solutions aim to solve urban congestion, pollution, and the need for seamless and efficient movement of people and goods. This covers Intelligent Transportation Systems, Smart Traffic Management and Autonomous Vehicles, to name a few. Energy focuses on optimizing energy generation, distribution, consumption, and management to create greener and more resilient cities. The major part of energy is consumed in cities, so the biggest potential in reducing the consumption is in City Solutions. It can cover for example Energy Management Systems, Energy Storage Solutions and Smart Lightning. Understanding the field is crucial when entering new markets. This is one of the core benefits SCIC offers for its members, and it’s delivered through Focus Groups. SCIC identifies the opportunities that fit the Focus Group members best, and plans the market entry strategy by connecting the challenge owners to solution-makers - the ones who aim to export Smart City solutions. One aim in Focus groups is to make use-cases from collaborative solutions for present possible solutions to challenge owners Fast Track for international markets Focus and Areal Groups are the fast track for entering international markets through SCIC. The Groups are members-access-only, and export-promoting operations are done solely to serve the members in the Groups. If you are interested in joining the Groups, log in to Expertise Area and find the Group of your interest. And if you’re not yet a member, contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi for more information Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

Introducing the Board Members of the Smart City Innovation Cluster. In the dynamic scene of urban development, collaboration and expertise play central roles in shaping the future of smart cities. Smart City Innovation Cluster is a forerunner in the field, a collaborative ecosystem consisting of a diverse range of companies, cities, and research institutions. The Board Members of SCIC are a group of highly accomplished professionals, each bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience from their respective fields. Representing a cross-section of the cluster's members, they embody the collective expertise and needs of the companies, cities, and research institutions involved. With their diverse backgrounds and extensive networks, they ensure the cluster's endeavors align with the needs and goals of its members. Kustaa Valtonen / Finest Bay Area Development Entrepreneur and Angel Investor SCIC was initiated in its' current form at the end of 2022 to help cities and large organizations to find great solutions to their different technological challenges on their way to becoming greener and smarter. In order for this to function well there are many things that SCIC needs to facilitate like matching a combination of private and public sector and large and small organization practices and needs. This is where I think my expertise from the private sector comes in very useful. I've worked with small technology startups and the largest tech companies in the world, and I know the position at both sides of the table. I've also had the pleasure to work with public sector organizations like large cities and understand their complexities and restrictions but also good intentions. As my other "day job" I am doing investments to startup phased companies and that expertise will help the SCIC and its' members in the long term, I am sure. We will see more accessible funding through SCIC especially for the smaller companies, in order to meet the longer-term schedules of large projects and organizations. The other half of my time goes into running the biggest infrastructure project in Finland and one of the largest in the world, The Tallinn tunnel railway project. This tunnel project is a good platform for nurturing new innovation and it is the catalyst that SCIC exists. The Finest Bay Area Development company and its' ecosystem are bringing opportunities to SCIC and its' members already now. I am the Chairman of the Board at SCIC and a board member or chairman at about 22 other companies. It is many but one could call me a board professional. This experience shows especially in the ways of working diligently and efficiently. My own special expertise is in the design of underground tunnels in smart cities and between smart cities. Harri Paananen / City of Espoo D.Sc. (Tech.), / EMBA / M.Sc. (Econ.) Director, Economic Development I help bridge the gap between public and private actors in smart city development. I have both experience in and deep understanding of managing inter-organizational collaboration for innovation, as this theme is both a central focus area of my current role at the city of Espoo, but also the topic of my 2015 doctoral dissertation, which examined collaborative practices in successful industry-academia research consortia. On a personal level, I’m skilled at both identifying and empathizing with the varying goals of different individuals and actors, allowing me to find practical common ground for successful collaborations. My international experience allows me to help translate the strengths of our Finnish smart city ecosystem to foreign partners and prospective clients. Ari Aalto / VTT Vice President, Mobility and Transport Sustainable and smart urban mobility is one of the key areas for innovation and new solutions in Smart City