MANILA, June 1st, 2017 – IDC Government Insights Asia Pacific announced today that Tech4ED has been chosen as one of the finalists in the annual IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA) 2017 under the category of Economic Development. Tech4ED follows in the footsteps of the country’s Project NOAH initiative, which was also chosen as a finalist and ultimately announced as the winner for the category of Public Safety in SCAPA 2016.
The Tech4ED initiative sought to establish Tech4ED Centers nationwide thus offering a onestop shop to citizens where services like platform usage, digital literacy, internet usage and skills training are available for free. The platform also provides easy online application and processing of government documents, access to eLearning tools and other online resources.
“Tech4ED pushes national digital inclusion through eCenters scattered around the country, helping bridge digital divide, especially in digitally-challenged areas. By addressing digital literacy, Tech4ED advances economic empowerment by engaging not just the youth but also the so-called digital aliens in the country,” says Jubert Daniel Alberto, Head of Operations, IDC Philippines.
SCAPA was created to identify, benchmark and publicly vote on the best projects each year across 14 functional smart city strategic domains. It is an intensive six-month process that tracks and evaluates hundreds of smart city initiatives in Asia Pacific. The award categories are Transportation; Public Works; Smart Buildings; Smart Grid; Smart Water; Administration; Economic Development; Land Use and Environmental Management; Permitting, Licensing, Inspection and Zoning; Public Safety; Education; Tourism, Arts, Libraries, Culture, Open Spaces; Connected Health; and Social Services.
Tech4ED is one of 46 smart city projects across Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) that was shortlisted out of over 150 submissions from vendors, local governments and analysts as IDC Government Insights Asia Pacific undertakes the benchmarking of the top smart city projects in the 14 categories highlighted above.
All finalists will compete with other outstanding projects through public voting, IDC internal evaluation and judging from an International Advisory Council. Like 2016, 50% of the criteria for judging will come from public votes while the other half will be based on internal assessment from the IDC Research Team and the Advisory Council. IDC will declare one winner under each smart city strategic domain.
Figure 1. Voting period will commence on 31 May and ends 30 June 2017. The public is encouraged to participate by clicking HERE or by voting through the Smart City Website.
The public is encouraged to participate by voting for the smart city initiatives that have made the biggest impact in their citizen life. Voters will stand a chance to win a Gear VR as one of our 10 lucky voters selected through an electronic raffle draw at the end of public voting.
“As we move into our third year of benchmarking various groundbreaking Smart City projects in Asia Pacific, key discussions around empowering both ICT and line-of-business leadership, information governance and digital economies as well as workable strategic sourcing considerations are noted,” says Gerald Wang, Head of IDC Government and Education Insights Asia/ Pacific. “Ultimately, government organizations, city leaders, and urban planners need to build a robust Smart City ecosystem to attract both foreign direct investments and manpower talents.”
Wang adds, “While the emphasis in the near-term focuses on choosing projects that use the least amount of investment dollars yet generating the largest impact, the long-term sustainability considerations are also critical. To stay ahead of the competition in an everchanging digital ecosystem, Smart City leaders would need to have a competent strategic foresight and organizational ability to meticulously plan their execution strategy.
About IDC Government Insights IDC Government Insights assists government policy, program, and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of government and IT industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the Federal/Central and local/provincial Governments. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-gi.com.
About IDC International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC’s analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC.