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<p><em><strong>Press Release, 19 June 2024: </strong></em></p>
<p>IoT Sweden serves an important function for investments in innovative IoT solutions in municipalities and regions. Since its inception in 2014, the strategic innovation programme has contributed to both development and progress in the field. A clear indication of this is the high marks that IoT Sweden received in the latest evaluation conducted by Sweco on behalf of the funding organisations Vinnova the Swedish Innovation Agency, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas (Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development). IoT Sweden has now been granted funding for its last and final stage.</p>
<p>“We are proud and happy that confidence in us continues. We have built a unique movement around the use of the Internet of Things in the public sector. In a larger perspective, IoT Sweden contributes to creating a sustainable future in which smart societal solutions are an important cog in the wheel,” says Catrin Ditz, Programme Manager at IoT Sweden.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20226" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20226" style="width: 252px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-20226" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt.png" alt="Catrin Ditz foto Mikael Wallerstedt" width="252" height="284" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt.png 814w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt-266x300.png 266w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt-768x867.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20226" class="wp-caption-text">Catrin Ditz. Photo by Mikael Wallerstedt.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Over the years, IoT Sweden has funded around 140 projects with almost SEK 350 million. The project portfolio includes IoT initiatives in virtually all areas of society, from healthcare and health to education, climate and smart city solutions. The portfolio also includes strategic investments in procurement, standardisation, interoperability and cybersecurity.</p>
<h2>Strategic talks on the way forward</h2>
<p>During the final three years, the focus will be on creating strategic partnerships with potential actors who could take over when IoT Sweden draws to a close in 2026. There is a great need for a national unifying force for the Internet of Things.</p>
<p>“After nine years, it is clear that municipalities and regions need continued support in these issues, which are often highly complex. We have already started strategic work that involves talking to various actors who could take our issues further,” says Azadeh Lithammer, Board Chair of IoT Sweden.</p>
<figure id="attachment_11470" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-11470" style="width: 265px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-11470" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Azadeh-Lithammer.jpeg" alt="" width="265" height="265" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Azadeh-Lithammer.jpeg 800w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Azadeh-Lithammer-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Azadeh-Lithammer-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Azadeh-Lithammer-768x768.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-11470" class="wp-caption-text">Azadeh Lithammer.</figcaption></figure>
<p>In addition, IoT Sweden will continue to create conditions for an IoT that benefits society. An important part of the remaining three years of work is to continue to help Swedish IoT companies enter the European market. The IoT Forum, IoT Sweden&#8217;s arena for knowledge sharing and experience exchange for the Internet of Things in the public sector, will also continue. </p>


By incorporating technology, behavioural change and knowledge sharing, Internet of Things Sweden has created a unique arena for promoting the use of IoT in the public sector.

IoT Sweden receives continued funding - IoT Sverige

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IoT Sweden receives continued funding

IoT Sverige vill öka användningen av sakernas internet i offentlig sektor.

IoT Sverige

<h3>Hello there Josefin! You are the product owner of Sveriges dataportal, which is managed by Digg, the Agency for Digital Government. What is the overall purpose of dataportal.se?</h3>
<p>&#8220;Digg has been tasked by the Government to maintain a register of available datasets, which is the <a href="https://www.dataportal.se/">data portal</a>. The main purpose is to enable the sharing of data and make it easier for those who want to use these datasets for different purposes. The intention is for the data to reach society and create benefits. The data portal is for everyone, from public organisations to businesses to individuals.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Can you explain why data is a strategic resource for society?</h3>
<p>&#8220;Data is a strategic resource in so many different ways. We are currently living in an era where much is data-driven. The digitalisation of society is based on access to data and being able to manage data effectively in different ways. Having good access to data allows us to address many of the major societal challenges, a clear example being the climate challenges. Through various types of sensor data, we can obtain information on, for example, floods, water monitoring and so on.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Data needs to be used strategically for purposes such as developing new services, analyses, research and forecasting. Making data available also has an inherent democratic aspect. Citizens should be able to access data and have confidence in it. In these times of widespread disinformation, it is very important to have access to and trust in facts.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;AI is also a technology that is largely based on access to data, both for actual development and for testing. This makes it crucial that there is good access to data.&#8221;</p>
<figure id="attachment_22437" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22437" style="width: 472px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-22437" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Josefin-Lassinantti-Digg-1016x1024.jpg" alt="Josefin Lassinantti Digg" width="472" height="476" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Josefin-Lassinantti-Digg-1016x1024.jpg 1016w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Josefin-Lassinantti-Digg-298x300.jpg 298w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Josefin-Lassinantti-Digg-150x150.jpg 150w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Josefin-Lassinantti-Digg-768x774.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Josefin-Lassinantti-Digg.jpg 1211w" sizes="(max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-22437" class="wp-caption-text">Josefin Lassinantti, Digg.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>How can municipalities and regions use dataportal.se?</h3>
<p>&#8220;In addition to sharing data for further utilisation, municipalities and regions can also work towards becoming data users themselves to a greater extent. There is huge potential to make greater use of data from authorities or data from neighbouring municipalities or regions in various collaborative projects. Geodata is one example of data that all municipalities and regions use to varying degrees.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Why is this not done to a greater extent?</h3>
<p>&#8220;I think a change of approach is needed here. The issue of data needs to be prioritised, and this can sometimes be a challenge. At present, municipal and regional datasets are not always structured in the same way, which creates difficulties in utilising each other&#8217;s data.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Why are open data and data sharing important?</h3>
<p>&#8220;The public sector is funded by taxes, and citizens have the right to access public information. The increasing degree of digitalisation over the last twenty years means that “access” to data and information has to be adapted. It is no longer enough to simply access information and data on paper or as a PDF.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Data is the linchpin of so many different processes and development environments, and better use of data has the potential to be a game changer in addressing many societal challenges. I think we have yet to realise the full power of innovation in terms of what increased access to data can lead to.&#8221;</p>
<h3>An updated version of Sveriges dataportal was recently released. What are the main improvements that have been made?</h3>
<p>&#8220;One of the main changes to dataportal.se is that we have transitioned from being a portal focused on our digital catalogue to serving as a broader digital arena for collaboration related to data and innovation. We have made many useful updates that will make it easier to use the portal. An important improvement is that we show the benefits more clearly. For example, we have a section with good examples and also present major collaborative data initiatives that may be of interest to many.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Is the Swedish public sector generally good at recognising data as a strategic resource? Is there a willingness to share data?</h3>
<p>&#8220;Many people are willing to share data, but there are also many who are unsure. In practical terms, it can sometimes be difficult and costly, and since data sharing is part of a larger digital transformation that includes basic data management, it requires both willingness and commitment. We find that the challenge is greater for smaller public actors, such as smaller municipalities, and this is unfortunate.&#8221;</p>
<h3>What can be done about this?</h3>
<p>&#8220;Above all, we need more data to be shared by more actors, and more standardisation so that it is easier to use data. One example is that as long as you do not get the same data from all municipalities in a region, it will be difficult to build regional services, or to conduct regional research on such data.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Another major area of improvement is that we must begin to recognise that datasets and their life cycle are separate from the IT systems or IT artefacts that produce or manage data, which have a completely different lifespan. When you consider this to be the same thing, there is a risk that important conditions for data sharing will not be created, for example in the procurement phase. Many datasets are locked up in various ways already during the procurement, and this becomes costly for many.&#8221;</p>
<h3>IoT Sweden’s projects focus in particular on the use of IoT data or connected data in various applications to create societal benefits. How can they benefit from dataportal.se?</h3>
<p>&#8220;IoT Sweden’s projects can benefit from the data portal by both sharing data that others can use, and being able to find other data that can be used with their own data. At Digg, we welcome others to send us good examples of how different datasets have been utilised.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Is there access to open data within the European Union?</h3>
<p>&#8220;Yes, there is a <a href="https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets?locale=en&amp;minScoring=0">European data portal</a>, and all data in Sveriges dataportal is harvested for this.&#8221;</p>
<h3>What are the next developments planned for Sveriges dataportal?</h3>
<p>&#8220;As I said, we have made a shift from a focus on only data sharing and data access towards also becoming an arena for collaboration and innovation creation in relation to data. We will now continue to work with and scale up the content in a systematic and controlled manner, and we will have a special focus on bringing in good examples of how data is used and creates benefits. We know that this is very much in demand. But things are happening all the time in this area, so I can confidently promise that there are more things to come with Sveriges dataportal – so keep an eye out!&#8221;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Data is an important strategic resource that creates benefits in a number of different areas of society. Read more.

