As urban centers continue to grow and technological advancements reshape the way we live, having a robust smart city strategy has never been more critical. Smart Cities Council recently hosted a webinar featuring long-term member and industry leader Delos Delta to explore the evolving definition of ‘smart’ in urban contexts and the importance of a comprehensive strategy for success.
Brook Dixon, Founder and Managing Director of Delos Delta, alongside General Manager Anna Wilson, shared key learnings from successful smart city implementations and practical steps for cities and organizations looking to kickstart or enhance their smart cities journey.
Cutting Through the Hype: The Delos Delta Approach
Delos Delta specializes in smart cities and digital transformation, working with cities, governments, councils, developers, universities, and companies to harness the best of digital innovation. Their focus is on delivering tangible value rather than getting lost in the hype, ensuring that digital initiatives drive productivity, creativity, sustainability, and innovation.
With over 100 registrations from around the world—including participants from the City of Parramatta and Orange County, Florida—the webinar attracted a diverse mix of government officials, planners, strategists, researchers, and private sector leaders. Titles ranged from Engagement and Planning Managers to Privacy Directors, CIOs, and Smart Cities Leads, reflecting a broad interest in smart city development and digital transformation.
Smart City Strategy in Action
Some notable smart city initiatives discussed included:
- City of Greater Geelong Smart Initiatives
- City of Casey Smart Projects
- Canberra’s Smart City Award-Winning Work (Brook and Anna provided additional insights on this.)
However, as Brook noted, “The strategy itself is not the entire point—it is a process that aids in driving awareness, buy-in, partnership formation, communication, and risk identification.” The process, he emphasized, is just as important as the product.
Why Maturity Matters
Maturity is a key factor in ensuring that an organization can implement and sustainably manage smart solutions. A smart city strategy should not just focus on projects and infrastructure but also on organization-wide adoption, ensuring longevity and impact.
When redefining smart cities, there has been a noticeable shift from technology-led approaches to people-centric strategies. However, truly meaningful, sustained change comes when smart city initiatives are both people- and planet-positive.
Accelerating Smart Development
Delos Delta’s recent strategic scan revealed a growing trend among councils embedding smart city thinking throughout their organizations. Yet, barriers remain. Standardizing processes and sharing use cases emerged as two key accelerators for smart development.
A recurring question from participants both leading up to and during the webinar was: Where and how to get started?
Brook and Anna recommended ensuring that first and foremost, anyone championing a smart city strategy has executive support and that executive level leadership is visibly involved in the development process.
The AtlasTeleos Program: Bridging the Smart Cities Gap
To help cities, regions, and organizations accelerate their smart city progress, Delos Delta has developed the AtlasTeleos Program—a comprehensive suite of diagnostic, analytical, and prescriptive tools. Tried and tested across hundreds of smart city strategies and thousands of smart tech projects, AtlasTeleos provides:
- Smart city/region/organization progress reports and dashboards
- Smart tech organizational maturity assessments
- Smart city/region/organization benchmarking and analysis
- Smart tech global scans and best practice reports
- Smart city/region/organization action and investment roadmaps
Delos Delta offer the AtlasTeleos program to global cohorts, helping smart city aspirants build strategic, maturity-based approaches for long-term success.
Closing the Loop: The Role of Communication
One of the strongest takeaways from the session was the role of communication in smart city strategy development - clear, inclusive communication ensures that communities are engaged, rather than alienated, by smart city initiatives, and helps organizations deliver a strategy that has inter-departmental buy in which aids in adoption.
By taking a strategic, maturity-based approach, cities can leave a lasting legacy—one that fosters innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability. Smart Cities Council and Delos Delta remain committed to supporting this journey, helping cities and organizations worldwide harness the power of smart strategies for a better future.
To learn more about joining Smart Cities Council or to request the session slides, please contact us.
