***Applications are closed for the UNITAC Open Call 2024. Selected applicants will be announced soon***
UNITAC Hamburg is excited to announce an open call for innovative projects that contribute to smart cities being more people-centered – smart cities where technology is applied carefully and strategically to leave no one behind. We believe in the power of well-managed and inclusive digital transformation to achieve urban sustainability. Through an urban technology acceleration approach, our goal is to improve the quality of life in cities, especially for marginalized communities.
For this open call, UNITAC invites organizations to submit project ideas that address the most pressing urban challenges with data or technology solutions.
Do you work towards improving service delivery and quality of life in informal settlements? Are you addressing cities’ resilience to shocks and stresses, and strengthening urban climate adaptation or mitigation measures? Do you support cities to recover from crises, such as conflicts or disasters? Do you strengthen co-creation and engagement of communities and citizens in policy-making?
We are looking forward to hearing about your ideas on how to address these challenges with data or technology solutions. In this open call, we seek projects that:
- address indicators of SDG 11 or other urban-related SDGs,
- address people-centered smart cities pillars,
- improve quality of life in cities, especially for marginalized communities,
- are future-oriented, addressing emerging challenges,
- have tangible tools, data or technology solutions as outcomes,
- can be replicated in other cities, countries or regions,
- are demand-driven,
- are innovative, e.g. integrating artistic practices,
- integrate postcolonial perspectives,
- advance gender equality,
- are feasible and can be implemented with the available UNITAC resources.
What does UNITAC offer?
The UN Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities (UNITAC) in Hamburg is a partnership between UN-Habitat, UN OICT and the HafenCity University Hamburg. We use innovation, prototyping and applied research methodologies to develop innovative solutions that accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11, implement the New Urban Agenda and build people-centered smart cities. We provide technical expertise on urban digital transformation, data strategies, digital governance and build, test and accelerate the deployment of digital tools for public participation, spatial analysis, mapping and visualization. We are an interdisciplinary and diverse team of urban experts, software developers and technology specialists developing testable pilot projects and tools for cities around the world.
Selected projects under this open call will benefit from the following support by UNITAC:
- A dedicated project team of UNITAC experts from the fields of urban development, data science, software development, communications, project management, etc. to work on the submitted project for 6-18 months.
- Access to cutting-edge research, knowledge and solutions on people-centered smart cities.
- Connection to an international network of UN organizations, academia, civil society organizations and social businesses working on people-centered smart cities.
- Opportunity for showcasing of project in major international conferences on cities.
- Support by extensive research and technology infrastructure.
UNITAC does not offer grants or other types of direct financial support.
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Eligibility and submission requirements
This open call is mainly targeted at local governments and organizations working in partnership with local governments. Other organizations are welcome to apply if the proposed projects are highly innovative and a strong impact on cities and local communities is expected. In this case organizations should clearly outline how local governments are involved in their project design and implementation.
When submitting a project idea to this open call, you should have:
- A project idea in line with the above orientation points. The project can be at the planning stage or it can be a new component to an existing/running project.
- An implementation plan, including components, activities, outputs.
- An estimated timeline for project implementation within 6 to 18 months.
- Basic resources and capacities for implementation of the project (UNITAC does not provide grants, but supports through a dedicated team)
- An outline of the expected role and contribution from UNITAC and the own role in the project implementation.
- When implementation on the ground is part of the project, a demonstrated commitment by a government representative is required. Such commitment can be at the level where the project will take place, i.e. local, regional or national government representatives. Support needs to be demonstrated through a letter of support for the project - to be submitted with the proposal form (see Submission section).
- Submission of a support letter together with the project proposal is an advantage in the appraisal of submissions.
What is expected from organizations during project implementation?
Contributions requested from the selected projects under this open call:
- A dedicated project team to work on the submitted project for 6-18 months.
- Availability for regular coordination meetings with the UNITAC project team (every two weeks) and additional meetings according to project requirements.
- Coordination of the project work on the ground, if applicable.
- Networking and coordination with relevant stakeholders.
- Facilitation of meetings between the UNITAC project team and relevant stakeholders.
- Commitment by the submitting organization’s leadership for support of the project.
- Contributions to monitoring and evaluation of the project, including regular reporting on conducted activities.
- Contributions to communications and dissemination activities for the project.
Selection criteria
1. Demand: Does the project respond to an actual demand or need? Does it address the most pressing urban challenges, considering emerging challenges? Is there a letter of support by the relevant local, regional or national government?
2. Scope: Is the project geared towards contributing to people-centered smart cities? Does it address one or more of the pillars of people-centered smart cities? Does it address the targets and indicators of SDG 11 and/or one of the other urban-related SDGs? Does it address urban challenges like informality, climate and/or recovery?
3. Innovation: To what extent and in what areas does the project suggest innovative approaches, processes or products? Is the technological solution suitable to address the stated issues and objectives (tech as a means not an end)?
4. Scalability / Transferability: Does the project have potential to be expanded over its initial geographic area to benefit more people within a city or country? Or is its design flexible enough to be potentially adapted in a new and different context?
5. Approach: Does the proposal present a sound strategy or approach to achieving the stated objectives? Does the approach consider the needs of diverse stakeholders, especially disadvantaged communities? Is there a vision for the long-term use of the project outcome? Does the project integrate postcolonial perspectives?
6. Impact: Does the project have an expected positive environmental, social or economic impact? Is the project expected to improve quality of life in cities, especially for disadvantaged communities? Is the project expected to advance gender equality?
7. Implementation resources - UNITAC: Does UNITAC have the necessary human and financial resources to implement the project? Is the project feasible from a technical/technological point of view? Is the implementation within the next 1-2 years feasible?
8. Implementation resources - Partner organization: Is the organization embedded in a functioning local project or ecosystem? Is there sufficient local commitment, capacity and experience? Is there local funding or in-kind contributions available to complement the UNITAC contribution? Are potential long-term costs for deployment, maintenance, etc. considered?
9. Risks and mitigations: Are there any potential adverse effects / risks (social, environmental, political, implementation, etc.)? Does the proposal identify suitable mitigation measures?
Selection process
All project proposals received by UNITAC before or on 10 March 2024 will go through the following appraisal process:
- The UNITAC team scores all submitted proposals against the evaluation criteria.
- From the top-rated submissions, a shortlist will be created by the project selection panel, taking into account the overall UNITAC portfolio and strategy.
- The shortlisted proposals will be invited to an online pitch session where all present their projects to the UNITAC team.
- The UNITAC team has the chance to pose questions on the proposed projects and clarify any open issues.
- Based on the online presentations and discussion, and considering also the available budget and timelines, the project selection panel will take the final decision how many and which projects are selected for support by UNITAC.
- All applicants will be notified about the result of the selection process, latest by 30 April 2024.
- Selected projects will enter into a collaborative process of one to six months for defining the project details, before actual implementation starts.
Submission
To submit your project proposal to this open call, please fill out the pdf submission form.
Once all questions are answered, kindly save the form as a pdf with your organization name as file name and send it together with the support letter as e-mail attachment to unitac@un.org
Deadline for submission of proposals is 10 March 2024.
Contact information
Do not hesitate to reach us at unitac@un.org for any questions about this call for projects.