Smart City Institute HEC Liège

What Smart City Institute HEC Liège does

Smart City Institute HEC Liège (SCI) is a non-profit academic research institute founded in 2015 and embedded within HEC Liège — the management school of the Université de Liège (ULiège) in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the only research institute in Wallonia exclusively dedicated to Smart City and intelligent territory topics, operating a hybrid mandate of fundamental research, applied research, training, and stakeholder awareness-raising. SCI's primary audiences are public-sector actors (municipalities, communes, intercommunales), private-sector organizations seeking alignment with public sustainability goals, research institutions, and Smart City professionals seeking structured training.

SCI's core output is a portfolio of six publication types: scientific papers, research reports, Smart City Barometers (territorial maturity assessments), the Practical Guide (Guide Pratique Smart City, multi-volume handbook), companion notebooks (carnets), and two proprietary management models — the Smart Project Management Model (SPMM) and the Smart City Maturity Model (SCMM). Content is distributed via the institute website, the ORBi academic repository, newsletters, social channels, the Smart City Talks podcast, webinars, didactic video capsules, and the annual Smart Inspiration Day conference. Training is delivered through an 8-day continuing education program in 'Management des Smart Cities' plus thematic workshops and Smart City courses integrated into HEC Liège degree programs.

SCI's business model combines institutional base funding from HEC Liège/ULiège, competitive EU research grants (notably BOLSTER under Horizon Europe and ACROSS under Interreg Europe), regional government support (Walloon Region, Digital Wallonia), and tuition/fees from continuing education programs. Customer relationships are reinforced through an alumni network of 95+ professionals from public (44%) and private (56%) sectors. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Smart City Institute HEC Liège

Legal name

Smart City Institute

Website

https://smartcityinstitute.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smart City Institute HEC Liège is a Wallonia-based, non-profit research institute within HEC Liège/ULiège that produces Smart City research, assessment tools (barometers, SPMM, SCMM), practical guides, and training programs for municipalities, private firms, and Smart City professionals across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart City Research and Consulting

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

Keywords

• Smart city research
• Territorial sustainability consulting
• Smart city management training
• Urban development advisory
• Continuing education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Liège

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research funding and grants: EU research project funding (e.g., BOLSTER Horizon Europe, ACROSS Interreg Europe) and regional government support (Walloon Region, Digital Wallonia).
2. Training programs: Continuing education programs in Smart City management delivered to professionals from public and private sectors. Tuition fees from participants.
3. Institutional funding: Base funding from HEC Liège and University of Liège as an integrated research institute.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Smart City Institute HEC Liège is an academic research institute that produces evidence-based research, frameworks, and tools for sustainable and intelligent territory management. It sells continuing education training programs and thematic workshops in Smart City management to public and private sector professionals, and disseminates knowledge through publications (barometers, practical guides, scientific papers), events, podcasts, and webinars.

Product overview

Smart City Institute HEC Liège is a research institute at the University of Liège (ULiège) focused on sustainable and intelligent territories. The institute operates through a portfolio of interconnected offerings: research publications (scientific papers, research reports, barometers, and practical guides) that share expertise on smart city development; assessment tools including the Smart City Maturity Model (SCMM) and Smart Project Management Model (SPMM); professional training programs such as the Continuing Education in Smart City Management and thematic workshops; educational content including video capsules, webinars, and the Smart City Talks podcast; and events like the annual Smart Inspiration Day. These offerings work together to provide a comprehensive ecosystem supporting territorial stakeholders in their smart and sustainable transition journeys.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smart Inspiration Day: Annual flagship event organized by SCI to bring together stakeholders to exchange on smart city challenges and solutions
• Smart City Barometer
• Guide Pratique Smart City
• Smart City Talks

