Immediate release
Innovation competition: deadline extended
Last chance to pitch your smart wayfinding or navigation solution to developers leading some of
the capital’s most ambitious regeneration projects
The Institute for Sustainability has extended the deadline for its latest innovation competition, run in
partnership with the Mayor of London’s Office.
Although the Institute has received a number of strong entries, the closing date has been moved to
give organisations expressing interest more time to apply.
The deadline for submissions is now Friday 6 March 2015.
The competition is calling for small businesses and entrepreneurs to come forward with innovative
solutions that could help the capital’s major regeneration projects cope with the demands of
London’s growing population.
Winners will have the opportunity to pitch their innovation to organisations involved in some of the
highest-profile redevelopment districts in the capital, including Croydon, Elephant and Castle,
Imperial West and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
These regeneration areas are members of the Smart London Districts Network, created to support
the Mayor of London’s vision for ‘smart city’ innovation and to help small businesses to provide
targeted solutions to London’s growth challenges.
Network members have identified navigation and wayfinding as priority areas of ‘smart city’
innovation and the competition is seeking market ready and close to market solutions. District
Network members are interested in uncovering a range of potential innovations, which might
include:
 Smart signage utilising real-time data
 Incentivising behaviour change through smart tech
 Using the Internet of Things to support district management teams
 Visualisation or modelling of people/traffic movement
 Cutting edge apps that connect people to place.
These are examples, but any smart innovation which will help the districts meet their smart
wayfinding and navigation goals will be considered.
Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise said: “As London grows, places to work
and live are being transformed and renewed. This competition will offer the capital’s businesses the
opportunity to harness the power of new technologies to improve the lives of Londoners.”
The Chief Executive of the Institute for Sustainability and Smart London Board member, Ian Short,
said: “We are working directly with organisations delivering large-scale redevelopment projects, to
show how utilisation of smart technology can make a significant contribution to the economic,
environmental and social sustainability of cities and communities.”
Winning innovations will be applicable at a district scale and may be software, hardware or a
combination of the two. Winners will be invited to pitch their innovations to the Smart London
Districts Network members later in the year. Shortlisted SMEs and start-ups may qualify for further
support through network partner EIT ICT Labs.
Reasons to enter
 Winners will be invited to pitch their innovation to the Districts Network members who
represent some of the largest and highest-profile redevelopment projects in London.
Districts Network members are actively looking for new and innovative solutions to their real
world challenges, which could be trialled in situ
 Winners will be profiled by the Institute for Sustainability and may be included in the Mayor
of London’s Office, EIT ICT Labs and other partner publicity
 Shortlisted SMEs and start-ups will be considered for innovation support through network
partner EIT ICT Labs. This could include mentoring, investment brokerage or access to
incubator space
 Entrants will have the opportunity to access pan European networks of large potential
innovation buyers including through the Institute for Sustainability and EIT ICT Labs
 All entrants will be profiled on a pan European innovation database where buyers of clean
technology are actively looking for innovative solutions.
Criteria
Network members have identified navigation and wayfinding as a priority area and are seeking a
range of solutions, which will address the needs of one or more of the following end user groups:
 District residents and visitors
 Developers during construction in an already occupied district
 Facilities and/or district management teams in an operational district
 Local businesses including retailers.
Solutions may be software, hardware or a combination of the two and should meet the following
requirements:
 Solutions must be applicable at district scale
 Innovations should be close to market or market ready
 Solutions must use smart technology and/or data
 Solutions should have demonstrable potential to drive commercial value for the potential
buyer
 Implementation of the solution should cause minimal disruption
 Solutions should be adaptable and compatible – this includes the ability to communicate/
work easily with standard software, platforms and existing systems e.g. phone apps
 End user experience, whether B2B or B2C, should be intuitive and encourage high levels of
engagement/adoption
 Innovations should lead directly or indirectly to improved visitor/ resident satisfaction levels
 Where possible, solutions should result in positive environmental impacts such as reduced
air, noise or water pollution and increased visitor/user engagement with the environment.
Who should apply?
Individuals, sole traders, SMEs, and research and academic institutes, as well as public sector bodies
and large companies, are all eligible to compete for the opportunity to pitch their innovation to
senior decision makers from the organisations leading London’s largest and most ambitious
developments.
Click here for further details on how to enter the competition
ENDS
Notes to editor:
For more information, please contact Emma Joy at the Institute for Sustainability:
Tel: 020 7517 1830
email: emma.joy@instituteforsustainability.org.uk
The Institute for Sustainability is an independent charity established in 2009 to support cross sector
collaboration and innovation. Its mission is to significantly accelerate the delivery of economically,
environmentally and socially sustainable cities and communities, by driving innovative
demonstration projects and developing programmes to actively capture and share learning and best
practice. To find out more about the Institute for Sustainability, visit
www.instituteforsustainability.org.uk
The Smart London Districts Network has been created to support the Mayor of London’s vision for
‘smart city’ innovation that addresses resource pressures whilst creating new economic and research
opportunities. It is a key commitment of the Smart London Plan, developed by the Smart London
Board and launched by the Mayor of London in December 2013.