initiatives throughout the world. As Head of mobility and transport with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, I am excited to use my domain expertise, knowledge of European and national funding instruments and international contact networks to support the leadership of the Smart City Innovation Cluster. Timo Saanio / A-insinöörit Vice President My background is strongly in the overall development of cities and I am looking for challenges in a wider perspective. I hope that I can support the board and the community by helping in understanding the big picture and on the other hand by asking “difficult questions” to ensure that the targets of the projects are realistic and feasible. Kristian Schrey / Viexpo CEO For the past several years, I have been working with clusters, cluster development and cross-border collaboration. I believe that my network and past experiences can help Smart City Innovation Cluster become a successful cluster with a global impact. I also hope that my background as an entrepreneur can help bring the perspective of a cluster member. The members are of course looking to add value to their own organization and clusters can be a great tool for growth, innovation and internationalization. Jari Kuusisto / Wapice Product Manager, IoT for Smart Cities I’m a professional in IoT, Smart Cities, and distributed controls with a growth mindset. My passion is to help cities to reach their sustainability goals and improve citizen happiness with the help of IoT, analytics, and AI. I’m interested in exploring how data analytics and machine learning can be utilized to produce better services. Jaakko Vuopio / AFRY Project Manager I’ve been working as a designer and specialist in the infra sector and as a project manager in infra projects for nearly 30 years. I bring experience and knowledge to the use of SCIC. My mission is to bring the needs and ideas of smart infrastructure to the attention of SCIC, and support all the means to develop smart infra solutions for future cities and urban areas. Teppo Rantanen / City of Tampere Executive Director As a City representative at SCIC board, I will bring city challenges and opportunities from both our city, and also through a lot of our contacts abroad, a good number of international cities. Through my previous roles I have also been involved with a number of companies and understand well building ecosystems.

SCIC attended Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference as a partner, exhibitor and seminar organiser. The conference took place on 6th-7th of June at Nokia Arena, and gathered a wide range of companies, cities and research organisations with Smart City competence. Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference was fruitful in means of encounters and new connections. Great conversations during the days at the expo and conference, new members acquired, and the seminar gathered the right audience to get valuable insights from the speakers. SCIC: Solvers for Cities' Challenges seminar brought to Nokia Arena's Sky Lounge over 70 participants. Keynote speakers delivered new points of view on the trends and opportunities in global markets in the Smart City field. Reijo Smolander, Business Finland - Finland as a Service: Enabling Finnish export growth. Reijo explained how Business Finland aims to help customers to understand how Finnish companies as a whole can support solving needs. For example the global challenges of cities’. Petri Puhakainen, VTT - Cybersecurity and smart cities – a threat or an opportunity? He stated, in his keynote that when ICT services are included, cybersecurity must be involved - always. Increasing connectiveness increases simultaneously cyber risks, which needs to be taken into account in developing smart systems. Roosa Leino, Ains Group - zoning and developing low carbon built environment. The topic centered on advancing the built environment, and introduced beneficial mechanisms to reduce carbon footprint in the city zoning and development. The keynote explained also factors of urban carbon neutrality. Mika Aaltonen, Port 2.0 - Brave New World: Future insights of logistics for cities. The keynote foresees the development of cities globally, exponentially concentrating on 33 megacities, and how it impacts global economics. And a surprise keynote - Peter Vesterbacka, Finest Bay area - Enabling growth through talent mobility. The keynote underlined the mobility and export of knowledge and talents in order to grow, and solve global challenges. It was pleasant to have such an attentive and numerous audience at the first open-for-all event by SCIC. The seminar and the following discussions were insightful in both ways. Pertti Kortejärvi, CEO, of Smart City Innovation Cluster comments event as follows: − Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference brought us many new, great contacts. From our point of view, the key players in the industry were present at the event. We were able to promote our cooperation models, link actors to each other, and activate our members – genuinely do our core work. The event was very successful, we were able to network and create networks! We will definitely attend next time as well in June 2024. The next SCIC event will be at Wasa Future Festival on 7.-12. August 2023. SCIC organises also a SLUSH side event on the 30th of November. Save the dates and see you there!