High time to use data as a strategic resource - IoT Sverige

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High time to use data as a strategic resource

<h2>In the early 1900s, healthcare was cheap, inefficient and quite dangerous. Today, healthcare is efficient, safer for patients and much more expensive.</h2>
<p>These developments have led to higher survival rates for many previously incurable diseases and helped us live longer and healthier lives. But with these advances come new challenges, not least the demographic change of an ageing population. Fewer and fewer people of working age will have to support more and more people.</p>
<h2>Combining digitalisation with system innovation</h2>
<p>Welfare’s biggest challenges can be found in healthcare. Skills provision and securing the necessary staffing, both in the short and long term, is an almost unsolvable equation. We need to think and act differently to safeguard our common welfare. To solve the really complex problems, I see great benefits if we, going forward, can combine digitalisation with system innovation.</p>
<p>System innovation aims to address complex problems and challenges that cannot be solved through single, isolated innovations. At Uppsala University Hospital, digitalisation is integrated into our four core missions: care, education, research and collaboration. Digitalisation and innovation are important, not only to strengthen our competitiveness as a leading university hospital, but also to create benefit and value for the people we serve – our patients.</p>
<figure id="attachment_10843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-10843" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-10843" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IoT-vard-och-halsa_webb1-1024x569.jpg" alt="IoT inom vård och hälsa." width="640" height="356" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IoT-vard-och-halsa_webb1-1024x569.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IoT-vard-och-halsa_webb1-300x167.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IoT-vard-och-halsa_webb1-768x427.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IoT-vard-och-halsa_webb1-1536x853.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IoT-vard-och-halsa_webb1-2048x1138.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-10843" class="wp-caption-text">To solve the really complex problems in healthcare, we need to combine digitization with system innovation, says Olle Bergdahl. Photo: Adobe Stock.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>IoT and other technologies enable task shifting</h2>
<p>Task shifting is a phrase heard quite a bit at Uppsala University Hospital and other hospitals right now. Tasks normally performed by occupational categories that are currently in short supply are shifted to another occupational group that can perform them as well or better. This can free up time for healthcare professionals for more patient-centred work. Digitalisation supported by IoT, AI and similar key technologies plays an important role in enabling task shifting.</p>
<h2>Speech recognition through artificial intelligence</h2>
<p>The aim is to change ways of working while taking advantage of everything digital technology has to offer. One example of such efforts is the introduction of speech recognition. An AI-based solution translates speech into text. Medical record documentation takes place without delay, which increases patient safety and saves time. Another example is our development programme for healthcare logistics. There are large logistics flows in the hospital in the form of consumables, medicines, medical devices, staff and patients. We are laying the foundation for our robust logistics capability. New logistics solutions and service concepts are being created, and IoT and positioning will be natural elements going forward.</p>
<h2>Transition to person-centred care</h2>
<p>IoT also supports the transition to more person-centred care. Region Uppsala is procuring a solution for self-monitoring (home monitoring) of blood pressure. We have had solutions for this in diabetes care for quite a while. There is great potential to broaden the range in the future to increase the degree of self-monitoring for different patient groups with chronic diseases. When samples can be taken at home, it reduces the burden on the healthcare system, while the solutions contribute to greater security for the patient. In parallel with this, we are facing a major shift in the management of health data in our medical records systems. In collaboration with several other regions and hospitals in Sweden and internationally, we are working with open standards for health informatics. Structuring data and separating it from the application creates new opportunities to further utilise health data for healthcare and research.</p>
<figure id="attachment_11878" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-11878" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-11878" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Digitala-vårdbesök-foto-Adobe-Stock-1024x619.jpg" alt="Digitala vårdbesök i hemmet." width="640" height="387" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Digitala-vårdbesök-foto-Adobe-Stock-1024x619.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Digitala-vårdbesök-foto-Adobe-Stock-300x181.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Digitala-vårdbesök-foto-Adobe-Stock-768x464.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Digitala-vårdbesök-foto-Adobe-Stock-1536x929.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Digitala-vårdbesök-foto-Adobe-Stock-2048x1238.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-11878" class="wp-caption-text">Digital care visit from home. Photo: Adobe Stock.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Technologies promote precision medicine</h2>
<p>We are seeing major advances in precision medicine. With the healthcare of the future, diagnosis and treatment will be based not only on general guidelines but also on an in-depth understanding of each patient’s unique genetic make-up, lifestyle and environment. We collaborate within the framework of the Precision Medicine Centre Uppsala (PMCU) to ensure that patients benefit from precision diagnostics and treatment. IoT and AI are obvious innovation tools in this change, as data collection and analysis in real time enable more personalised and efficient care.</p>
<h2>Digitalisation connects the core missions</h2>
<p>The development and integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare is not only an opportunity, but a necessity to meet our growing challenges. If we have good access to good data, we can make good decisions – if we have access to bad data, we will make bad decisions. If I am in need of healthcare and data about me and my health is available, I obviously want it to be used.</p>
<p>No single actor has all the answers. But by working together, sharing experiences and lessons learned, we can create a healthier future for everyone. The Strategic Innovation Programmes are important to create ecosystems and to foster actor-driven innovation. We need to build bridges and ensure that technological advances lead to positive societal changes. If we build these bridges, new solutions and technological advances can lead to positive societal changes.</p>
<h2>Sweden is well positioned to succeed</h2>
<p>Historically, Sweden has come out on top in connection with major technological shifts, and I believe that we have several good opportunities to succeed again – because we can, because we want to and, above all, because we must!</p>
<p><em>Written by Olle Bergdahl</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<figure id="attachment_10918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-10918" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-10918" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Olle-Bergdahl-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Olle-Bergdahl-300x169.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Olle-Bergdahl-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Olle-Bergdahl-768x432.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Olle-Bergdahl-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Olle-Bergdahl-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-10918" class="wp-caption-text">Olle Bergdahl. Photo by Mikael Wallerstedt.</figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>Olle Bergdahl</strong> works as Chief Digital Officer at Uppsala University Hospital. Before that, he was Programme Director for IoT Sweden and Collaboration Manager at Uppsala University.</p>


