Smart City Innovation Cluster is an ecosystem working for smart, sustainable and safer cities of tomorrow. It consists of companies, cities, research institutes, universities and authorities, in Finland and around the globe. SCIC operations aim to bring the problem solvers together, facilitate the solution creation process and enable applying and scaling the solutions. Today’s cities’ challenges are numerous, and they are calling for solutions. The biggest problems are located in the built environment, traffic and energy. In these sectors, there is an alarming demand for decreasing the carbon footprint. Problems need solvers, but complex solutions require a great variety of expertise from different sectors. The cutting-edge knowledge is found also in Finland, for example in tech solutions, infrastructure and building, just to name a few. But the know-how is spread over multiple companies and organisations. SCIC brings the expertise around one table, to create the world-class Smart City solutions. New kind of model to create new kind of results Creating innovative solutions requires new kinds of thinking, and existing models of creating solutions are not effective enough. The growing cities, pollution problems and climate change are calling for more impressive solutions, and faster. SCIC gathers the existing expertise and solutions of Smart City sector, establishing a platform to create more. Within the SCIC ecosystem, the expertise areas are divided into multiple themes, in order to ease the launching of the facilitation process of each challenge. SCIC operations are based on real-world challenges. The global network of cities, hubs and Smart City ecosystems enables finding the suitable challenges. Local ecosystems and integrators assist in creating a solution for local needs. Assistance may take the form of living test beds or tools for creating innovation, among others. Read more What SCIC Challenge means. The unique model is combining the global expertise and the local challenges. SCIC also combines expertise and other resources from different organisations and authorities. Solving the great challenges require cooperation of different parties, from research to companies and cities. Hence, SCIC ecosystem covers the forerunners of all different parties in the Smart City sector. Network for global scaling The global network also enables scaling the solutions. By finding corresponding challenges, the solutions may be applied with only a little modification and hence make a bigger impact and create remarkable business opportunities. The main action of SCIC is to exchange professionals and transfer knowledge. Resulting in Smart City solutions that shape the narrative of tomorrow’s cities. If your organization is interested in being part of the SCIC ecosystem, apply for the membership or contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi: Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

The essence of SCIC operations is facilitating co-creation processes. Members who have skills and interest for the subject are forming a challenge group that works as an independent team in creating the solution. The challenge team receives facilitation and advice on the process, based on needs of the challenge; For example, finding partners, living test labs in the partner network or possibilities for funding. After the launch, the challenge process may take two distinctive tracks. One for implementing and scaling existing solutions and forming joint-solutions, and one for innovating new solutions. If you wanna know more on what SCIC challenges mean, check the previous post. Existing Capability Track When a challenge can be solved with existing solutions by SCIC members and network, the process takes “existing capability” track. Challenges are sought based on expertise and interests of SCIC members, so matching capability is high in probability. Existing capability is scouted from the main expertise areas that SCIC members have stated. For example, if a company has expertise in built environment and water & waste infrastructure systems, a challenge in Madrid Nuevo Norte in creating infrastructure may be a fit for the company. Then demand for precise expertise is sought, for example expertise in Spain and Sustainable Infrastructure Planning. The facilitated process takes place in the dedicated team of challenge solvers. The process is facilitated by SCIC, though the solution can be owned, administered and led by the executing team or lead companies. The process may take multiple forms, depending on the challenge and the team, but it always seeks solution proposals for the challenge owner. It may mean a direct application of a solution or a combination of existing solutions. The final part of the process is creating a concrete proposal of the solution. The proposal is presented for the Challenge owner, and facilitation by SCIC is finished. The continuation of the solution development depends on the Challenge owner and solution providers. Innovation Track If there isn’t an applicable existing solution, the challenge takes an innovation track. The challenge requirements need to be carefully stated, so the needed expertise can be recruited. Forming the team follows the same path as in the Existing Capability Track. The formation follows interests, expertise and synergies of the member companies and organizations. As a note, the innovation creation process or project itself may