ISCN Online Advisory Programme on solutions during Covid-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, local retailers suffered a sharp drop in sales as people restricted their social contacts and were forced to stay at home. In many cities around the world, once vibrant centres where you could once find a variety of local businesses are now characterised by vacancies or dominated by international brands. In response, many digital solutions have been developed to help customers support local businesses. During the event of the Online Advisory Programme (OAP) of the International Smart Cities Network (ISCN), two projects from very different locations and with different but sustainable and local approaches were presented and discussed.

Sandra Aguirre and Iris Ordóñez from the Institute of Planning and Development Management of the Metropolitan Region of Guadalajara, Mexico (IMEPLAN), shared with the participants the findings from the development and piloting of the online market solution "Mi Mercado AMG". The digital solution, which was developed with the support of the ISCN, supports local market traders in developing a sustainable digital business model to complement their analogue presence. In recent months, the findings from the implementation process of the solutions have been frequently shared with the ISCN's partner cities.

In addition, Julia Brennauer from the ISCN team presented the practice-orientated transfer package that enables cities worldwide to scale and adapt the solution to their own context.

The second solution presented was also a response to the COVID pandemic and the lockdown in April 2020. In the Canadian city of Québec, a civil society organisation started developing a registry for small businesses in Québec: "Le Panier Bleu". Farid Mheir, CTO of Le Panier Bleu, shared his experience in developing the government-backed platform. The project itself focuses mainly on the strong regional connection of companies and products and aims to offer high-quality alternatives for those who want to buy locally.