City teams up with entrepreneurs to test exciting and innovative projects

** Ottawa ** – Mayor Jim Watson announced today during City Council the eight projects that have been chosen so far to be piloted by the City as part of the Municipal Innovation Pilot Program. This program is designed for local, national and international entrepreneurs to pilot new technologies, products or services with the City of Ottawa.

“To date, we have commenced eight pilots in fields such as cyber security, gamification, accessibility, and social media analytics to name just a few and we expect to bring on many more pilots as we grow our program in its second year,” said Mayor Watson. “The City is one of the first municipalities in Canada to create a program dedicated to finding and experimenting with new and innovative approaches to delivering municipal services. I am incredibly excited to see the results of this program.”

The City received more than 65 applications from companies in Ottawa and across Canada seeking participation in the program. In structuring the program, the City sought the counsel of partners at the Build in Canada Innovation Program and the National Research Council and worked with entrepreneurial groups like TiE Ottawa and local post-secondary institutions.

The successful pilots are:

 1. 
VoIPshield, an Ottawa-based company, who will be piloting their VoiceAudit software, which is an important link in ensuring the security of VOIP phone systems.

 2. 
WAW Technologies, who will test the network monitoring effectiveness of their Catchwire product.

 3. 
The innovative new start-up based out of Carleton University, Gamifi, will be running a pilot to provide interactive content for upcoming City of Ottawa staff mental health awareness training sessions.

 4. 
Local start-up, Syncrodata, will pilot their TrendifyLive social media monitoring and analytics tool.

 5. 
Savvydox will test a cloud-based document collaboration solution that will manage the application process for the Innovation Pilot Program.

 6. 
Signority has developed an e-signature that will manage the authorization process for the negotiation of City pilot agreements with successful applicants.

 7. 
Millenium Inc., is a start-up based out of the Waterloo, whose product Lacelabs is an online forum where municipalities can share information regarding pilots that they have undertaken.

 8. 
Key2Access, in partnership with the Canadian National Institute of the Blind, have developed a product that will assist people with visual and motor impairments in activating the pedestrian walk signal at traffic intersections.

These eight projects will be tested for several months, at which point the City will validate their performance and provide feedback. Where a potential improvement is found to a City process, these companies may then be moved into the traditional procurement process to compete for work on an ongoing basis. The City is not required to purchase any of the projects or sign any contracts.

The Innovation Pilot Program is in accordance with the City of Ottawa’s multi-year economic development strategy, _ Partnerships for Innovation _ .

For more information about the eight projects, visit ottawa.ca .