20/09/23

Desert Wisdom

Author MIC Team

It’s no secret that Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev, is also becoming the capital of cyber and high-tech. Now it is also becoming one of the smartest cities in Israel, which is another reason to be very proud of it!

Once upon a time, when you heard the name “Be’er Sheva”, you would probably think of camels, and the predominant color was yellow – the color of the desert. But today Be’er Sheva has much more to offer. After all, it is the cyber capital of Israel. As such, it is not at all surprising that it is ranked fourth in the index of smart cities by Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

Social Change

In Be’er Sheva, they are going all out and intend to harness technology for the benefit of social change in the city. The ultimate goal is to improve the city’s welfare services. The Be’er Sheva office of innovation hopes that through technology, they will be able to improve resident services and lead to eligible populations being able to access their rights. At the same time, they hope to improve coordination between the various welfare service providers, which will lead to a significant change, and a considerable improvement of services for those that need and are entitled to assistance.

The Resident in the Center

The Be’er Sheva Municipality has begun an open-data project and an information-based decision-making project. What does all this jargon mean? In short, it means two things: transparency and participation of residents in the decision-making process. Local authorities often make the mistake of thinking of their residents as customers, when in fact the more correct thinking is to see the resident as a partner. The goal is to motivate residents to take action on issues such as recycling, cleanliness and city security, education and more.

Security! Security! Security!

The city has implemented a “strong” system, which assists the municipality in managing emergency situations, personnel and more. These are smart control and monitoring systems that include remote control of alarm systems, traffic light management throughout the city, communication networks and other smart systems handled remotely via the municipal control center. In addition, hundreds of security cameras will be installed in the city that will provide information on everything that is happening in the city and will also be managed by the municipal control center. simultaneously, various real-time video analytics systems will operate that track and process important data to improve the city’s security for the benefit of the residents. The project will enable the Municipality of Beer Sheva to optimally manage and evaluate activity on an ongoing basis. This highlights the importance of using technology as a tool for improving the quality of life of residents.
There is no doubt that Be’er Sheva is embracing innovation and caring for its residents by making incredible use of smart digital solutions. All that remains for us to say to the Be’er Sheva municipality is: “keep dreaming of making the Negev bloom, even in the technological-sense. The 21st century is proud of you!”

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20/06/23

Innovation in the Arab Municipalities – the City of Arraba

Author MIC Team

The city of Arraba, located in the Lower Galilee, in the Northern District, is the only entirely Arab city in Israel with a 100% Arab population. The city started as a local council that developed and grew until it achieved city status.

Technological innovation is even part of the local municipalities in Israel, where you’ll find advanced systems, innovations, and developments designed to improve communication between the municipality and the residents and upgrade various services.

The Arraba Municipality is equal to, if not more advanced than many other cities in Israel in making services accessible to residents using technology. In Arraba, as in other cities, a connection has been drawn between the Happiness Index (the satisfaction of the residents) and the rise in various areas of life, including employment, environment, education, transportation, and other areas, and it seems that the integration of existing systems in the city is just the beginning of a vision for technological innovation and an improvement in the well-being of the residents.

Some of the digital systems that can already be seen in Arraba:

A system for processing tender requests – an integral part of the development of a city and the services to its residents is the invitations to tender put out by the various government ministries, including allocating dedicated budgets for projects and proposals, depending on the department and the approved project. The implementation of tenders depends on constant monitoring of government websites, filling and editing documents, and requests to receive these budgets. To avoid ending up down a rabbit-hole of bureaucracy, losing important information, or being excluded from the tender due to incorrect forms, the Arraba Municipality has developed and implemented a system for centralizing invitations to tender. The system, developed by the municipality itself, is connected to all the authorities that put out tenders and allows viewing, receiving reminders, filtering and sorting requests by subject, budget, and other relevant parameters, viewing documents, and full access to related materials.

Development of a municipal app, presenting all the relevant information provided by the authority in the palm of every resident. The app provides information on municipal services, registration for activities and institutions, management of personal resident files, including the ability to keep track of municipal service payments, local news, contact details for the municipal center, and more. The app is also accessible to people with disabilities and is built in a way that also takes into account the older and less technologically-minded population, creating an optimal user experience.

CRM system for managing residents’ inquiries – it is the municipality’s responsibility to enable residents to contact and receive a response in various areas related to municipal services. In order to respond efficiently and provide services to residents, it is vital to offer wide hours of operation and provide a quick initial response along with managing referrals according to priority and degree of urgency.

The CRM system for managing residents’ inquiries enables documentation and follow-up of all inquiries using several methods ( from 106 call center, contact through the website or app), routing the inquiries for handling according to the nature of the inquiry, and allowing residents to receive information and follow up on inquiries.

