Expertise

Smart City & Smart Region

Living vision.

Smart cities and regions are no longer just a pipe dream. Digital solutions are already a part of sustainable urban and regional development – and an increasingly important competitive factor when it comes to attracting population and businesses to cities and regions.

Improved quality of life, comfort, and safety

Many German cities, municipalities, and administrative districts are already using technologies to make the various areas of general interest sustainable – for example, mobility, energy, climate protection, the economy, education, or health.

The consistent underpinning and linking of urban and regional development with existing data, tools and digital solutions results in a wide range of added values for people, companies, and infrastructures in smart cities and smart regions. The transformation process focuses on three fundamental questions:

  • Which development prospects will be formulated for cities and regions in the future?
  • How and where can innovative networking technologies and concepts support this development?
  • How can the necessary processes be organised within and with the city’s administration and its economy, with companies and citizens?

Link to existing processes

The central task is to translate the challenges of future urban and regional development together into digital networking projects, considering the specificities on the ground. The keyword is: fit. What works in urban areas is often not easily transferred to rural ones – and vice versa. We support you in this process. By combining our extensive experience supporting processes for public clients and regional development with our professional expertise in the areas of energy, environment and climate adaptation, mobility, economy and health, culture and education, and organisational consulting.

Smart City & Smart Region: A selection of our services

Strategy development

We support communities in the creation and development of their own smart city or smart region strategies. We use our experience in regional development and combine it with new, innovative, and digital solutions.

Organisational investigation and development

Smart city/smart region projects are a cross-sectional task: different administration departments, local society actors, and inter-municipal cooperation all play a role. We support you in the (further) development of internal administrative structures and processes as well as cross-border networks.

Foresight

To equip digitalisation strategies with long-term perspectives beyond ten years, we work with methods from the spectrum of foresight. In this way, we make the uncertainties of dealing with long-term future developments manageable.

Process support, communication and moderation

With transparent programme and project management, we make complexity controllable. As “interface acrobats,” we accompany you in the conception and implementation of participation-oriented processes and communication activities.

Evaluation and assessments

Using scientifically sound methods, we analyse the effects and impacts of your goals. We accompany public clients at federal and state level in the process of evaluating funding programmes and municipalities as well as measuring the impact of their activities on the ground.

Our work on this topic

Take a look at our latest projects and activities.

Evaluation of the "Smart Cities Model Projects" funding programme

ongoing
| Project

Prognos evaluates the "Model Projects Smart Cities" (MPSC) funding programme as part of the Coordination and Transfer Office under the direction of the DLR Project Management Agency.

European Cluster Conference 2024

-
| Event

The European Cluster Conference 2024 brings the key players in the European cluster economy together in one place. The Prognos team around Head of EU-Services Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer is providing input both as part of our work for the European Cluster Collaboration Platform and for the NRW.innovativ competence centre.

Clusters meet Regions

-
| Event

As part of our work for the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer presents an input paper on the cluster landscape of Lombardy, outlining important considerations for the future development of the region.

Trend Report 2024: Germany on its path to digital administration - an update

2024
| Project

Where does Germany stand on its path to digital administration? The Trendreport 2024 gives an update and recommendations for the digitalisation of the public administration system.

EU Clusters Talk

| Event

Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer, Prognos Head of EU Services, on behalf of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform speaks about cluster policies in the EU at the EU Clusters Talk.

The potential of smart specialisation strategies

2023
| Project

In collaboration with Prof. Dominique Foray, Prognos compiled a policy brief identifying the potential of smart specialisation strategies for driving forward structural transformation.

Smart specialisation

2021
| Project

On behalf of the European Commission, Prognos and partners analysed all the smart specialisation strategies across the EU. The aim was to determine whether the priorities are set wisely.

Digital State trend report 2021: Removing hurdles

2021
| Project

Removing hurdles – innovative, pragmatic, hands-on. The report presents innovative solutions for digital management.

Digital State trend report

ongoing
| Project

Since 2016, Prognos’ management consulting team has been helping compile the Digital State trend report in cooperation with Behörden Spiegel. Each year the report is devoted to another forward-looking trend topic for public administration.

Study on smart specialisation in Germany

2020
| Project

Prognos determined the current implementation status of the Regional Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) in Germany for the EU Commission.

Do you have questions?

Your contact at Prognos

Matthias Canzler

Senior Project Manager

View profile

About us

Prognos – Providing Orientation.

Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound.

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