The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance will partner with Arrow Electronics, Inc. to create the new Colorado Open Lab
– a large-scale showcase and innovation lab dedicated to fast track development of Smart Cities and Smart Regions throughout the state of Colorado.
Located within the Denver south region of Colorado, the Colorado Open Lab will feature an engineering and innovation facility, a Smart City experience center and a Live Experience of Smart City showcases, featuring various technologies and solutions deployed across a jurisdiction.
The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) funded the further development of the Colorado Open Lab through a $500,000 Advanced Industries Collaborative Infrastructure Funding Grant, allowing Colorado Smart Cities Alliance’s 19 municipal members and the Colorado Department of Transportation to utilize the Open Lab to collaborate, discover, innovate, test and confidently validate Smart City solutions prior to deploying at scale within their jurisdictions.
OEDIT Deputy Director Michelle Hadwiger said, “The Colorado Open Lab is just the kind of forward-thinking, innovative program that the Collaborative Infrastructure Grant was designed to inspire.”
“By accelerating commercialization and innovation of our advanced industry cluster and cultivating a workforce that supports its needs, we further our economic diversification while reinforcing our position as an industry leader,” said Hadwiger.
“Our partners at Arrow Electronics have one of the broadest global technology networks in the world,” said Jake Rishavy, Vice President of Innovation, Denver South Economic Development Partnership, a founding organization of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. “Now with the support of the Advanced Industries Grant Program, the Colorado Open Lab will bring these leading technology companies here to Denver south and Colorado to work alongside Colorado cities and other public sector leaders to co-develop the next generation of smart cities technologies. As they do, these companies will build valuable networks and relationships – deep roots – here in Colorado.”
While located in Denver south region, the Colorado Open Labs will impact economic development and quality of life issues across the state of Colorado.
“In addition to supporting business attraction in two of the fastest growing technology markets, smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT,) the Colorado Open Labs will help to redefine public-private partnerships to bring new solutions to complex challenges like mobility, sustainability, public health and public safety,” said Hadwiger.
This cross-sector, cross-jurisdictional collaboration will become ever more important in coming years.
“The challenges facing our communities are so complex that no one city or company can solve them in a vacuum,” said John Tolva, Co-Founder, The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. “The Colorado Smart Cities Alliance and now the Colorado Open Lab provide the collaborative infrastructure that will help facilitate cross-jurisdictional, cross-sector collaboration to tackle these challenges on behalf of all Colorado residents.”