Online forms – In order to make municipal services more accessible and increase the use of digital services, rather than waiting at local authority offices in person, the municipality has implemented a variety of online forms for completing digitally and sending directly to the various municipal departments online. These include registration forms for various educational institutions, application forms such as tax deduction, proof of residence, management of payments and fees, and even feedback and surveys concerning residents’ satisfaction with municipal services.

The Arraba municipality has already implemented a substantial upgrade of digital services for residents; similar technological innovations and systems are now on the market,designed for local authorities with the aim of improving and upgrading the quality of life in the city, including transportation and mobility solutions, better environment, education, tender requests and improved transparency.

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22/05/23

London waits for no-one: it just keeps going!

Author MIC Team

London has always been, and probably always will be, a great tourist destination. Its unique climate, amazing architecture and long history win the hearts of millions of tourists every year. But London isn’t only about history; it is a city which is constantly being updated.

There really is no need to introduce London, the ultimate choice for a holiday for millions of tourists every year, and yet it has aspects that only residents are aware of. It’s worth taking a moment to find out about those aspects, because, as the famous israeli singer Chava Alberstein once wrote, in London “despair becomes more comfortable”. Not that we are desperate, but Londoners are definitely more comfortable and there are reasons for that.

London is one of the “smartest” cities in the world. What is a smart city? Glad you asked.
The truth is that it’s difficult to define and there’s no single definition that everyone agrees on, but what’s certain is it involves the use of technologies that streamline citizen services, reduce costs, lower air pollution, improve resident and municipal work and provide safe public spaces.
Today, when the growth-rate of cities is high and the influx is almost constant, the existing infrastructure is becoming overburdened and therefore the integration of smart urban technologies is extremely critical.

How does London make use of smart technologies?

Here are three interesting examples that can be adopted in other countries:

In London, sharing has become more convenient
London has a completely free database open to the general public. It stores vast amounts of information about the capital city for the use of the entire public, whether you are a city resident, a business owner or even an app developer. This incredible information portal contains more than 700 data sets that can easily help anyone who is interested in getting to know and understand this spectacular city better, and more importantly – develop and offer solutions to the urban problems that exist in it.
The site’s developers created it to facilitate urban improvements, and upon entering the site, residents, business owners and app developers are invited to submit their ideas simply and conveniently, after surveying the city via the information portal.

“Hello, I’m going” (that’s a quote from the Chava Alberstein song!) – just pay attention to where and when exactly you are going, OK?
Recently, we have also heard the term “congestion charge” here in Israel. Before we get upset just from the name itself, it’s important to understand what it’s about. First of all, our Transport Minister is really not the one who invented the idea and in fact it has been around in London for many years. The congestion charge is a toll that is collected in specific areas of the city, which have been marked as congestion areas for particular vehicles.
What is it really good for? – The goal is, of course, to reduce traffic congestion, whilst at the same time also fund investment in the city’s transportation system.
The fee in London is currently £12.50 per day for particular vehicles entering the congestion charge area, during congestion hours. If the fee is not paid, the resident will be fined between £60 and £180. In addition to the congestion charge, and as part of London’s fight against air pollution, about three years ago the municipality decided to update and extend the list of vehicles banned from entering the “low emissions zone”, and it now also includes vehicles manufactured in 2015 which were not necessarily previously defined as heavy pollutants.

It is important to remember that in London this change is possible, and even welcome, because the public transport network works exceptionally well seven days a week, with convenient and accessible options for all passengers, both in terms of payment and in terms of connections throughout the city. In fact, public transport in the city is not only a suitable transport alternative, but often preferable to traveling by private car. Food for thought as to how our tiny country could be improved. Because before any changes can be made, it is essential to examine the infrastructure system that will support and enable those changes in such a way that they will not become an obstacle for the residents instead of fulfilling their main goal – to make life easier for them.

Sweetheart, we need to talk …(another quote for the song!)
Usually, when you hear a sentence like this, you can be sure that it is bad news, but this time you can breathe easy (more-or-less … we’re still talking about London and the soot may interfere with breathing a bit!). London has an internet community that was established at the initiative of the municipality called “Talk London”. This online community was established in 2012 and its ultimate goal is that the city can easily hear from Londoners about the issues that are most important to them, whether it’s about clean air, municipal budgets or recovery from COVID-19 and returning to routine. Another feature of the online community is to submit ideas to the municipality. New ideas can be posted which can then be commented on or even added to by other residents.
The site staff collects the ideas, researches them, and brings the best ones to fruition.

Overall, it can be said that the City of London loves the idea of collaborating with its residents in everything related to urban living and resident comfort.
Our score: four “Big Bens” out of five!