Auckland District Health Board And Office For Seniors Win 2021 IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards

16 Smart City projects across Asia/Pacific* named Best of the Best in the 14 e-Services categories

Today, IDC Asia/Pacific announced 16 winners for this year’s Smart City Asia/Pacific Awards (SCAPA), indicating the monumental efforts made by cities to digitally reimagine the use of residential, commercial, and public spaces. New Zealand picked up two awards, with Auckland District Health Board and the Office for Seniors both named as winners.

Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) was named as the winner in the Smart Buildings/ Smart Tech Parks category, for their Auckland Hospital Digital Twin project. ADHB worked with asBUILT to create a digital twin of Auckland Hospital. By surveying the premises with cameras, drones, and 3D laser scanners, they created a 3D model of every nook and cranny of the hospital, including its assets. The project aims to reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and allow stakeholders to troubleshoot with ease and track assets spatially. asBUILT's spatial intelligence enables next-generation technologies, provides live insights, connects stakeholders to one digital source of data, and reduces operational expenses. When combined with other technologies such as IoT, the applications extend far beyond asset management. Maintenance workers can remotely view plant rooms, drone images can be used for site planning, and the dashboard can provide live insights from IoT sensors.

The Digital Literacy Training for Seniors project is a collaborative effort helping to close the digital divide initiated by the Office for Seniors, Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa and the 20/20 Trust. The project was named as the winner in the Education category. With last year’s lockdowns limiting opportunities for interaction, there was a notable increase in interest from seniors to learn how to use digital resources, allowing them to connect with others from afar. In response, the New Zealand Government earmarked $600,000 in its 2020 Wellbeing Budget to invest in programs such as 'Better Digital Futures' and 'Pacific Senior Connect,' bridging this digital divide. The programs have resulted in the provision of computer training, skills, and in some cases, affordable internet connections for older New Zealanders. Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa utilizes its partner network, including libraries, and community organisations, to teach computer and internet skills. 20/20 Trust works at the grassroots level to provide digital literacy training to the most vulnerable in the community, delivered at local churches and in participants' own languages. Together, the programs develop digital inclusion and accessibility for all.

Louise Francis, IDC New Zealand Country Manager and ANZ Research Director, says "To have two New Zealand projects recognised on the regional stage is a noteworthy achievement. New Zealand has consistently excelled in the six years that these awards have been running.”

The IDC SCAPA Awards are now in their 7th year. This year’s winners were spread throughout Asia/Pacific: Singapore with 5, Taiwan with 3, China, South Korea and New Zealand with 2, and 1 winner each from the Philippines and Indonesia.

“Accelerated digitalisation drove widespread automation of smart cities' planning, administration, and operational functions in 2020. This was a key theme through this year's awards, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit nations worldwide. Local populations were forced to cope with radical changes to 'live, learn, work and play’ dynamics. This saw many state and local governments in the Asia Pacific region enhance their constituent engagement and personalization capabilities, to balance ease of access to government services with ensuring secured, integrated and trusted public sector ecosystems," says Gerald Wang, Head of Public Sector at IDC Asia/Pacific.

To know more about these outstanding Smart City projects in Asia/Pacific, visit www.idc.com/ap/smartcities.

Wang adds, “SCAPA2021 projects highlight an extraordinary step forward for Smart Cities as they spur themselves further into digital landscapes for city sustainability and relevance. As a testament of this exponential growth, SCAPA2021 received over 250+ public nominations, over 140 thousand public votes, and we are pleased to share with you the following 16 winners this year.”

These are the winners of the 2021 IDC Smart City Asia/Pacific Awards, and the outstanding smart city initiatives that distinguished them:

i. People and Communities

• Taipei City Government (Taiwan) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Civic Engagement for TaipeiPass: Digital Pass to Government’s Mobile Service.
• Government Technology Agency of Singapore wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Digital Equity and Accessibility for Singapore Personal Access (SingPass).
• The Office for Seniors, Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa, 20/20 Trust (New Zealand) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Education for Digital Literacy Training for Seniors.
• Taipei City Government (Taiwan) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Public Health and Social Services for Taipei City Technology-Assisted Pandemic Prevention Project tied with Government Technology Agency of Singapore for TraceTogether, the world's first national digital contact tracing solution.
• Singapore Police Form (SPF) and Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Public Safety – Data-Driven Policing for Multipurpose All-terrain Autonomous Robots (M.A.T.A.R).

ii. Critical Infrastructures

• New Taipei City Government (Taiwan) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Public Safety – Next-Generation Emergency Services for Real-Time Life guardian – Smart Cloud Dynamic System.
• Shenzhen Water Group (China) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Smart Water for Shenzhen Smart Water Project.
• Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) (Indonesia) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Sustainable Infrastructure for Smart Forest Guardian.
• Daegu Metropolitan City Government (South Korea) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Transportation – Transportation Infrastructure for WING Stations - Small Electric Mobility Smart Charging/Parking Station.

iii. Administration & Economic Affairs

• Government Technology Agency of Singapore wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Administration for Agile Governance through Digitalization (IM8)
• Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism (China) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Economic Development, Tourism, Arts, Libraries, Culture, and Open Spaces for “Yunnan at Your Fingertips” Project
• Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) (New Zealand) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Smart Buildings/ Smart Tech Parks for Auckland Hospital Digital Twin
• Sejong Special Self-Governing City (South Korea) wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Transportation – Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, Public Transit, Ride-Hailing / Ridesharing for Self-Driving Shuttle Taxi
• Government Technology Agency of Singapore and JTC Corporation wins Outstanding Smart City Project for Urban Planning and Land Use for Open Digital Platform tied with WeSqore Platform by Department of Agriculture (Philippines)

IDC Government Insights advises Governments on how to leverage technology to realign government services with the needs and expectations of citizens, to enhance service delivery, drive new revenue streams, and spur economic development. To learn more about IDC’s Smart City research and advisory capabilities, please visit IDC Government Insights: Worldwide Smart Cities and Communities Strategies.

The IDC report, Smart City Asia/Pacific Awards (SCAPA)-2021: Promoting the Best Practices by Local and Regional Governments, showcases the 70 selected Smart City projects that recognises the progress Asia/Pacific municipalities have made and provided a forum to share the best practices to help accelerate smart city development in the region. 

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