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IoT Catalan Alliance
Published on 13 July 2021
Spain
Cataluña
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
The IoT Catalan Alliance is promoted by the Catalan Government as part of its SmartCatalonia strategy to accelerate IoT technology adoption in the region. The i2CAT Foundation coordinates a growing community of over 160 organisations across the IoT value chain.
The initiative was designed to address common pain points in the field, such as lowering the barrier to entry for SMEs and start-ups to engage larger companies and public administration. It also serves a strategic purpose by supporting a more cohesive ecosystem to spur IoT tech adoption across key regional industries.
The core objectives of the IoT Catalan Alliance:
- Encourage knowledge exchange, collaboration and synergies amongst its members.
- Offer a greater presence and business opportunities to all actors in the value chain.
- Liaise between the community and administrators, regulators, policy makers and - standardisation bodies.
Key activities include:
- Matchmaking, brokerage events and open innovation challenges to facilitate business opportunities and IoT adoption.
- Individual sector roadmap exercises for IoT adoption (Agriculture, Utilities, Health, Industry, etc.), and synergy workshops between sectors to assess common pain points and solutions.
- Host technical meetings to address challenges and promote interoperability.
- Address member companies’ staff needs by facilitating access to the talent pool of local universities and training centres.
The initiative was designed to address common pain points in the field, such as lowering the barrier to entry for SMEs and start-ups to engage larger companies and public administration. It also serves a strategic purpose by supporting a more cohesive ecosystem to spur IoT tech adoption across key regional industries.
The core objectives of the IoT Catalan Alliance:
- Encourage knowledge exchange, collaboration and synergies amongst its members.
- Offer a greater presence and business opportunities to all actors in the value chain.
- Liaise between the community and administrators, regulators, policy makers and - standardisation bodies.
Key activities include:
- Matchmaking, brokerage events and open innovation challenges to facilitate business opportunities and IoT adoption.
- Individual sector roadmap exercises for IoT adoption (Agriculture, Utilities, Health, Industry, etc.), and synergy workshops between sectors to assess common pain points and solutions.
- Host technical meetings to address challenges and promote interoperability.
- Address member companies’ staff needs by facilitating access to the talent pool of local universities and training centres.
Resources needed
The IoT Catalan Alliance and its activities operate each year for approximately 60K €, funded by the Catalan government through the regional ERDF program.
Evidence of success
Some key results, based on 2020 activity:
• 38 business opportunities generated between companies
• Brokerage events for Utilities, Agriculture, Health and Industry
• >20% annual growth in ecosystem membership (currently over 160)
• 38 business opportunities generated between companies
• Brokerage events for Utilities, Agriculture, Health and Industry
• >20% annual growth in ecosystem membership (currently over 160)
Potential for learning or transfer
The IoT Catalan Alliance addresses common challenges that any European region faces when trying to spur technology uptake and lower barriers to entry for its smaller businesses and start-ups.
Some specific areas of transferable good practices:
• Public-private collaboration for tech ecosystem incubation
• Brokerage event and open innovation methodologies
• IoT uptake practices for strategic regional sectors, e.g. Industry, Agriculture, Health, Utilities
• International engagement practices for providing outreach for local tech ecosystems
Some specific areas of transferable good practices:
• Public-private collaboration for tech ecosystem incubation
• Brokerage event and open innovation methodologies
• IoT uptake practices for strategic regional sectors, e.g. Industry, Agriculture, Health, Utilities
• International engagement practices for providing outreach for local tech ecosystems
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Fundació i2cat
Spain
Cataluña
Contact
Project Manager