The City of Myrtle Beach says it is formally launching its initiative toward becoming a “smart city” with help from companies moving to the city.
The city announced Monday the first participants of its “Living Lab,” which it describes as “an innovative public-private partnership designed to support the development of emerging technology and encourage entrepreneurs to use Myrtle Beach as their hub.”
Chief Innovative Officer for the city, Howard Waldie IV said Myrtle Beach is the perfect spot.
“What better place to start your launch and have a legacy than Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,” he said.
The city said it will provide the space and environment for local businesses, small businesses, and large corporations as a testing ground for new technology. That also includes testing appropriate technologies within city operations.
“We are actually going to help them test their product in a real-life scenario,” he said.
It’s one way the city hopes to help small and start-up companies test their products before offering them to a wider audience.
Officials also said some companies as part of the Living Lab may be in the program for as little as three months, while others could be involved for a year or more.
The first participants announced by the city are:
- Cocoflo Innovations– Provides cloud-based city services including business licensing, emergency alerts, payments, development planning, parks and recreation, and citizen communications. Cocoflo’s mission is to help communities achieve an effective, collective communication flow. The heart and soul of the platform uses the latest technology to enhance engagement to forge a closer relationship with the community.
- Rep’d and Polco– Rep’d and Polco are two complementary platforms designed to collect resident input, share key city updates and address frequently asked questions. Rep’d empowers city leaders to instantly share short video updates with residents to clarify concerns as needed. Polco’s all-in-one community engagement platform allows government leaders to collect and analyze resident feedback to make data-driven decisions. These two platforms enter the Living Lab program as a joint pilot.
- dependbuild– A risk and knowledge management software focused on helping municipalities improve project outcomes through sound risk and knowledge management practices. The software helps city infrastructure projects stay on time and on budget through increased risk mitigation, data accessibility, and operational efficiency.
Rep’d Chief Operating Officer Mark Friese told WMBF News that this new lab helps their bottom line.
“The mission has always been to enable better conversations, more transparency, and more accurate information between government leaders and the residents who they serve,” Friese said.
They accomplish this by partnering with another company that does the polling. Then Rep’d works with local government leaders to manage messaging.
The expansion into Myrtle Beach is something exciting for CEO Mike Baumwoll.
“Myrtle Beach felt like the perfect place to really dive in and highlight all the amazing services and progress that’s being done within the city to make it better for visitors and for residents,” Baumwoll said.
Rep’d is also looking to grow with the city, something this project is hoping to expand on.
The city is working with the council to find a building for the lab.
Another goal is to connect students from Horry County Schools, Horry Georgetown Tech, and Coastal Carolina with these businesses to help everyone.
“Do you need some local assistance while you’re developing your product and testing your product? [If] so you, can have some employees here on base,” Waldie said.
His message to other companies looking to test their products:
“Why not Myrtle Beach.”
The city said it is working toward building a Living Lab facility within the Arts & Innovation District. For now, companies have the option to work remotely or use the HTC Aspire Hub as a workspace once expansion is complete.
“This exciting opportunity will lead to business expansion, help launch new technologies, contribute to the economy, and create more jobs in our city,” the city said in its announcement.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Steven Schlink a
Quelle/Source: WMBF News, 26.08.2024
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