In an attempt to create lasting change, last June’s London Tech Week presented the inaugural Civic Innovation Challenge, an innovation opportunity that could not be missed.

The goal? Identify an area in need of civic improvement and provide a plan to roll it out, all the while connecting early stage startups and entrepreneurs with corporates and civic authorities to provide collaborative solutions. All of these communities and plans came to fruition as London Mayor Sadiq Khan pushes the city to be “a global test-bed for civic innovation.”

The aim of the day was to clear unwanted trees from the area to restore the peatland, further enhance the reserve and increase the range of flora and fauna. Working with the Somerset Wildlife Trust, the team helped to transform a piece of land on this internationally acclaimed National Nature Reserve.

Supporting the team on the day, Mark Blake, Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Reserves Manager, said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the amount that was actually achieved! It was great working with such an enthusiastic team from National Grid.”

How do you get a meeting with the right people, give them the right pitch, navigate their Byzantine internal decision-making structure, negotiate the best possible terms, close the deal, and walk away with enough cash to make your next funding milestone?

You probably don’t. Especially if your starting point is the security guard in the lobby or the friend of the cousin who used to date your Director of Marketing’s former college roommate.

With the advance of smartphones, sensors, inexpensive data collection and processing, and artificial intelligence, we’ve taught our homes and devices what time of day we leave the house, which route we drive to work—even how to brew the perfect lattè, every time. Lights, speakers, doorbells, ovens, egg trays: almost anything in our homes, it seems, can be smart.

The concept of smart homes and cities blends reality with the future. But what does it mean to be a smart home or a smart city? And why are smart homes and cities so important to me?

 

The trucks that drop off your online shopping are running constantly—at least 12 hours a day, as opposed to the one hour a day most cars are used. And they get terrible fuel economy: 5 or 6 mpg, versus 28 for a typical car.  So how do we mitigate the climate crisis?  It starts with a delivery truck.

Seems simple, right? Switch the fleets to electric—cheaper, quieter, and cleaner than trucks powered by fossil fuels—and we can still get our stuff shipped at the swipe of an app.

Money is plentiful—Silicon Valley startups raising $100 million mega-rounds are becoming more common—and you’ve got many high-profile financing partners to choose from.

Have you ever thought about finding a partner in the energy industry? That might not have been your first instinct. But believe it or not, teaming up with us might well be the best move you’d never considered making. Here’s why.

 

Great ideas in an untapped market

Regulated utilities, after all, have not historically been known as hotbeds of market disruption.

In fact, the typical utility’s core business model primarily entails making large capital investments in physical infrastructure—and then maintaining that infrastructure over time to optimize efficiency and minimize risk. That certainly isn’t the classic formula for birthing a disruptive unicorn.

The massive volume of data being generated by industrial systems, vehicles, consumer goods, sensors in public spaces, and the like has tremendous potential value.

But data only has potential value. Actual value is realized in marketplaces where transactions occurs between buyers and sellers. And that value is agreed upon by the parties to each transaction, who use information to negotiate transaction pricing and terms.

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