Eindhoven “The power of Eindhoven is daring, share the Vibe!”

The city of Eindhoven has a strong commitment to enhance the quality of life, by mobilizing the creative power of triple helix parties and citizens/end users. It is also opening up the city itself as a real-life testbed for products and services with an added value that meet the needs of the end users. As such an extra – fourth – layer was added to the well-functioning triple helix model by incorporating ‘The City as a Living Lab’ into the core of its policies.

As such stakeholders’ and citizens’ awareness, participation and engagement – these are today vital elements in the public policy of the city. They have even become more acute as the city administration is forced to deliver more efficient services to citizens with often less financial and human resources. This has forced the city to look more closely at the means to engage the citizens and has opened Eindhoven up more than before to other actors if they wish to get engaged. Innovative engagement processes such as co-creation, engaging stakeholders in municipal policy making and implementation in several areas have found a foothold in Eindhoven. This quadruple helix approach (the city administration, private sector, knowledge institutes and the citizens) determines our approach from today into the future.

In 2011 Eindhoven was awarded the “most intelligent community of the world” title, based on its state-of-the-art ICT (broadband) infrastructure, for the improvement of the quality of life of its citizens. Today, the world has changed. Data, including the personal data of citizens, has become key in policy making in the most diverse areas. Data availability, their use and the privacy, safety and security elements of data generation, collection and use are essential elements in today’s local governance. In order to continue being the most intelligent community of the world, the city of Eindhoven is a committed partner of the OASC and the LI.EU movements.

Eindhoven is ‘willing and able’ to share knowledge and build capacity with all global eco systems partners and/or network organizations. Together with our long lasting partners (mention ATOS?, we can contribute to the continuous architecture technical specification feedback loop, pre-normative standard development and link to the NEN (= Dutch Standardization Development Organisation) Standardization Advice Group for Smart Cities and/or the VNG (= Dutch Association of Municipalities).

Recently we initiated the Urban Development Initiative (UDI), in close cooperation with the municipality of Helmond, Brainport Development, the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Fraunhofer Research Institute. UDI aims to solve complex urban challenges. In collaboration we research and develop solutions on building-innovation, energy transition in the built environment and digitalization in the city. The Digital City Program of UDI focuses on digital solutions like Digital Twinning and Virtual Reality for more evidence-based decision making and citizen empowerment.