Digitalisering av sjukvården foto Adobe Stock

“Great challenges meet great opportunities in healthcare digitalisation” - IoT Sverige

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“Great challenges meet great opportunities in healthcare digitalisation”

<h2>Sweden has generated world-class products</h2>
<p>Swedish industry has clear areas of strength. Expertise in vehicles, telecommunications and similar complex systems has been transformed into solutions that have generated export revenues and created welfare. It has resulted in world-class products that have had a global market impact. ABB, Ericsson, Volvo Cars, Saab and Scania all use Sweden as a base and continue to invest significant resources in long-term and forward-looking research and development (R&amp;D). These investments are often made in close collaboration with public actors at the regional and local level. It is a collaboration that has and continues to benefit all actors, often manifested through strategic innovation programmes.</p>
<h2>Each krona invested gives SEK 7 in return</h2>
<p>Since 2013, strategic innovation programmes have been one of the main tools for the Government to stimulate R&amp;D. The aim has been to create arenas for collaboration between companies, institutes and academia that generate new ideas and strengthen industry and the rest of society. In the 10 years that the programmes have been active, they have generated innovations equivalent to an average of SEK 7 per krona invested. Their ability to create an ecosystem for new products, processes and knowledge has been a recipe for success.</p>
<h2>Cuts in research and development</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the ability to sustain this innovation system has been reduced. Instead of investing for the future and embracing digitalisation like our competitor countries, the Government has decided to rest on its laurels. Public R&amp;D has therefore been cut, resulting in collaborative efforts being postponed or dismissed as counterproductive.<br />
The lack of vision and the glaring absence of a technology and innovation strategy has resulted in a haphazard approach, often with no foresight or coordination to the efforts. The consequence has been a significant deterioration in efficiency where Sweden is perceived to lack focus. This development has also been observed by the cooperation organisation OECD, which is rightly concerned. There is a cold wind blowing in Sweden.</p>
<h2>This negative trend can be reversed</h2>
<p>A research and innovation bill will be presented this autumn. It will be preceded by an industrial strategy. These are two important tools through which the Government can set out visions and reverse the current trend. What is needed is increased funding for R&amp;D, visions for Sweden as a technology country and renewed investment in strategic innovation programmes. Collaboration, a long-term approach and prioritisation are in the interests of industry, and this should also be embraced by politicians and manifested in policy.</p>
<p><em>By: Patrik Sandgren</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Patrik Sandgren</strong> is a member of the board of IoT Sweden. As his “day job”, he works as area manager for research, innovation and industrial development at Teknikföretagen.</p>


In this blog post, Patrik Sandgren shares his thoughts on why Sweden needs a technology and innovation strategy.

Sweden needs a technology and innovation strategy - IoT Sverige

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Sweden needs a technology and innovation strategy