SCIC visited Madrid as a part of the Finnish delegation to strengthen the cooperation between Finland and Spain. The aim is to exchange knowledge and professionals, and create solutions that enable Madrid Nuevo Norte to become a Smart City example worldwide. The created solutions aim to be scaled globally. Read more on the opportunities in Madrid here. José Luis Moreno, Director of the MNN Office of the Community of Madrid (CAM), highlighted the importance of the public-private partnership that has emerged between Finland and Madrid. The aim is to respond to the challenges through the Madrid Nuevo Norte urban development project. The project’s purpose is to regenerate the entire northern area of the city, with innovative and sustainable solutions for decarbonization. The issues to tackle include mobility, waste management and building materials, to mention a few. The building materials concentrate on housing, offices, and public services, such as hospitals and educational centers. The whole of Madrid Nuevo Norte Is an investment of 25 billion euros. Finnish-Spanish cooperation is ongoing. A Spanish delegation visited Finland in April in the kick off of Decarbonized Cities program. Tatiana Martinez, Director of Innolab-Urban Solutions of the Community of Madrid , shared that, "they were a few days with a very intense agenda that allowed us to strengthen ties with a leading country in Smart Cities. Spain is a leader in engineering, but we need the knowledge to have innovative and disruptive solutions that fit in this ambitious project". SCIC is an active part in the collaboration, and scouting suitable opportunities for its members. Pertti Kortejärvi, CEO of SCIC, highlighted the importance of collaborating from both countries. By Combining the innovation and synergy with the experience and knowledge of companies and research organizations, the challenge of decarbonizing cities can be solved.

Tampere Smart City Expo and Conference Nokia Arena, Sky Lounge, 6th floor 6th of June, 2 pm-4 pm, Join the seminar to learn about opportunities and trends in the global Smart City field, and how SCIC helps Finnish organisations to co-create and export change-making solutions. Kustaa Valtonen, Chairman of the board opens the event. Pertti Kortejärvi, the CEO, briefs how SCIC's co-creation model is built for accelerating business and innovation. Voice and Personal Brainer Reidar Wasenius is moderating the seminar. Keynotes cover the latest trends and opportunities in the Smart City field: The potential to export Finnish solutions and cutting-edge expertise is introduced by Reijo Smolander from Business Finland. Finland-as-a-service highlights the possibilities of exporting expertise and solutions in a way that answers the demands of the global markets. Cyber-Security has increasing demand along with the expanding Smart City field, on which Petri Puhakainen from VTT gives insights. Puhakainen is the Cybersecurity Lead at VTT, and discusses on the talk if cybersecurity is a threat or an opportunity. Roosa Leino from AINS Group tells the latest development in sustainable built environments. The built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. AINS Group is the forerunner in developing low-carbon solutions and services. Global logistics is facing major changes, of which Mika Aaltonen will give the most important insights for cities. Aaltonen is a co-founder of PORT 2.0, and wrote a white paper on the opportunities of change in transportation: Brave New World: Transformations in Transport, and the Consequences They Entail. The event is open for all, so join to learn about opportunities and latest trends. Share the word, and take your teammates and partners with you - growth and change are created together! Program: 14:00 Opening remarks, Kustaa Valtonen, Chairman of the board --- Smart City Innovation Cluster; working glove for business and innovation Pertti Kortejärvi, Chief Executive Officer --- Finland as a Service Reijo Smolander, Program Director, senior advisor, Business Finland ---- Cybersecurity and smart cities – a threat or an opportunity? Petri Puhakainen, Lead, Cyber-security, VTT --- Zoning and developing low carbon built environment Roosa Leino, Low-Carbon & Cost Specialist, AINS Group --- Brave New World: Future insights of logistics for cities Mika Aaltonen, Co-founder PORT 2.0 & Chairman Sustainable Nation Group --- Closing words and networking until 16:00 Welcome! Tampere Smart City Expo and Conference 6th of June, 2 pm - 4 pm Nokia Arena, Sky Lounge, 6th floor Free registration

