194 ITU‐T's Technical Reports And Specifications decisions in the sectors that may generate more positive impacts and to find specific and adequate solutions according to a cost‐benefit analysis. Lastly, by creating knowledge exchange platforms, these organisations can drive collaboration between stakeholders, and promote the replication of successful initiatives. An example of that is the Smart Cities Stakeholders Platform created by the European Commission or the ITU’s Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities.35 4.8 Industry associations This category includes some industry associations from the ICT and electrical sectors. Many of these industry associations work to promote the deployment of SSC with the objective of extending this new market. A clear example of this is the Asociación Iberoamericana de Centros de Investigación y Empresas de Telecomunicaciones (AHCIET)36, the main organizer of the Ibero‐American Meeting of Digital Cities (In Spanish, Encuentro Iberoamericano de Ciudades Digitales).37 Another example is China's Strategic Alliance of Smart City Industrial Technology Innovation, founded in 2012 under the guidance of the Ministry of Science of Technology (MOST). The alliance is a non‐profit organization with 68 members from enterprises, government institutions and academia. Through the study of common technologies of smart cities, the alliance aims to innovate on the standardization and on dedicated technologies, in order to apply them in pilot smart cities and projects. It is also very active in international collaboration on behalf of MOST.38 Another example can be found with the GSM Association (GSMA), an international association of mobile operators and related companies that has created the GSMA Smart Cities initiative focused on accelerating the adoption of mobile based solutions and services.39 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) also aims to assist municipalities in the correct use of technology and to raise awareness of the benefits of its deployment to overcome the challenges presented by urban population growth. Towards that aim, they have created the IEEE Urbanization Challenge40, an initiative that brings to selected cities assistance and advice from experts, workshops, education resources (including support for Masters and PhD students), the organization of an international conference on smart cities, and a knowledge repository. The initiative selects a city per continent each year. The requisites includes the existence of an strategic plan and availability of funding, willingness of the administration to share the experience during the process, existence of a local section of IEEE and of a university interested in the field of smart cities. The first city to be included to the program was Guadalajara (Mexico). ____________________ 35 Smart Cities Stakeholders Platform ‐ EU http://eu‐smartcities.eu/ 36 Asociación Iberoamericana de Centros de Investigación y Empresas de Telecomunicaciones (ACHIET) http://ahciet.net/index.php/ahciet/quienes‐somos 37 Encuentro Iberoamericano de Ciudades Digitales http://www.ciudadesdigitales2013.com/ 38 China Strategic Alliance of Smart City Industrial Technology Innovation. http://www.smartcityunion.cn/ 39 GSMA Smart Cities initiative. http://www.gsma.com/connectedliving/smart‐cities/ 40 IEEE Urbanization Challenge www.itu.int/en/ITU‐T/Workshops‐and‐Seminars/ssc‐la/201312/Documents/ S1P1_ Victor_ Rosillo.ppt