Saagar Jain & Maggie Pan
2019
Technology Commercialization
Demonstrations and Pilots
Project and Program Development
Grant Funding
Smart Mobility and Smart Grid
of Michigan citizens live in cities with populations under 100,000.
identify factors
that make a
community
an ideal target
for a smart city
program
compile a list
of initial target
communities
provide
recommendations for
the implementation
of the program
85%
OUR TASKS:
NextEnergy is developing a smart city program to
work with these smaller communities.
SMART CITY
PROPOSAL
Competitor
Analysis & Case
Studies
Certification
Program ResearchCity
Outreach
Competitors Analysis and Case Studies
Compiled list of ~60 national and
Michigan-based competitors
Categorized organizations as
potential partners, models, competitors,
or funders
Performed case studies on two
promising potential partners
DELIV
ERAB
LES
Certification Program Research
We performed an analysis of the Michigan Green Communities Challenge (MGCC). We analyzed cities'
participation in the challenge and contacted some cities to identify pain points, improvements, and potential
partnerships.
City Outreach and AnalysisDatabase
Creation
Final List of
Target Cities
Developing
Target
Criteria
Contacting
Cities
Michigan Prosperity
Region
Population
Size
We created an excel database of 700+ Michigan
municipalities with key pieces of information
including prosperity region, population size,
participation in the MGCC, etc. We used this as a
base for our data analysis to determine an initial
target city list.
DELIVERABLE
City Outreach and AnalysisDatabase
Creation
Final List of
Target Cities
Developing
Target
Criteria
Contacting
CitiesWe analyzed this data to determine the city
categories that have the highest participation
rates in the MGCC in regards to their prosperity
region membership and population range. This
analysis suggested a broad target geographical
location and population range for initial city
partners. The overlap of these two metrics
created our initial target city list.OBJECTIVE
APPROACH
DELIVERABLE
City Outreach and AnalysisDatabase
Creation
Final List of
Target Cities
Developing
Target
Criteria
Contacting
Cities
Initial List
Expanded List
Our first list of cities to contact were taken
from the list of cities that dropped out of the
MGCC. We set up phone calls and/or in-
person meetings through email. For each
conversation, we followed a question
template we made for consistency.
The second batch of cities we called was more
expansive, covering cities that did not participate
in the MGCC. These cities were of differing
population ranges in our target prosperity
regions and organized to determine any
correlations. Our Goals:
1. Determine pros and cons for a certification program
2. Identify city pain points and what services to provide
3. Gauge interest in a smart city program
City Outreach and AnalysisDatabase
Creation
Final List of
Target Cities
Developing
Target
Criteria
Contacting
Cities
Initial List
Expanded List
1. Manually inputted information equates to
some degree of human error (City of Novi)
2. Contacting city leaders was difficult
because of the July 4th holiday and their
busy schedules
The second batch of cities we called was more
expansive, covering cities that did not participate
in the MGCC. These cities were of differing
population ranges in our target prosperity
regions and organized to determine any
correlations. Our Goals:
1. Determine pros and cons for a certification program
2. Identify city pain points and what services to provide
3. Gauge interest in a smart city program
CHALLENGES
City Outreach and AnalysisDatabase
Creation
Final List of
Target Cities
Developing
Target
Criteria
Contacting
Cities
Initial List
Expanded List
1. Manually inputted information equates to
some degree of human error (City of Novi)
2. Contacting city leaders was difficult
because of the July 4th holiday and their
busy schedules
Unfortunately, we did not have time or the
capacity to call all the cities we intended to, so
we decided to prioritize and contact cities that
had a designated environmental commission,
manager, or program. Our Goals:
1. Determine pros and cons for a certification program
2. Identify city pain points and what services to provide
3. Gauge interest in a smart city program
PIVOT
CHALLENGES
City Outreach and AnalysisDatabase
Creation
Final List of
Target Cities
Developing
Target
Criteria
Contacting
Cities
From city interviews, we
determined trends for:
1. Things to improve for the
certification program
2. General city limitations/pain points
3. Important services to provide
4. Factors that make (or don't
make) for an ideal first city partner
SUBJECTIVE APPROACH
Our recommendations for initial
partner cities were based on our
direct interactions from our
interviews. The final list of target
cities highlighted these cities as the
most promising cities to work with.
DELIVERABLE
Our Final Report
DELIVERABLES
Report includes all our findings, data
analyses, methodology, question
template, final list of target
cities, obstacles, certification program
proposal outline, and overall
recommendations
Appendix includes case studies and
recommendations from our first competitor
analysis task, and our recorded city responses in
more detail
THANK YOU
with special thanks to Matt, Katherine, Andrea, Tim, Angella, Jim, and the rest
of the NextEnergy team for an incredible experience!
Any Questions?
Maggie Pan
(732) 669-2538
Duke University '22
Saagar Jain
(954) 296-8533
Duke University '22