More than 50 entries submitted for Espoo’s digital experiment competition

The entries concerned, among other things, translation and interpretation solutions, utilising data and enhancing the use of facilities and the environment.

“We received a record number of applications. It is important to us that the solution to be tried out is integrated with the everyday life of residents and customers, that is, their service pathway, and is not an extraneous independent solution,” says Päivi Sutinen, Espoo’s Services Development Director.

The City of Espoo will assess the experiment entries later in the summer. The selection decision of experiments to be implemented will be announced during September 2019.

The implementation of the selected experiments can be scheduled between autumn 2019 and the end of 2020. They may last from 3 to 9 months and have a value of EUR 8,000–30,000 depending on their nature and complexity.

Entries in the digital experiment competition could be submitted by citizens, companies, research, development and innovation actors and organisations. The city also encouraged co-creation efforts and partnerships by accepting submissions from consortiums representing, for example, companies, organisations and research and educational institutes.

With the Digital Agenda experiments, the City of Espoo wants to recognise future solutions in the market that meet the needs of the city’s core services and functions and their development. With the experiments, the City of Espoo aims to learn and collect information and experience on the solutions tried out.

“The experiments can change the attitudes and operating methods of residents, personnel and partners when they get to explore different services themselves and get the feel of what these services mean in practice,” says Valia Wistuba, Development Manager of Espoo’s Digital Agenda.