What is common between Finland and Los Angeles? Both are holding the pioneer position in fighting climate change, especially through smart technologies. They both also have set ambitious goals. L.A. is aiming for decarbonizing the city by 2050, and Finland is thriving for carbon neutrality by 2035. This creates fruitful grounds for finding synergies. L.A. is investing heavily in creating and deploying solutions (read more about Los Angeles New Green Deal), and Finland is one of the global forerunners in creating cutting-edge smart solutions. In order to turn the synergies into concrete cooperation, SCIC visited L.A. together with the Team Finland delegation, led by Business Finland and the Consul General of Finland in Los Angeles. L.A. is part of the recently launched Business Finland Decarbonized Cities Program. Embracing on the opportunities The biggest potential is found in the fields of mobility and transit, renewable energy, and the built environment. Solutions in these fields cover energy-saving systems, the electrification of transit, green construction, smart building management, and utilizing data for improving city services and planning, to name a few. To get the cooperation ball rolling, the visit included meetings with the LA Mayor's Office, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and LA Metro, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and LA World Airport. These departments are highly notable in size and in need of new solutions. This creates outstanding opportunities. Taking on these opportunities requires careful preparation and planning. When solutions are offered for departments of this scale, policies, regulations, and bureaucracy pose significant demands for solution providers. Not to mention US standards and terms of procurement. SCIC and its network assist in this process, helping in building the bridge to the market. For example, SCIC has started negotiations with Architect and Engineer Offices in the West Coast areas, which have won calls of tender regarding L.A. New Green Deal investments and also Seattle area development projects. The referred offices are located mainly in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego areas. SCIC as an integrator to L.A. SCIC works as a neutral integrator between L.A. operators and Finnish companies. The process of exporting solutions to the US holds great potential, but it requires commitment, local knowledge and also many times; local partners or even legal entities. The path to entering the market is not short nor straightforward, but SCIC works to pave the way for its members. To make a bigger impact, SCIC is collecting a Focus Group dedicated to cooperation between Finland and the US. The Focus Group is a cross-sectoral group of organizations from both countries with interest and commitment to doing business in larger scale. In case of questions regarding the US markets Focus Group or business opportunities in the West Coast, please be in contact with CEO Pertti Kortejärvi. Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

The human species crossed the threshold becoming a new kind of animal, sometime during 2008. An urban creature, geographically divorced from the natural world that still continues to feed and fuel us. For the first time ever, we have more people living in cities than out on the land. Also, for the first time, most of us have no substantive ability to feed or water ourselves. We have become reliant on technology, trade, and commerce to carry out our most primitive functions. The world’s rural population peaked somewhere around 3,5 billion in 2019. Most of the rural depopulation is taking place in the developing world. The reason for this migration is that people can make money in town. There is no demand for farm labour anywhere in the world. This means that opportunities to remedy environmental degradation may increase, both from new urban technologies, and relieving the burdens of human occupation in the country. This effect could be very profound, ushering in an entirely new type of economic marketplace, and we can expect new products will emerge from the demand to make cities more livable. This development points to a world increasingly regionalized. Global trend of regionalization In a world of megacities, growing alongside the remarkable economies in the Far East, it is unlikely that these regions buy goods and services from developed nations. To believe that the present patterns in world trade will continue, is denying the obvious development of the global economic situation. The enormous increase in the world population will be centered on 33 megacities. This leads to the creation of “mega-hubs”, which compete for access to hinterland markets. The “spokes” of the hubs — with direct access to the consumer markets — will create the competitive edge. The trend puts on the first seat any technology or infrastructure that allows access to the consumer. In the meantime, all long-distance logistics costs are held relatively equal by a mega-hub system. For all of the ink spilled on the rise of global logistics, especially shipping, the less obvious but more important trend in transport may be regional. Global trade, ultimately, is about local consumption. Winners of current trends In such a world, competitive strategies favour