Activate!Vaughan Innovation Program

Activate!Vaughan is a new innovation program that connects high-potential entrepreneurs to market-driven entrepreneurship opportunities and mentorship from industry leaders. The City of Vaughan will deliver five Activate!Vaughan pitch challenges from 2019 to 2021, each focused on a specific opportunity for innovation.

1. Environmental Sustainability | November 2019
2. Health | Fall 2020
3. Smart City | Fall 2020
4. Transportation & Mobility | Spring 2021
5. Community Safety | Fall 2021

Each challenge will award selected ventures with $5,000 in provincial grant funding each, plus participation in the Activate!Vaughan Commercialization program which includes advisory services, targeted workshops and mentorship to grow their ventures.

For more information and to participate in the next challenge, visit vaughanbusiness.ca/activatevaughan.

World Council on City Data

Vaughan became the second municipality in Canada to be World Council on City Data (WCCD) ISO 37120 Platinum Certified and will be the one of the first cities to pilot the new Smart Cities standard ISO 37122.

The WCCD is the global leader in standardized city data that helps create smart, sustainable, resilient and prosperous cities.

Data is integral to Smart Cities. As a member of the WCCD, the City of Vaughan is helping to spearhead and lead the efforts on open data. The City of Vaughan has engaged in international benchmarking to identify common issues and themes, to learn and share best practices with cities globally and to increase economic development.

City of Vaughan will be participating in the WCCD’s Global Cities Registry^TM for Smart City ISO 37122 Certification through the collection of 80 globally standardized indicators.

Quick Facts

• The City of Vaughan has been a member of Global City Indicators Facility (GCIF) at the University of Toronto - a predecessor of the WCCD - since 2011.
• The WCCD was established to globally operationalize ISO 37120 - the first international standard on metrics for sustainable cities. The certification system and Global Cities Registry^TM for ISO 37120 was developed using the GCIF framework with input from 255 cities across 82 countries, international organizations, corporate partners and international experts from more than 20 countries.
• WCCD ISO 37120 Platinum Certification was awarded based on the recommendation of an independent third-party verifier who reviewed Vaughan’s data.
• ISO 37120 includes 100 indicators, which are structured around the following 17 themes: economy, education, energy, environment, finance, fire and emergency response, governance, health, recreation, safety, shelter, solid waste, telecommunications, transportation, urban planning, wastewater, and water and sanitation.
• The WCCD is a global hub for creative learning partnerships across cities, international organizations, corporate partners, and academia to further innovation, envision alternative futures, and build better and more livable cities.

US Ignite

The City of Vaughan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with US Ignite to become a member of the organization’s Smart Gigabit Community. Vaughan is the first Canadian municipality to join US Ignite. This non-profit organization promotes international leadership to develop new applications and to foster an environment for local governments and technology partners to work together to improve the lives of citizens through cutting-edge solutions.

US Ignite has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency of the United States Congress, entitled Smart Gigabit Communities. This grant will help create a network of smart gigabit city platforms and applications across more than 25 communities. Joining the Smart Gigabit Community will allow Vaughan to strengthen professional networks, access innovative best practices and improve organizational and technical capabilities.

Read the news release

Past Projects

• 2018 Smart Cities Challenge (PDF)
• smARTcities | Exploring the digital frontier (PDF)