The main challenges to making smart cities assets successful are cooperation between public and private partners and limited financial resources according to a study presented at the EIB by Sciences Po Masters’ students under the framework of a capstone project.

Because of lack of citizens participation and of the cities’ demands for technical assistance and capacity building, the real issue for smart cities assets is to find real networks to help them create partnerships with private entities says the team of six students who worked under the guidance of an EIB mentor.

Given its expertise and experience, the EIB could play “a large and prominent role in assisting the implementation of smart cities assets”, they add.

The study is based on a survey of 33 respondents with smart cities assets mostly in Europe but also in the Americas,  Asia and Africa.

It builds upon a previous study in 2017-2018 which found that inclusive growth was the highest priority for cities when planning ‘smart city’ projects, while cost reduction was the least important.

This capstone was undertaken under the agreement signed between the EIB Group and Sciences Po, France’s leading university for social sciences.

Click here for the presentation