Pretoria - The City of Tshwane is a finalist in the 2021 Public Sector Innovation Awards for its groundbreaking initiative to solve service delivery challenges.
MMC for Finance, Alderman Peter Sutton, said this was the result of the successful implementation of the Tshwane Inter-University Innovation Challenge, which could possibly be named the winner on February 25.
Sutton said: “In our quest to become the innovation capital of South Africa and of the rest of the world, the City of Tshwane, through its City Strategy and Organisational Performance Department, has over the past three years been engaging with stakeholders to better understand the innovation ecosystem and use this for improved service delivery.”
In 2019, the City launched the Tshwane Inter-University Innovation Challenge in partnership with Unisa, the University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology, The Innovation Hub, Technology Innovation Agency, the French Embassy, Human Sciences Research Council and Eskom.
At least 400 students participated in the challenge and produced over 150 innovative solutions to address service delivery challenges in water, waste management, electricity and revenue collection.
“Top innovators were awarded and given the opportunity to formalise their business opportunities with our partners, as well as to get research support from and exposure to world-class international training through the Blue Ocean Strategy Workshops.
“The success of the challenge also spurred the participation of the City of Tshwane in the first international edition of the Blue Ocean Awards in 2021. These give student innovators an opportunity to compete for the grand prize of being Blue Ocean Ambassadors in Africa and expose them to over 2 000 investors,” said Sutton.
“The City is committed to building a wealth of young talent.”
Pretoria News