We start 2023 with our very first co-hosted episode with Alessandro Gaillard, Communications Campaign Officer at the Solar Impulse Foundation and host of the Solutions for Cities Podcast.

With our host Tamlyn Shimizu, they had a fascinating talk with David Kelly, the Director of the Southern Regional Assembly in Ireland, about collaboration between organisations, local authorities but also regions in Europe, as well as Smart Specialisation strategy goals for this region.

Have a look at the Solar Impulse Foundation's Solutions Guide for Cities on the BABLE platform. Make sure to check out our feature on page 208!

Overview of the episode:

01:35 - What does the Southern Regional Assembly (SRA) do and what does it cover from a geographical point of view?

5:15 - Teaser: in what other region in the world besides the Southern Region in Ireland would David like to work?

6:45 - What are the goals of the Southern Regional Assembly with their Smart Specialisation strategy?

09:30 - Collaboration and learnings from other regions and cities.

13:20 - What can be gained from Smart projects?

16:36 - What can be "lost" from Smart projects? What are the risks?

18:35 - How can public entities work with private ones?

21:28 - What are the specific challenges the Southern Region is facing?

25:23 - How can regions bring together local authorities effectively?

28:40 - How do cities collaborate with each other in the Southern Region?

30:31 - How are the smaller towns in the region working differently than bigger cities?

34:50 - Flip the Script: our guest asks the questions

40:57 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?

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