The European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) was launched by the European Commission in July 2012, building on an earlier Smart Cities and Communities initiative focused on energy. It brought together cities, industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, investors, researchers and other urban stakeholders to develop and spread solutions that connect energy, transport and information and communication technologies. 34
Its aims were to improve residents’ quality of life, strengthen the competitiveness of European cities and businesses, and contribute to EU energy and climate targets. The partnership also sought to help cities find collaborators and solutions, and to share experience so successful approaches could be repeated and mistakes avoided. 14
Rather than concentrating on a single technology or city, EIP-SCC organised collaboration through six Action Clusters: business models, finance and procurement; integrated infrastructure and processes, including open data; sustainable districts and the built environment; sustainable urban mobility; citizen focus; and integrated planning, policy and regulation. The brochure describes these clusters as a marketplace involving more than 6,000 partners from over 31 countries. 1 The clusters provided a framework for partners to exchange knowledge and coordinate work across sectors; the initiative’s broader approach also included support for demonstration projects and the coordination of existing city efforts. 14
By 2014, the Commission reported 370 commitments involving more than 3,000 partners, with activity spanning areas such as electric mobility, energy-saving building retrofits, city-management platforms and citizen-participation applications. 9 These figures reflect commitments and collaboration, rather than proof that every proposed solution had been implemented or scaled. The partnership was supported by the European Commission and involved European cities, businesses, research organisations and other urban actors. 14