Smart Waterloo Region becomes part of the CYPT

Smart Cities Challenge (2018-2019)

In November 2017, the Government of Canada launched its Smart Cities Challenge – a two phase funding competition open to all municipalities across Canada. The Challenge empowers municipalities and residents to think big about their future, encouraging communities to use technology and data to overcome their most pressing challenge. Our community and the seven area municipalities joined forces and after months of public and stakeholder engagement, the community selected our challenge area: Healthy children and youth!

SWRIL worked with the Children and Youth Planning Table of Waterloo Region to better understand child and youth wellbeing. We also worked with the local tech sector to see what tech solutions exist to address this challenge. Engaging our tech sector led us to new and exciting partnerships – and we learned that there are many tech solutions to improve child and youth wellbeing in our community.

Although Smart Waterloo Region was selected as one of the top 5 finalists in Canada, it wasn’t the winner of the Smart Cities Challenge. However, the community saw value in the mission and rallied together to support us. It’s because of generous funding from the Region of Waterloo, the seven area municipalities, and the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab was able to work on a variety of projects.

Smart Waterloo Region Projects (2020-2024)

Smart Waterloo Region focused on a variety of youth-led projects divided into two main areas: Data and Play.

Data Projects

• Impact Map: a community crowdsourcing digital mapping platform.
• AI Chatbot: a chatbot designed to help people in Waterloo Region find programs and services for children, youth, and families.
• Data Playground:an app built on web 3.0 and blockchain. People and organizations can easily access program registration, surveys, polls, and secure file sharing.

Play Projects

• Youth Impact Project (with CYPT): With funding from the Region of Waterloo and United Way WRC, a $70,000 fund to support youth ideas that address challenges seen in the 2023 Youth Impact Survey data. Done in full partnership with CYPT.
• Impact & Action Summit: A CYPT/SWRIL partnered youth-led event for youth, focused on making sense of CYPT’s Youth Impact Survey Data.
• Nurture School Gardens: Youth-led school gardens and food forests across Waterloo Region.
• Community Canvas: creating murals with youth and local artists.
• GIMI Impact: An innovation curriculum in Waterloo Region schools for children and youth to innovate and build out their ideas.

Q&A

What is Smart Waterloo Region’s relationship to the Region of Waterloo?
Smart Waterloo Region and CYPT are both housed at the Region of Waterloo. However, while the CYPT is a community collaborative accountable to 70 Voting Member organizations, SWR is an entity that is accountable to the Region of Waterloo and multiple Area Municipalities.

Is this a blending together of CYPT and SWR – or separate identities still?

Smart Waterloo Region would continue to have its own identity and operate as its own organization nested underneath the CYPT.

What are the financial implications for CYPT?

The SWR Play Lead role is a fully funded position. With SWR joining the CYPT, there would also be some additional funding to support the infrastructure of the CYPT.

What are the workload implications for CYPT? 

With this change, we will have added people power to help advance the work of the CYPT Strat Plan. However, we would expect an initial increase in workload for some staff as we work through the transition.

Is this idea in alignment with the Strat Plan?

This transition aligns with CYPT’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan. Leveraging SWRIL’s success in youth engagement, outreach, and innovation will further increase our community impact. The proposal reflects a shared foundation and longstanding partnership between SWRIL and CYPT, emphasizing alignment in focus areas and a commitment to advancing CYPT’s mission.

What are the potential benefits?

• A stronger connection between CYPT and SWR (reducing siloed efforts)
• More direct influence from the CYPT on the future of SWR
• SWR’s work being scoped to be of direct support to the CYPT Strategic Plan
• Added people power to help advance the work of the CYPT Strat Plan
• Officially bringing the CYPT Youth Engagement in Systems Lead, CYPT Child Engagement in Systems Lead and the SWR Play Lead into one team to support child and youth engagement across Waterloo Region
• Some funding to support the infrastructure of CYPT

What are the potential concerns?

• Nesting SWR under CYPT may not work or be sustainable for the long-term
• An initial increase in workload

Do the SWRIL education programs fit in this new model?

We would be working on this as part of the next steps in scoping and would follow up as we go through that process.