<p>IoT Sweden is one of six strategic innovation programmes that underwent a nine-year evaluation in 2023. Evaluations are carried out every three years and are intended to lead to learning and the development of each individual programme.</p>
<p>The strategic innovation programmes shall contribute to creating conditions for sustainable solutions to global societal challenges and increased international competitiveness. IoT Sweden has designed a strategic innovation agenda to steer towards these overarching goals. The evaluators write the following in brief about IoT Sweden:</p>
<p>“The overall conclusion of the evaluators is that IoT Sweden is a well-functioning programme that has an appropriate strategic innovation agenda with a clear IoT system perspective and a relevant outcome logic. The programme contributes to creating collaboration between new actor constellations with a clear focus on IoT with societal benefits.”</p>
<h2>Confirmation and guidance for the future</h2>
<p>Catrin Ditz, Programme Manager for IoT Sweden since last autumn, is happy and proud of the evaluation. She considers it proof that the programme is on the right track.</p>
<p>“This evaluation confirms that we are doing many good things. Not least that our projects together contribute to increased knowledge and development regarding the use of IoT in the public sector. The evaluation also shows that we have many things left to work on,” she says.</p>
<p>One of those things is to find ways and strategies for the last three years. As a strategic innovation programme, IoT will come to an end in 2026. An important task in the coming years will be to reflect on how the accumulated knowledge about IoT in the public sector can continue even after the programme has ended.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20226" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20226" style="width: 266px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-20226" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt-266x300.png" alt="Catrin Ditz foto Mikael Wallerstedt" width="266" height="300" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt-266x300.png 266w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt-768x867.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-Ditz-webb-foto-Mikael-Wallerstedt.png 814w" sizes="(max-width: 266px) 100vw, 266px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20226" class="wp-caption-text">Catrin Ditz. Photo by: Mikael Wallerstedt</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Contributed to increased competence</h2>
<p>The evaluators also find that IoT Sweden has contributed to steering development in areas such as welfare technology, the built environment, IoT infrastructure, procurement, climate and the environment. The evaluators write the following about IoT Sweden&#8217;s work:</p>
<p>“The programme contributes to strengthening development through means such as national guidance, standards and reference architecture. One challenge for the programme has been to get public sector need owners and suppliers to meet and learn from each other outside of concrete procurement situations. Driving innovation through public procurement is of great importance to enable the application and development of IoT technology. The programme has contributed valuable initiatives to increase competence in innovation-promoting procurement among both purchasers and suppliers.”</p>
<p>The nine-year evaluation was carried out by Sweco on behalf of the strategic innovation programme funding bodies – Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vinnova.se/globalassets/publikationer/2024/iot-sverige-nioarsutvardering-231208.pdf?cb=20231208145115" aria-label="Download IoT Sweden nine year evaluation PDF"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone  wp-image-20742" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1Nioarsutvardering-IoT-Sverige-Sweco-218x300.png" alt="" width="275" height="378" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1Nioarsutvardering-IoT-Sverige-Sweco-218x300.png 218w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1Nioarsutvardering-IoT-Sverige-Sweco-745x1024.png 745w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1Nioarsutvardering-IoT-Sverige-Sweco-768x1055.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1Nioarsutvardering-IoT-Sverige-Sweco.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px" /></a></p>
<h2>Read more</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.vinnova.se/globalassets/publikationer/2024/iot-sverige-nioarsutvardering-231208.pdf?cb=20231208145115">Nine-year evaluation of IoT Sweden (PDF in Swedish)</a></li>
</ul>


IoT Sweden is one of six strategic innovation programmes that underwent a nine-year evaluation in 2023. Read more.

“IoT Sweden is a well-functioning programme” - IoT Sverige

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“IoT Sweden is a well-functioning programme”

<p>Internet of Things Sweden – IoT Sweden – started in 2014 when Internet of Things was a buzzword. The development of IoT has progressed rapidly since then, and today we question whether we even need to talk about the concept of the Internet of Things &#8211; most things are, to some extent, connected and integrated.</p>
<p>Catrin Ditz started as the programme director at IoT Sweden this autumn and will head the programme until it ends in 2026.</p>
<h2>Listen to the episode</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://iotsweden.podbean.com/e/meet-catrin-ditz-the-programme-director-of-iot-sweden/">Podbean</a></li>
<li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fJAR2uvIdhzLD8AEjW2hW">Spotify</a></li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-catrin-ditz-the-programme-director-of-iot-sweden/id1667876226?i=1000638289788">Apple Podcasts</a></li>
</ul>
<figure id="attachment_20790" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20790" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-20790" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-300x300.jpg" alt="Catrin Ditz " width="300" height="300" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-300x300.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-150x150.jpg 150w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-768x767.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version.jpg 814w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20790" class="wp-caption-text">Catrin Ditz. Programme Manager.</figcaption></figure>


In this podcast episode, you will meet Catrin Ditz, the Programme Director of IoT Sweden, about the use of IoT in public sector.

Meet Catrin Ditz, the Programme Director of IoT Sweden - IoT Sverige

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Meet Catrin Ditz, the Programme Director of IoT Sweden