happen outside SCIC. Nevertheless, SCIC may assist in finding funding and scout for required resources from the global partner network. Details of the execution process are negotiated with the parties who are interested in being in the team. So the team may find the most suitable way for the innovation creation process. The creation process aims to a piloted Proof of Concept or a reference of a solution in use. When this state is reached, it can be finalized with facilitation by SCIC. The final phase of the project is the same as in the Existing Capability Track. The created solution is shaped into a form of proposal, and is presented to the Challenge owner. SCIC as a facilitator In the process, the members take care of creating the solutions. SCIC's role is to facilitate the co-creation process, offer tools and help from the global network. So the solvers may concentrate on what they know the best. Solve the challenges. SCIC stands for its members, who hold the cutting-edge expertise needed for Smart City solutions. SCIC enables the co-creation of world class solutions and their global scaling. Read more about What SCIC Challenge means and opportunities in Los Angeles and Madrid. If you have more questions on the facilitation process, SCIC operations or becoming a member, contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi: Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

SCIC facilitation operations are Challenge driven. It means, the projects facilitated by SCIC are based on real-life initiatives from cities, organizations or alliances. These initiatives are called challenges. Challenges rise from problems that cities and communities are facing. Traffic congestion, pollution and problems posed by climate change to mention a few. And the list is endless, with complex problems. To shed the landscape; traffic congestion decreases quality of life and creates pollution. Climate change increases extreme weather conditions, which in turn raises requirements for housing and infrastructure - as well as new systems for crises. Need for carbon neutrality calls for renewing existing systems and creating more sustainable and smart innovations. Cross-sector collaboration is crucial to meet the requirements. SCIC scouts for challenges constantly, based on members’ competences. In order to find the most suitable challenges for SCIC members, it’s important to know members' key skills and capabilities. Requirements for SCIC Challenge SCIC Challenge has four basic requirements before announcing challenges internally: 1) Challenge owner 2) Description and required expertise 3) Funding 4) Estimated time frame. 1) A challenge owner can be a city, company, organization, a region or alliance. As the owner is the key stakeholder and user of results after the project, the challenge owner has to be a legal entity. 2) Description of the problem and required expertise should be stated when announcing the challenge. The more carefully this is done, the easier it is to find the team of solvers and kick off the project. Does the challenge require understanding of IoT, safety systems, city planning or carbon neutral engineering? Is there also a need for expertise in project management, legislation, community building and circular economy? 3) Funding is a crucial part of any successful project. When announcing the challenge, the owner should also state what kind of funding the project gets. A great variety of public and private funding and investment options are available, in which SCIC can facilitate advice but is not applying or controlling the funding. 4) Estimated time frame states if the project is a long-term project that requires many participants in different parts of the value chain, or short-term testing pilot or proof of concept - or something in between. The time frame allows organizations to estimate required resources and ability to take part into the project. Continuous search for Challenges SCIC is actively scouting for challenges in their partner networks and other sources. Continuously creating connections and widening the networks, the aim is to find suitable and scalable challenges that match SCIC members’ expertise . For example, Los Angeles New Green Deal and Madrid WCC offer a variety of opportunities from several sectors. Delegations to both locations are under progress, made in cooperation with Business Finland. In case of questions of creating a challenge, do not hesitate to contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi. After announcing the challenge When a challenge is announced on the SCIC Expertise Platform, the facilitation process kicks off. It starts with searching the matching expertise among SCIC members, and establishing a team of solvers. The project team is an autonomous team, which is not administered by SCIC. The project leader can be the challenge owner or company either institution who sees the lead meaningful for their goals. SCIC assists in the co-creation process by offering facilitation, tools and networks. Solutions for thriving cities Smart City solutions aim to make cities smarter, sustainable and safer environments for the citizens. The forerunner cities around the world are heavily investing in creating and scaling them. SCIC is answering the megatrend, by bringing together the players who create cutting-edge solutions for thriving cities. If your city, region or organization is looking for world-class Smart City solutions, take a step to your goals and submit a challenge. In case of questions, contact CEO Pertti Kortejärvi for further information: Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

