Guelph, Ont., August 17, 2016 – The City of Guelph’s new Civic Accelerator, which turns the City into a research, development and commercialization lab for civic technology, has selected winners for the Planning Notifications and Water Data challenges issued on June 20. Employees from the winning companies—Alert Labs and Milieu—will be embedding in City departments to accelerate the development of their solutions starting in September.

“The Civic Accelerator is a new approach to tackling old problems as we continue to find innovative ways to deliver the best possible service to our residents,” says City of Guelph Chief Administrative Officer, Derrick Thomson. “I’d like to congratulate and thank Alert Labs and Milieu for their exciting proposals. We’re looking forward to seeing their solutions develop while they collaborate with staff over the next few months.”

A strong pool of proposals was received and reviewed by panels including City employees and representatives from the Accelerator’s partner organizations.

Water challenge:

Alert Labs responded to the water challenge with a proposal for real-time alerts sent to a customer’s phone for emergencies like floods or leaks based on sensors that require zero technical skill to install.

“Alert Labs is thrilled to be selected as the Solution Partner of choice for the Civic Accelerator’s Water Usage Data Challenge,” said George Tsintzouras, CEO, Alert Labs Inc. “We’re excited by the opportunity to positively impact the residents of Guelph by identifying sources of wasted water in their homes and by helping to conserve water and reduce water bills. Being embedded in the program will give us direct access to City professionals in Water Services, which will enable us to provide a better, more targeted solution.”

About the Civic Accelerator

The Civic Accelerator is a partnership with Innovation Guelph, Canada’s Open Data Exchange, Guelph Chamber of Commerce, the Guelph Lab and the University of Guelph’s CBaSE. The Accelerator enables the City to work with entrepreneurs, startups, students and companies to create innovative solutions for complex municipal challenges.