<p><em>Björn Hagström took the pulse of several cities at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, such as Kyiv, which offers an app that provides notifications of air raid alarms, can show available parking spaces, and even allows you to buy tickets for local public transport. In this blog post, he also writes about which players were represented and who should have been there.</em></p>
<p>The Nordic/Baltic pavilion was at least 50 percent larger, and the same can be said for the expo as a whole. This year, Stockholm had partnered with Oslo and Helsinki. Copenhagen was unfortunately missing in action, but Local Government Denmark (KL) (Denmark’s equivalent of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR)) was present. There were 140 Swedes in the delegation plus a number who travelled down on their own or in collaboration with others.</p>
<p>Considering the large number of Swedes, it was very surprising that SKR was not in attendance. SKR has digitalisation as one of its three focus areas going forward, so I really hope they will take part in the future. Smart cities should be a main focus for them.</p>
<h2>Schools and health and social care were absent</h2>
<p>Worth noting at this year’s Smart City Expo was that education and health and social care, which are major areas of activity for cities, were largely absent among the exhibitors. Even though they have their own expos, they should have also been represented here to a greater extent.</p>
<p>China had one of the largest stands at the expo, but it was largely empty of both visitors and exhibitors/representatives. This resulted in some strange vibes around the whole exhibit stand.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20547" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20547" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20547 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Kina-1024x281.png" alt="Smart City Kina" width="640" height="176" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Kina-1024x281.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Kina-300x82.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Kina-768x211.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Kina-1536x422.png 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Kina-2048x563.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20547" class="wp-caption-text">China had one of the largest stands at the expo.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Asking questions to the cities</h2>
<p>Once again this year, I tried to talk to as many cities as possible and ask them some questions. It was more challenging this year, as the number had grown from 22 to 45 cities. The questions I asked were basically the same as last year:</p>
<ul>
<li>What are your most successful IoT or smart city solutions?</li>
<li>What impacts have you achieved?</li>
<li>Have you measured the impacts and do you have measurement figures?</li>
<li>What are your biggest challenges in the next 1–2 years?</li>
</ul>
<h2>Systematic impact capture is missing (but not in Stockholm)</h2>
<p>Last year there was a clear trend – almost everyone was working with testing and PoCs, and had no idea about the impacts. The exceptions were Stockholm and Helsingborg. There is a slightly different story this year. There were more cities working on defining their goals and needs and measuring the impacts they achieve. Stockholm and Helsingborg were still shining stars in the smart city sky, but they were no longer alone.</p>
<p>In terms of barriers, almost all cities highlighted funding. The exception was Riyadh, which for some reason did not see any difficulties in finding money. Almost all of them lack a systematic way to capture the impacts of new solutions so they can reinvest in more change projects. Stockholm is a good exception, and more cities should start this process in order to achieve long-term sustainable digitalisation.</p>
<figure id="attachment_14721" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14721" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-14721" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/björnhagström_9881-fotograf-Fredrik-Bronner-CC-BY-small-300x200.jpg" alt="Björn Hagström" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/björnhagström_9881-fotograf-Fredrik-Bronner-CC-BY-small-300x200.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/björnhagström_9881-fotograf-Fredrik-Bronner-CC-BY-small-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/björnhagström_9881-fotograf-Fredrik-Bronner-CC-BY-small-768x511.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/björnhagström_9881-fotograf-Fredrik-Bronner-CC-BY-small-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/björnhagström_9881-fotograf-Fredrik-Bronner-CC-BY-small.jpg 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14721" class="wp-caption-text">Björn Hagström.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>How the cities responded</h2>
<h3>Stockholm</h3>
<p>This year, Stockholm highlights the work done by Skolfastigheter i Stockholm AB (SISAB) on energy efficiency in school buildings. There are a lot of figures on energy efficiency here. Note that they have not only measured the impact achieved, but also “captured” the money and can invest it where it is needed. Very well done!</p>
<p>Stockholm also sees great potential in a new sewerage maintenance project that moves from physical visits to cameras or microphones to identify problems.</p>
<p>One fun project is the use of drones to combat Canada geese, which are an invasive species. These are now being identified by drones that also use warning sounds to repel them in the water and away from beaches and people. The test was so successful that when SVT (the Swedish Television), came to do a report, there were no birds around to demonstrate the solution.</p>
<p>The challenges ahead, apart from funding, are that the city is restrictive with cloud services.</p>
<h3>Helsingfors</h3>
<p>Helsingfors has seen good impacts for businesses related to mobility with traffic flows and safety. A new area is urban air mobility, as drones are becoming increasingly greater and more important elements in the urban environment. The city is monitoring businesses that build services on their data, and the best and most successful ones are growing and thriving.</p>
<h3>Helsingborg</h3>
<p>In Helsingborg, smart lighting continues to be the major focus and will be for a number of years. The new lighting also creates a mesh network for IoT with different technologies depending on needs. Flexible luminaires with two connections for accessories create great opportunities for the future. The goal was to save 60–70 percent in energy, and the result so far is 86 percent.</p>
<h3>Tampere</h3>
<p>Tampere has exciting work underway involving measuring and predicting movement patterns. This is used, for example, to make it easier for restaurants to staff correctly and mobility solutions to be in the right place at large events with lots of people. They are in an early launch phase now. One challenge is to get everyone to realise the benefits and value of working with IoT.</p>
<h3>Budapest</h3>
<p>Budapest is looking for solutions with ROI within a year, as funding is a major challenge. Smart parking is a priority area where they are trying to discourage long-term parking and encourage more transport via carpools and similar solutions. There is a lot of work on inclusion, such as participatory budgeting.</p>
<h3>Tokyo</h3>
<p>Tokyo has made a long-term effort to reduce water leakage in the water system from 30 to 3 percent. However, this is pretty much traditional “dumb city” work, replacing lead water pipes and manually listening to the pipes.</p>
<h3>Tsukuba</h3>
<p>Tsukuba offers the possibility of teleworking through physical robots. People with disabilities can work in a café, for example. The project is in the start-up phase.</p>
<h3>Dallas</h3>
<p>Dallas has multi-sensors that both read number plates and create a public Wi-Fi network. They are also using vehicles to inventory assets, such as the quality of roads and other neighbouring infrastructure. This takes place too infrequently, and solutions are being sought to speed up collection.</p>