Products and services

• Continuing Education in Smart City Management An 8-day continuing education program in Smart City management delivered to professionals from public and private sectors, covering sustainable and smart territorial transition methodology, with access to the alumni network of 95+ experts.
• Thematic Workshops Focused workshop sessions covering specific Smart City themes for professional development of public and private sector practitioners.
• Smart Inspiration Day Annual flagship conference bringing together Smart City stakeholders through conferences, workshops, and networking opportunities (editions 2018-2024), with registration-based access.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95+ professionals trained and active in Smart City domain through alumni network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACROSS (Interreg Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024Aligning public and CoRpOrate Sustainability goalS - 4-year Interreg Europe project (€1,710,524 total budget, April 2024-June 2028) with 9 partners from 7 countries. SCI HEC Liège participates as partner representing University of Liège, working on CSR and public-private cooperation for sustainability.
• BOLSTER (Horizon Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Bridging Organizations and marginalized communities for Local Sustainability Transitions in EuRope - EU Horizon Europe project (€3,792,955 total, September 2022-August 2025). Université de Liège receives €417,062.50 EU contribution. Focus on just transition and climate justice across 10 European regions.
• Digital WalloniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional digital transformation initiative of Wallonia. Digital Wallonia is a key supporter of the Smart City Institute, providing institutional backing and alignment with regional smart city strategy.
• Région wallonne (Walloon Region)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government of Wallonia provides institutional support and funding alignment for the institute's activities in sustainable and intelligent territory development.
• ULiège (University of Liège)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent academic institution providing institutional framework, infrastructure, and research support for the Smart City Institute as an integrated research unit.
• HEC Liège - Management SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost school within ULiège providing the academic framework for the institute. SCI operates under HEC Liège's management school, integrating business and management perspectives into smart city research and training.
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration with QUT in Brisbane, Australia, studying major sporting events (e.g., Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games) as catalysts for sustainable and intelligent transition in territories.
• UNIC (European University Alliance)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean university network in which ULiège participates. SCI researchers engage in UNIC thematic conferences and collaborative activities on urban topics.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Copenhagen Solutions Lab: City-of-Copenhagen lab developing data-driven smart city solutions and cross-sector partnerships. Comparable in being a publicly-anchored, applied-research entity with a city-government parent that translates research into municipal practice.
• Amsterdam Smart City: Public-private partnership platform connecting Amsterdam-based projects, partners, and citizens to accelerate smart city solutions. Comparable as a regional smart city knowledge ecosystem combining training-style programs, partnerships, and applied research outputs.
• Smart City Hub Vienna: Vienna-based hub dedicated to advancing smart city implementation through research, events, and a member network of cities and companies. Closely comparable in mission to SCI as a publicly-supported smart city knowledge broker with applied research and stakeholder convening.
• Eurocities: Network of major European cities working on shared urban policy, including digital transformation. Comparable as a multi-city European knowledge network engaging public sector actors on smart/sustainable city agendas.
• Centre for Cities: UK-based think tank producing data, research, and events on urban economic and policy issues for city governments. Comparable as a city-focused research and policy advisory outfit producing regular analytical outputs for municipal decision-makers.
• Mistra Urban Futures: Swedish research centre on sustainable urban development with comparable focus on transdisciplinary research, training, and policy engagement. Closely parallels SCI's mix of applied research, capacity-building, and international city partnerships.
• Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC): European smart cities network providing open data-driven tools and minimum interoperability standards (MIMs) used by municipalities. Comparable to SCI as a practitioner-oriented smart city standards and methodology body operating across European regions.

Broad incumbents

• Smart Cities Council: Global industry coalition producing readiness guides, policy frameworks, and member programs for cities. Comparable as a smart city methodology and ecosystem convener, but operating at global industry scale rather than academic scale.
• IMEC (imec City of Things): Belgium-headquartered semiconductor and digital technology research organization with a City of Things smart-city living lab in Antwerp. Comparable via its applied smart-city research and Belgian base, though with much broader technology scope than SCI.
• VITO: Large Belgian research organization with deep portfolios on sustainability, climate, and urban transitions. Comparable as a Flemish counterpart on smart/sustainable territory research, but with substantially broader mandate, labs, and funding scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5ug5ctUvvZYz2aRXImhgSQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/SCIHEC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/smart-city-institute-hec-li-ge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart City Institute HEC Liège