Event Details: Waterloo Region is seeking community input for its Smart Cities Challenge bid You are invited to: A Smart Waterloo Region open house taking place on Monday, February 26 in the Bowman Room. Staff Open House from 4-5 p.m. and Public Open House from 6-9 p.m. The City of Cambridge is working in collaboration with the Region of Waterloo and area municipalities on an application for Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge. The Smart Cities Challenge is a two phase funding competition open to all communities across Canada. The challenge empowers communities and residents to think big about their future to address community challenges using a smart cities approach. A smart cities approach maximizes the benefits of data and advanced technology to address community and service delivery challenges to improve quality of life and enhance opportunities for citizens. Applicants must select a challenge area to develop a challenge statement. All challenge statements must be measureable, ambitious and achievable and define the outcomes a community aims to achieve by implementing its smart cities proposal. The Smart Cities Challenge encourages leaders of communities to team up with pioneering businesses, academia, and civic organizations to design innovative solutions to address their most pressing challenges using data and connected technologies. The City of Cambridge is encouraging community members and staff to provide feedback on issues they would like to see addressed, like high school graduation rates or affordable housing. Feedback collected will be used to inform SmartWR's funding proposal. Winning proposals will be awarded with up to $50 million in prize money to help communities implement their smart cities solutions. Input can also be provided through the Smart Waterloo Region Survey .