Bridgewater is hoping a meeting with the Smart Cities jury will help give them an edge in winning the $5 million prize.
The town’s Energize Bridgewater project is one of five finalists.
Mayor David Mitchell was part of the team presenting their plan to the jury to receive feedback on their submission.
“We had ten minutes to give our pitch. Then they had 20 minutes to ask us questions. And I think the best takeaway for us was, the questions that they asked really will help to steer us as we go into the final phase and prepare our submission.”
Mitchell says they were relieved to hear that the projects aren’t being evaluated on the number of people it impacts, but on the merit of each project.
Mitchell is confident the Energize Bridgewater initiative can go toe-to-toe with the bigger city submissions.
“It’s perfect for us because we know that the impact for our community, in terms of a percentage, we’re lifting 20 percent of our population out of energy poverty. So, as a percentage, that number is probably better than any of the other projects.”
Mitchell was glad to hear the projects were being evaluated on their own merits and are not competing against each other.
The town has until the end of March to make their final submission.
The Smart Cities Prize is expected to be handed out later in the spring.
Mayor David Mitchell @CommonSenseNS and Smart Cities Challenge Project Lead Leon de Vreede are at #FCCSummit2018. Stay tuned for the Smart Cities Jury Check-in Video premiering at 12:00 pm. @TownBridgewater @INFC_eng #smartcitiesCanada #EnergizeBridgewater #smarttech #innovate pic.twitter.com/RGAmwLdSKa
— Energize Bridgewater (@BridgewaterEnrG) November 8, 2018
Reported by Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca
