Thames Valley Berkshire Smart City Cluster - Challenge Fund Call - Using Chatbots and AI to improve Council Highways,Waste and Recycling Services

Descriptions

This Challenge Call is funded through a £1.73m project funded by Thames Valley Berkshire (TVB) Local Enterprise Partnership. The Challenge Fund Calls involve addressing challenges developed by the four local authorities engaged in the project, namely Reading Borough Council, Bracknell Forest Council, Wokingham Borough Council and West Berkshire Council. This is the second of two Challenge Fund Calls to be launched in 2019. These challenges are being delivered in parallel with the deployment of a LoRa LPWAN internet of things network across the four authorities. This is one of five challenges that are each being published separately. The aim of the Challenge Fund Calls is to grant fund innovative projects that will address the challenges set out in each Call. The challenges have been developed through a series of workshops with senior officers within the local authorities and hence identify real needs that should be met. Through funding the projects we are expecting solutions and pilots that not only address the challenges set by the local authorities but also have a strong business case for the recipient of the funding so that we are growing innovative business in Thames Valley Berkshire. This call consists of challenge 8: Using Chatbots and AI to improve Council Highways, Waste and Recycling Services (West Berkshire Council), with a grant award of up to £100k. Each of the four authorities owns a challenge and will work with the successful applicant to help guide the solution to meet the local authority need.