Kansas City seeks partners for smart city expansion

Kansas City, Missouri, has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for 10- to 30-year partnerships in order to begin phase two of its smart city programme.

Bob Bennett, Chief Innovation Officer, told Cities Today he likens the RFP to a search for a “programme manager”, who will conduct projects that will include installing public Wi-Fi, traffic and parking sensors, data analysis, and smart meters across the city’s 824-square kilometre remit.

“The individual who wins is going to be the programme manager, so they don’t have to have all the capabilities in-house today,” he said on the sidelines of the International Business Festival in Liverpool. “Quite frankly it’s going to be so complex they won’t, and that’s OK. That then allows us to go project by project to engage local businesses, so they get a chance to succeed and we can be responsive to our local economic needs.”

The programme manager would need to deliver a long-term strategic plan that outlines the priorities, direction and timeframe for the next ten to 30 years.

Bennett envisages 2018 as “year zero” and sees the process in odd and even years. In the even years, the city will lay out what are the tranche of projects that are to be implemented for a specified period–roughly two years.

The RFP will pick up where the city began two years ago with its smart city programme. This became operational in May 2016 at the same time as the opening of the city’s streetcar, or light rail, line. Along this five-kilometre streetcar corridor, digital infrastructure was installed including 328 Wi-Fi transmitters, 26 K City Posts kiosks as information points for residents and visitors, and 178 streetlights that enhance traffic movement and adjust lights to meet citizen needs through artificial intelligence.

This second phase will begin with the eastern third of the city, where many of the same capabilities from the first phase will be built along the new bus rapid transit route, called Prospect MAX.

“There are companies and technologies that don’t exist today that are going to be involved,” he said.

Although Bennett won’t be a part of the assessment panel, he says all city departments will play a role, led by the Director or Deputy Director of the Public Works Department. Also sitting on the 11-member committee will be the Chief Data Officer and the Officer for Performance Management.

The RFP application is open until 31 July.