The City of Surrey is one of 33 cities worldwide to win a $400,000 grant from technology giant IBM to help the city make smarter decisions.
“The cities that have been selected are all different, but they had one clear similarity: the strong personal commitment by the city's leadership to put in place the changes needed help the city make smarter decisions,” said Stanley Litow, IBM’s vice-president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs and president of IBM's international foundation.
Surrey will get access to IBM’s experts, who will analyze and offer recommendations on how the city can improve growth strategies, service delivery, community engagement and general efficiency.
The $400,000 grants are part of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge, a three-year competitive grant program. IBM is awarding $50 million worth of technology and services to 100 municipalities worldwide through 2013.
Ottawa is the only other Canadian city to win a 2012 grant.