entrepôt enterprises, which become intermediary magnets to attract the distant “long-trade”. Such as Singapore, where arbitrary geographical location is leveraged by legal and tax arrangements. Real estate reaches a new level of importance, as new hubs and spokes will be created, along the requirements for new technologies. Old ports may prove more expensive to upgrade than establishing new ports and hubs. Future hubs are likely to be where today’s ports are not. And where tomorrow’s population is a sign of new consumers. If the trend continues to be in consumer goods, then we should expect that both downstream and upstream, ports of origin and destination will change as the developing economies mature, their populations increase, and markets grow. Mika Aaltonen, Ph.D. (Econ.), Associate Professor (Foresight & Complexity), Co-founder PORT 2.0, Chairman Sustainable Nation Group Gain the competitive advantage with the insights of changes in the logistics and flow of goods. Read the whole White Paper here: Brave New World: Transformations in Transport, and Consequences They Entail The writer Mika Aaltonen is a Ph.D. (Econ.), Associate Professor (Foresight and Complexity), Founder of the Royal Society of Arts Helsinki Chapter, Editorial Board Member of European Foresight Journal, Editorial Board Member of E:CO (Emergence: Complexity and Organisations journal). He has written 16 books with some of the best experts and for some of the most prestigious organisations in the world, and over 100 articles about foresight, decision-making and societal change. Mika has worked as visiting researcher at the London School of Economics (UK), the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (France) and the Gregorian University (Italy). Mika Aaltonen gives a keynote on the topic in the SCIC LIVE Seminar on 6th of June, at Tampere Smart City Expo & Conference.

Cities have always been at the forefront of change and innovation, and so it is in the 21st century. Europe has pledged to lead on climate action and aims to be a carbon neutral continent by 2050. The ambitious set of goals and directives is called The European Green Deal. Big things are achieved in chunks. A milestone goal is to cut 55% of emissions by 2030. To reach this, 100 forerunner cities have been selected to lead the way to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. These 100 cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to other European cities to follow. The program highlights the importance of Smart City solutions in reaching climate-neutrality. Which is why the mission is officially called the EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. From Finland, 6 pioneer cities are selected on the mission: Espoo, Helsinki, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, and Turku. These 100 cities around Europe are calling for sustainable Smart City solutions. But the solutions are not created and scaled alone. Decarbonized Cities accelerates exporting solutions Decarbonized Cities program assists companies and organizations in creating and scaling the change-making solutions. Managed by Business Finland, the program aims to accelerate the development and exporting of the solutions to the 100 cities of the EU mission. The program connects the essential networks and cross-sectoral actors to a vital partner network. The aim is to create long-term close cooperation with cities, large and small companies, researchers, and other stakeholders. The cooperation covers i.e. events, trips and networks around the world, along funding advising and market insights. The special focus is in partner cities Madrid, Los Angeles and Singapore. Read more about the introduced opportunities in Madrid and Los Angeles. Decarbonized Cities assists in taking Finnish solutions to the global markets - which are calling for high quality solutions. SCIC connects the solution-makers to the opportunities Smart City Innovation Cluster has a crucial role in coordinating tangible leads to the cluster members. In close cooperation with Business Finland and the programs above, SCIC brings opportunities into challenges and facilitates the solution co-creation process. SCIC is the connecting actor between the public programs and organizations that hold the crucial competence to create the solutions. The EU Missions create a remarkable market for Smart City solutions, to export the Finnish know-how and reduce the carbon footprint. SCIC with Decarbonized Cities operations aim to realize the opportunities, and take Finnish solutions worldwide. SCIC works as a platform for cooperation between the cluster members, and creating sustainable and scalable Smart City solutions. Learn more about the SCIC Vision, the unique co-creation model and what SCIC Challenges mean. In case of questions, please contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi for further information: Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster