Belfast has ambitious plans for the future. Building on our economic revival, we want to make our city an outstanding place to live, work and invest.

Drawing from the city’s tradition of hard work and know-how, Smart Belfast brings together our universities, businesses, local government and citizens to collaborate, innovate and experiment using cutting-edge technologies and data science.

We are building the foundations to let us better harness our amazing pool of talent, creativity and first-class digital infrastructure to address challenges here and now; while at the same time growing an urban economy for the twenty-first century.

Find out more about Smart Belfast, our work and how you can join in.

Smart Belfast is based on the understanding that a truly ‘smart’ city must harness the collective innovation and energy of lots of different organisations and individuals.

The good news is that Belfast has a wealth of creative businesses, entrepreneurs, public policy-makers, politicians, researchers, start-ups, makers and community activists.

One of our challenges is to find better ways for such a diverse group to contribute to innovative solutions for the benefit of all our citizens. We set out these ideas in our Smart Belfast Urban Innovation Framework.

Our work plans are shaped by the challenges and ambitions set out in the city’s wider strategic ambitions including The Belfast Agenda, and by the opportunity to support our local SMEs to develop business ideas and to grow.

The City Innovation Office within Belfast City Council is led by Mark McCann, the City Innovation Manager. While the core team is Council based, we are always eager to consider opportunities for joint working, R&D and co-investment.

If you think you have something to offer the city, let us know.