Page 102 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

As it was put: “He Waka Eke Noa does not win you the work, you do, through your products, pitch,
pricing, compliance and ability to provide a high-quality service”.

Including Māori and Pasifika businesses in public sector procurement has also been prioritized as
part of New Zealand’s response to COVID-19.

Case study – How Rotterdam is building the City Local Digital Twin using innovation procurement

The basic design of Rotterdam’s digital city consists of three layers. First, there are data sources
such as city maps, blueprints of buildings, transport network information, and real-time sensors
that together create the digital twin. Second, a generic platform which offers the basic digital twin
functionality that can be accessed by authorized stakeholders, be they commercial, residential or
governmental. Finally, applications can be developed that harness the power of the digital twin to
create solutions for the social and the physical worlds.

Summary

At the forefront of the digital city movement is the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The historic port city
has been developing and applying a variety of smart solutions to urban problems in recent years.
A smart thermal grid is being constructed, for example, that will facilitate heat exchange between
buildings and make entire neighbourhoods more energy efficient. Smart parking and intelligent
(electric) mobility are supporting better traffic flow, and a range of other benefits are helping make
life better for the inhabitants.

The problem

Many of these digital solutions have been around in the city for a while. However, the digital twin
concept helps to pull all these disparate systems together under one coherent umbrella. Results of
these individual solutions can be combined with one another to guarantee that there is a clearer
development pathway that ensures an open flexible interoperable and “future-proof” roadmap
for the city – one that has been designed to bring about positive local public outcomes, by the
city for the city.

The approach

The most important principle is the development of a vision of purpose and basic generic
functionality of an urban platform. In the case of Rotterdam, this vision developed from digital twin,
which then evolved into a full-blown, suitably skilled urban digital community, in which all residents,
shops and companies can have their own address. Other principles include the development of
a data marketplace and the preparation of an API strategy. Developing this kind of digital city is
technically challenging but also raises socio-political issues related to privacy, security, ownership
and governance.

88 Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities | May 2023