Madrid has been acknowledged as one of the most prominent areas of urban development in Europe. The city is a leader in engineering, construction and architecture, and Madrid is investing to hold the grounds. Vast regeneration projects of the districts are under progress, being the largest of their kind in Europe. SCIC is finding synergies in cooperation with the administrative association, Madrid World Capital in Construction (MWCC). MWCC is the association bringing together 160 public and private entities. Madrid knows that to achieve the ambitious goals and solve the biggest challenges, it requires wide cross-sector and border cooperation. SCIC is working for this. Europe’s largest projects located in Madrid The most notable project of Madrid is Nuevo Norte, covering a 3 km² area of train yard in the north of the city. It’s been dividing the city for over 50 years, and now MWCC is working to change its narrative. With mobility, security and services, it will improve the lives of citizens and increase the attractiveness of Madrid. The total investment for the development of Madrid Nuevo Norte is 11.1 B€. This is a unique opportunity to create innovations. A proper R&D playground for creating cutting edge solutions. It’s the most significant urban transformation project that Spain’s capital city will undergo, aiming for a more efficient and sustainable Madrid. This is just one example of projects that MWCC is working on. Another example is Valdebebas, where Real Madrid training grounds are located. A considerable amount of housing for 40,000 citizens requires regeneration. A city model is designed through participative processes that take citizens’ different needs into account. made it possible to listen to citizens and understand their different needs and ways of using their city. Notable opportunities for cooperation Investing heavily in regenerating districts and creating smart solutions for its citizens, Madrid is aiming to be the World Capital in Construction, Engineering and Architecture. For this they are investing also in creating synergies with their partners. SCIC pools challenges from MWCC and its wide networks, to match the offering of SCIC members. MWCC can offer a testbed for solutions created by SCIC members, among other practicalities. Madrid is the 3rd most populous city in Europe. It offers a great testbed for solutions needed with a great number of citizens. As Madrid is among the 10 European regions with the highest GDP per capita, the resources for developing solutions may be easier. With more than 18m² of green areas per inhabitant, 172 parks and gardens and more than 225,000 trees planted, Madrid is the second city in the world in green spaces. The last call the get on the 1st wave Building of Nuevo Norte is estimated to launch by the end of 2023. To be among the first ones to develop the area, now is the time! Madrid and its huge regenerative projects are calling for solvers. Madrid offers a unique real-world R&D playground to develop innovations, with means to scale them globally. To get more information on opportunities in Madrid, contact SCIC CEO Pertti Kortejärvi: Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

Why should Finnish companies consider business opportunities in Los Angeles? Los Angeles is the leader in Environmental Sustainability in the United States, and is now investing heavily to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. In order to achieve this, they launched an ambitious plan called the New Green Deal. It’s a vast set of objectives and policies for various sectors, from infrastructure and green technology to justice and economy. L.A. is calling for innovative and sustainable city solutions. Reaching carbon neutrality is a race between big cities around the world, and L.A. attempts to be the forerunner. Other cities in the US are following the actions taken in Los Angeles and California. Companies that succeed with their sustainable solutions in the region, have a highway open for broad US markets - and beyond. For the past 50 years, policies and solutions applied in L.A. have been eagerly adopted by the rest of the country. And abroad, even the EU's regulations for car emissions trace back to Los Angeles’ initiatives. Finnish companies hold cutting-edge position The Nordic countries are recognized as leading the way in sustainable solutions. Finnish companies hold a remarkable potential to enter the market, with the cutting-edge competence in tech and Smart City solutions. SCIC supports its members to answer the L.A. 's call for innovations. Business Finland, Consulate General of Finland support companies to take on the opportunities the New Green Deal creates. Together with these parties, SCIC scouts for suitable challenges and helps in organizing delegations. For optimized results, priority is to match the operations with competencies and capabilities of SCIC members. The better the view of members competencies, the better SCIC can serve its members. Exceptional opportunity The New Green Deal is an exceptional opportunity for entering the L.A. and U.S. markets. Since its launch in 2019, The New Green Deal is on track to reach 60% of its ambitious goals. Los Angeles is aiming to achieve the goals. In cooperation creating the solutions is possible. SCIC and Business Finland are bringing parties together to make it happen. Contact SCIC CEO Pertti Kortejärvi for more information on the cooperation in Los Angeles Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