<p>In addition to funding, legal barriers are a challenge.</p>
<h3>Jersey</h3>
<p>Jersey is another city that has no trouble with funding. They have sold an IoT company to Velos for GBP 400 million and received GBP 20 million to reinvest in digitalisation and innovation with a focus on mobility. They are basically venture capitalists here.</p>
<h3>Fort Worth</h3>
<p>Fort Worth is a port and transport hub. They intend to digitalise the port with a digital twin and increase the throughput of goods by 50 percent when moving goods from boat to vehicle. The digital twin will ensure that there is a driver in the right place at the right time to receive a load. No unnecessary queues and always a vehicle in place when needed. The project will be completed within 18–24 months.</p>
<p>The city is also the fastest-growing in the USA, and has growing pains with a housing shortage and traffic problems. They see digitalisation as part of the solution.</p>
<h3>Kyiv</h3>
<p>Kyiv highlights its app, which has been downloaded by 2.6 million people – practically all of the adult residents. It provides notifications of air raid alarms and other things that are unfortunately part of everyday life for the citizens there. The app is the gateway to the city for finding parking and buying public transport tickets, and additional services are being added all the time. Digital ticket sales have not only made it easier for customers, but have also increased revenue by 20 percent by reducing corruption. Previously, tickets were sold physically by people at the stations. EID is built into the solution.</p>
<h3>Sunderland</h3>
<p>Sunderland is investing in self-driving vehicles that run on certain routes, such as between the city centre, the university and the hospital. They also provide free Wi-Fi, which has been very important for vulnerable groups in society. An evaluation and figures are available on their website.</p>
<h3>Singapore</h3>
<p>Singapore had a large exhibit stand and presented interesting solutions. However, their societal model often makes it challenging to scale their thinking to others. In response to a direct question, they say they have to work with the consent of citizens to collect and process personal data.</p>
<p>One solution they presented was a personal safety alarm for the elderly. It was currently a button on the wall, but in the next phase they are investigating wearables. The exciting aspect of the solution was that in the first stage the alarm is sent to a screen out in the corridor, where neighbours and acquaintances can see it and act as local support. It is then escalated in different steps to a central alarm centre that takes action. The alarm provides information about the person&#8217;s health status and the ability to talk to the sick person via microphone. The solution is currently installed in 10,000 households.</p>
<p>They are also looking at using radar to detect cases of abnormal state of health and death in order to send alerts.</p>
<p>Another solution they presented was a digital twin of public transport. This is particularly exciting for them, as anyone can then start driving a bus however they please without a special licence. This is a solution that feels very far removed from the bureaucracy here in Sweden. It is important to realise how different the conditions are in different parts of the world.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20558" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20558" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20558 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Singapore-1024x692.png" alt="Smart City Singapore" width="640" height="433" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Singapore-1024x692.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Singapore-300x203.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Singapore-768x519.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Singapore.png 1534w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20558" class="wp-caption-text">Singapore presented a personal safety alarm for the elderly.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Riyadh</h3>
<p>Riyadh uses cameras to detect factors such as litter, graffiti and lack of road maintenance that require action using camera-based solutions. The solution is new, and they do not yet have figures on how effective it is. All data is collected nationally from all cities and regions at the discretion of the national authority, creating a high degree of interoperability since they control the data formats.</p>
<h3>Putrajaya</h3>
<p>Putrajaya is working with lighting, public signs, train system monitoring and water quality in lakes. 480 surveillance cameras are connected.</p>
<h3>Toulouse</h3>
<p>Toulouse is testing smart lighting for security and evacuation of a theatre. The monitoring of air quality at an innovation centre is another project.</p>
<h3>Seongnam</h3>
<p>Seongnam has a large number of old buildings with cracks that are monitored with sensors. If the cracks get bigger an alarm is triggered, enabling evacuation before a disaster occurs. This has been in place 1–2 years, but no alarm has been triggered so far.</p>
<p>The city also runs a drone service that can be used by restaurants and businesses. You can get delivery to the suburbs or to parks, but not in the city centre today. In the park, for example, you can order food for your picnic. There are 10–30 orders per day, depending on the weather. I asked about problems with noise, but they claimed it was not a problem since there is so much noise in the city anyway.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20552" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20552" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20552 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Seongnam-1024x657.png" alt="Smart City Seongnam" width="640" height="411" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Seongnam-1024x657.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Seongnam-300x192.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Seongnam-768x493.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Seongnam-1536x986.png 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-City-Seongnam.png 1585w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20552" class="wp-caption-text">Seongnam at Smart City Expo.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Curitiba</h3>
<p>Curitiba has converted an old landfill into a solar park that supplies 30 percent of the public buildings with electricity. They struggle to find solutions they can adapt to local conditions.</p>
<h3>Lisbon</h3>
<p>Lisbon has challenges with data quality to work with data-driven decision-making.</p>
<h3>Porto</h3>
<p>Porto showcased its platform for collecting and visualising data. Potholes are reported by phone and entered into the system, which provides a real-time picture of the situation. They have calculated and quantified the benefits generated. There are challenges in managing data and creating benefits and impacts from it.</p>
<h3>Wetzlar</h3>
<p>Wetzlar is focusing on democratic aspects with participation and inclusion. It wants to reach weak and silent groups, and create a culture of participation in the city.</p>
<p>There will be a lot of construction in the future, and they are looking for smart learning solutions.</p>
<h3>Karlsruhe</h3>
<p>Karlsruhe has pilots on measuring temperature and humidity in the zoo, where different zones have specific needs for animals and plants to thrive. They are using sensors from Treesense to measure health status and implement the right measures in time.</p>
<h3>Munich</h3>
<p>Munich is working on 3D visualisation of construction projects to get more and, above all, better feedback from citizens before the start of construction projects.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Written by <em>Björn Hagström</em></p>
<p>Björn runs a network within the IoT Sweden project Smart City Lab and has experience from several projects within IoT. Björn also works a lot with information management in general with a focus on open and shared data. </p>