How to create a resilient city that is safe and secure? One that is decarbonized and circular, convenient, and rich in culture and entertainment? These are questions City-Tech Tokyo is asking, and gathering together the ones who can give the answer. City-Tech Tokyo is the leading Smart City event in Japan, and it gathers together the forerunners in the field. Smart City Innovation Cluster takes part in the event, taking place on February 27-28. With the focus on creating solutions for sustainable cities, City-Tech Tokyo is the ideal match for the SCIC agenda. With an estimated 300 booths, and 10,000 participants from 100 cities in 30 countries, City-TechTokyo ranks as one of the largest Smart City events in the world. With the versatile program, high quality seminars and exhibitions, the event aims at overcoming global urban issues. For the visitors, the event aims to create opportunities for innovation, collaboration and investment. SCIC members VTT and EnterEspoo in the delegation The whole Finnish delegation consists from a variety of innovative organizations and companies. The SCIC representation is strong together with VTT and EnterEspoo. Together with the SCIC, the aim is to create value for the whole Cluster through creating connections and scouting opportunities. Main objectives are creating value for the members SCIC’s main function is to look for opportunities and boost the competences of its members. This frames the main objective for the participation in the event. In the City-Tech Tokyo, SCIC aims to create fruitful connections and look for challenges for its members. Knowing the latest insights on the field helps in fulfilling the core function: facilitating co-creation processes for world-class solutions. The visitors of City-Tech cover a wide range of cities, public organizations and companies around the world. They all have in common the high level competence and drive for success. With the focus on innovation and startups, the event gathers the most ambitious solution creators - and the ones looking for solutions. Global networks enable the best opportunities The world class competencies that SCIC members hold, can be realized and scaled through global networks. Whether it’s in finding suitable challenges, testlabs or scaling the solutions, the wide networks play a crucial role. To enable this, SCIC works for creating connections widely in the Smart City sector. In City-Tech Tokyo, together with the high-end research organization VTT and EnterEspoo from the leading innovation city of Espoo. This is just a start. Stay tuned for more news on what is coming. If you want to get in touch with SCIC regarding the City-Tech or other cause, contact the CEO Pertti Kortejärvi: Pertti Kortejärvi pertti.kortejarvi@scic.io CEO Smart City Innovation Cluster

4.4 billion people are living in cities worldwide. Many of them are facing drastic challenges in crowded and polluted environments in their everyday lives. And it’s getting worse with climate change and increasing demographic problems. Unsustainable amount of 60% of CO2 gasses are emitted in cities, and 75% of total energy is consumed in urban areas. 56% of World’s population is living in cities, and the number is growing. Without solving the existing problems, the situation is unbearable for the society, people and environment. The Cities are calling for solutions. Fast. Smart City Innovation Cluster Vision Smart City Innovation Cluster vision is to answer this call. The Smart City Innovation Cluster is a new kind of model to create and scale solutions. In SCIC’s vision, cities’ challenges are turned into solutions, and citizens’ lives to be healthier, happier and more safe. The Cluster combines the global challenges with the ones who can solve them. By uniting the most innovative actors in the Smart City sector and establishing co-creation models, the world-changing solutions are possible to create. World-class solutions through co-creation Cities’ challenges are complex, and require expertise from many fields. Various organisations hold high-class competence in their fields, but means for fruitful cross-sectoral cooperation are lacking. SCIC creates the platform to pool the resources, and create solutions that change the narrative of the cities. The network already covers 100 member organizations, and the number is growing. SCIC brings together companies,cities, research organisations and testbeds from Finland and all over the world. The co-creation models are customized and professionally facilitated to suit the needs of each challenge. In practice, Smart City Innovation Cluster stands for Connecting challenges to solutions and solvers with testbeds and living labs across geographical and sectoral borders. Structured co-creation with digital tools and data resources Professional facilitation and structured co-creation process Incubator and accelerator collaboration, pitching events and hackathons. The challenges of todays’ cities are enormous, and way too big to be solved alone. Cooperation between the world class actors creates synergy that turns the challenges into solutions. Join the most innovative cluster of Smart Cities, and make the SCIC vision reality.