The Smart City Expo event in Barcelona was much larger than last year, and it feels like the offerings have evolved a lot.

How smart are cities in 2023? - IoT Sverige

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How smart are cities in 2023?

<h2>1. Industry 5.0 is here!</h2>
<p>The fourth industrial revolution was defined by the integration of intelligent digital technologies (such as AI, Big Data, IoT, robotics and automation) and industrial processes kind of technology first. However, the fifth industrial revolution complements it by specifically putting research and innovation at the center of the transition to a sustainable, human-centric and resilient industry.</p>
<p>This means, the Agenda 2030 and the financial goals will have to co-exist side by side. Companies have a responsibility but also face a threat to become abandoned by its customers if they do not contribute positively. This year we saw more companies openly communicate their business idea as sustainable. For example, Deloitte said “For a better planet” and AWS said “helping cities become sustainable”. In addition, at the opening speech of the Expo CEO Ugo Valenti explained that all material used in the fair are now renewables.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20484" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20484" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20484 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-stad-i-lego-1024x811.png" alt="Smart stad i lego" width="640" height="507" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-stad-i-lego-1024x811.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-stad-i-lego-300x238.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-stad-i-lego-768x609.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-stad-i-lego-1536x1217.png 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smart-stad-i-lego-2048x1623.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20484" class="wp-caption-text">Smart city built in lego, at Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>2. The twin transition drives IoT installations in the cities</h2>
<p>The megatrends “green” and “digital” transitions pushes each other. By adopting a twin transition approach, leaders can bring the digital and sustainability agendas together to future proof their organisations. The process of digitalisation and establishing IoT ecosystems has been slow in many countries, but with the city as a platform and clear goals of using it to solve its challenges, our society will become smarter. Smart cities are often described as connected cities, therefore twin transition will give the decision makers a clear “why” as how to use the digitalisation process as a tool for the green transition.</p>
<h2>3. A myriad of solutions</h2>
<p>The 2023 Expo is with its over 1,000 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors the biggest smart city expo ever. More companies understand the magnitude of this new market for future income. The amount of smart city solutions has exploded and almost created a Klondike-like situation where everyone it trying to dig gold. However, it is almost impossible for delegates from the cities to find and evaluate solutions that suits them. It is evident that we need aggregators and evaluators that help the cities navigate through the challenges and validate the solutions. These helping hands can be national support projects, consultants or companies and will be crucial in the transformation process. Since all cities are so different, we will see many kinds of smart cities. The solutions itself is not key but it’s all in how well they solve the problem for its inhabitants.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20466" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20466" style="width: 282px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-20466" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Daniel-Dersen-Internetstiftelsen-282x300.png" alt="Daniel Dersen Internetstiftelsen" width="282" height="300" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Daniel-Dersen-Internetstiftelsen-282x300.png 282w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Daniel-Dersen-Internetstiftelsen-963x1024.png 963w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Daniel-Dersen-Internetstiftelsen-768x816.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Daniel-Dersen-Internetstiftelsen.png 986w" sizes="(max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20466" class="wp-caption-text">Daniel Dersen, Internetstiftelsen.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>4. The Swedish climate contracts becomes an EU standard</h2>
<p>In several presentation we heard about the 100+12 net zero cities in the EU and the climate contracts as a new tool for eco-governance. The climate contracts gives the cities a clear goal and direction in a mission-like manner. These missions run beyond elections and political processes and secure a long-term development of the city. I believe we should make use of the fact that Viable Cities first came up with the invention of this governance tool and that it is a Swedish invention. Sweden is ranked top in the world when it comes to sustainable development and innovation, and this is something we should be proud of and use actively to promote our companies and governance models.</p>
<h2>5. The year AI really exploded</h2>
<p>Even though AI have been around for many years, 2023 will be remembered as the year when AI had its breakthrough. It has been a year since Open AI launched Chat GPT and at this year’s expo you could see AI everywhere. Most companies mention AI technologies as part of their solutions. It is debated what impact AI will have on mankind, but one thing is sure and that is that AI will have a massive impact on all businesses and will be an extremely valuable tool in making cities climate neutral. In Sweden, the real estate company Örebrobostäder (ÖBO) have used a combination of IoT and AI solutions to decrease their energy costs with 50 % in 10 years. Someone said “AI will not take your job, but the person who uses AI better than you will”.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Written by: Daniel Dersén</em></p>
<p><em><strong>Daniel Dersén</strong> is Business area Manager for socially beneficial and sustainable digitisation at the Swedish Internet Foundation. Among other things, Daniel has been an advisor to the government in data sharing and co-founded the National Data Workshop and Smart City Lab. He runs the Nordic working group for Web of things and Smart Cities under the W3C (a World Wide Web Consortium) and is a co-founder of the Urban Twin Transition Center (together with Gothenburg University and RISE).</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


In this blog post, Daniel Dersén shares his insights from a fair that has everything and more when it comes to smart city solutions.

Five key takeaways from Smart City Expo in Barcelona 2023 - IoT Sverige

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Five key takeaways from Smart City Expo in Barcelona 2023

<p>Over half of the world&#8217;s population lives in cities and urbanisation continues rapidly. The Smart City Business Forum in Barcelona brings together European and international stakeholders and decision-makers, both from the private and public sector, around climate-neutral and smart cities.</p>
<h2>Utilise rooftops and the space underground</h2>
<p>IoT Sweden arranged a workshop together with representatives of the Dutch company AeroVision. The workshop centred on how we can use the entire urban space from the rooftops to the underground in a smarter way. Two of IoT Sweden&#8217;s projects participated with examples of climate solutions in densely populated municipalities. Sophia Sundberg, CEO at Barkarby Science, talked about the IoTak (IoT Rooftop) project:</p>
<p>“We are developing a model where, with the help of IoT and AI, we can calculate the socio-economic benefits of installing green roofs in the municipality of Järfälla. Rooftops are an unused resource in the urban cities that can create value on many different levels”, she said.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20244" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20244" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20244 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4a5c20ea-4dda-4b61-96cd-8846680c1049-1024x768.jpg" alt="Sophia Sundberg, CEO at Barkarby Science talks about smart rooftops." width="640" height="480" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4a5c20ea-4dda-4b61-96cd-8846680c1049-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4a5c20ea-4dda-4b61-96cd-8846680c1049-300x225.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4a5c20ea-4dda-4b61-96cd-8846680c1049-768x576.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4a5c20ea-4dda-4b61-96cd-8846680c1049-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4a5c20ea-4dda-4b61-96cd-8846680c1049.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20244" class="wp-caption-text">Sophia Sundberg, CEO at Barkarby Science talks about smart rooftops.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Lars-Olov Andersson, representing Stockholm Water and Waste, talked about the project Reduce Reuse Recycle. The goal is to create an easy-to-manage waste system for residents in Norra Djurgårdsstaden, which will ultimately contribute to reduced climate emissions and improved sorting rates. With the help of IoT solutions, the district&#8217;s garbage collection system is to be digitised and, in addition, nudging is also used as a method.</p>
<p>“We work with behavioural change where we try to nudge people so that they want to become better at sorting waste. Through IoT solutions, we can measure behavioural changes and the residents get feedback on their waste sorting, which they can follow through an app”, said Lars-Olov Andersson.</p>
<h2>Cities are both the problem and the solution</h2>
<p>Cities account for a large part of the earth&#8217;s climate impact, today there are 33 megacities with more than ten million inhabitants. Big cities create climate impact, but at the same time it is in big cities, where many people are, that it is possible to create innovative solutions for a sustainable future.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20279" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20279" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20279 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Workshop-bordssamtal-1024x607.png" alt="Workshop" width="640" height="379" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Workshop-bordssamtal-1024x607.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Workshop-bordssamtal-300x178.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Workshop-bordssamtal-768x455.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Workshop-bordssamtal-1536x910.png 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Workshop-bordssamtal-2048x1213.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20279" class="wp-caption-text">Workshopdiscussions.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The LIVE project in Amersfoort</h2>
<p>AeroVision is a company in the Netherlands that supports organisations in the procurement of geodata and georelated software. Leon Hendriks, at AeroVision talked about the project LIVE in the municipality of Amersfoort. The project collects different types of geodata from the municipality which are then visualised in a 3D environment, a digital twin. In the digital twin, it is possible to simulate different scenarios for how to design public environments.</p>
<p>“There is a large amount of interest when it comes to the design of green areas in a city. But not every initiative can be realised, the surface is simply limited. It is also necessary to consider what the green areas are to be used for and by whom. Our 3D environment can facilitate the planning and design phase”, says Leon Hendriks.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20355" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20355" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20355 size-medium" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Leon-Hendriks-1-300x267.png" alt="Leon Hendriks, AeroVision and LIVE." width="300" height="267" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Leon-Hendriks-1-300x267.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Leon-Hendriks-1-1024x911.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Leon-Hendriks-1-768x683.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Leon-Hendriks-1.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20355" class="wp-caption-text">Leon Hendriks, AeroVision and LIVE.</figcaption></figure>
<p>The workshop brought together participants from mainly the Netherlands and the Nordic countries. Robert Lann at the Swedish tech company Sensative talked about the importance of working horizontally and stressed, among other things, how important it is to build modern system architecture based on international standards.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20268" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20268" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-20268" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7907-300x225.jpg" alt="Smart City Business Forum in Barcelona." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7907-300x225.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7907-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7907-768x576.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7907-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_7907-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20268" class="wp-caption-text">Smart City Business Forum in Barcelona.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The Earth Valley ecosystem</h2>
<p>Camiel Weijzen from the municipality of Amersfoort talked about the Earth Valley ecosystem. This is an initiative in the municipality of Amersfoort that brings together over 700 stakeholders around several core areas that affect smart cities.</p>
<p>Catrin Ditz from IoT Sweden and Tamme van der Wal moderated the workshop and together they stated that collaboration between the public sector, businesses and academia is required if we want to take real advantage of all technical solutions for the smart city. Or as one participant put it in a rhetorical question:</p>
<p>“Is it really ethically justifiable <em>not</em> to use existing new technological solutions to create a sustainable future?”</p>
<figure id="attachment_20349" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20349" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20349 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-and-Tamme-1-1024x836.png" alt="Catrin Ditz and Tamme van der Wal." width="640" height="523" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-and-Tamme-1-1024x836.png 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-and-Tamme-1-300x245.png 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-and-Tamme-1-768x627.png 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-and-Tamme-1-1536x1254.png 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Catrin-and-Tamme-1.png 1806w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20349" class="wp-caption-text">Catrin Ditz and Tamme van der Wal.</figcaption></figure>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>


IoT Sweden arranged a joint workshop together with the Dutch company AiroVision during the Smart City Business Forum in Barcelona.

The urban dilemma: Cities – the problem and the solution - IoT Sverige

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The urban dilemma: Cities – the problem and the solution

<p>The Norrland IT metropolis Sundsvall was in its very best spirits. And we from IoT Sweden and Business Sweden were keen for a hunt! Would we be able to find exciting and ambitious IoT companies with export and international cooperation on the agenda in Sundsvall and the surrounding area? In short, the answer was Yes.</p>
<h2>Optimism for the future in classic industrial communities</h2>
<p>Sundsvall is part of the optimism for the future that now characterises several classic industrial communities, at the mouth of a river, along the Norrland coast. The pessimism that prevailed fifty years ago has disappeared. Back then, the death of mills and downsizing/closures were commonplace. To remedy this, the Swedish state used its increasingly bloated authorities and agencies as a labour market policy tool.</p>
<p>In the 1970s, thirty-seven government authorities and agencies moved out of Stockholm, with Sundsvall becoming the home of a number of these. Now Norrland, which is a somewhat sweeping description of an area that encompasses the majority of the Swedish landmass (not to mention that Sundsvall is located in the centre of Sweden), is the place where the eco-labelled solutions of the future find their workshop. Electrification, batteries, green steel, hydrogen, space, new climate-smart biomaterials and, incidentally, critical minerals.</p>
<h2>Transition to web-based apps and services</h2>
<p>Over time, more and more people realised that these relocated authorities and agencies offered more than just jobs. The National Government Employee Pensions Board (SPV), the Swedish Companies Registration Office, and the Swedish Board of Student Finance (CSN) – all located in Sundsvall – became major customers for IT products and services. Their purchases were moved from Esselte and Posten to completely different players. This provided a base for fostering successful IT companies from the region when the authorities and agencies switched from dusty archives to data storage, web-based services and apps. The work of the IT cluster and innovation hub Bron Innovation, our host for the day, is centred around this idea, and the companies we met may even have been a result of this forward-thinking pioneering work.</p>
<h2>Exciting IoT companies ready for the world</h2>
<p>First up was <a href="https://www.starbit.se/se/">Starbit</a>, with its highly interesting sensor and solution for reporting snow conditions and facilitating resource-efficient snow management. Then we met <a href="https://www.portalplus.se/">Portalplus</a>, with its Cloudplanning and Fleet360 solutions for logistics planning and fleet management. And, finally, <a href="https://masarinconsulting.se/">Masarin</a>, with its <a href="https://www.diwise.se/">IoT platform Diwise</a>, developed in Sundsvall for the city&#8217;s residents and leadership, but now ready for the world.</p>
<p>We would like to thank Jennie Roos of Bron Innovation for a fantastic day, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for Norrland to bring home IoT gold at this year’s Smart City World Expo in Barcelona.</p>
<p><em>Written by: Magnus Fransson, Director of Internationalisation at IoT Sweden</em></p>
<figure id="attachment_15433" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15433" style="width: 258px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-15433" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Magnus-Fransson-webb-258x300.jpg" alt="Magnus Fransson" width="258" height="300" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Magnus-Fransson-webb-258x300.jpg 258w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Magnus-Fransson-webb.jpg 402w" sizes="(max-width: 258px) 100vw, 258px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-15433" class="wp-caption-text">Magnus Fransson</figcaption></figure>
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IoT Sweden and Business Sweden’s joint road trip this time takes us to Sundsvall. Read this blogpost written by Magnus Fransson.

Blogpost: Future-oriented IT metropolis sets its sights on the world - IoT Sverige

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