Smart Docklands is a smart city testbed located in the heart of Dublin's Docklands, established in 2018 as a partnership between Dublin City Council (DCC) and CONNECT, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks headquartered at Trinity College Dublin.
The programme plays the role of 'honest broker' between government, industry, universities, and citizens of Dublin. Its primary aim is to facilitate the trialling of smart city technologies by identifying real challenges in the city, educating and upskilling local communities about emerging technologies. The Docklands area provides an ideal testing environment: over 40,000 people work there and 26,000 live in the area, with numerous global corporations maintaining their European headquarters alongside financial, legal, technology, and creative businesses.
Smart Docklands operates under the principle of not deploying 'tech for tech's sake'. Through its community engagement programme, the team works closely with diverse stakeholder groups including physical infrastructure companies, utility providers, property developers, building owners, and local residents groups to identify challenges that can be addressed through new smart city technology and applications.
The testbed has facilitated a broad range of projects with Dublin City Council staff, including environmental monitoring through IoT sensor networks, smart waste management solutions, connected mobility initiatives, and NB-IoT connectivity trials in partnership with Vodafone. The programme connects Trinity College Dublin's academic research capabilities with practical urban challenges, ensuring innovations are grounded in real community needs.
Smart Docklands has established Dublin's Docklands as Ireland's first Smart District and contributes to Dublin's broader smart city strategy, demonstrating how concentrated urban innovation zones can generate scalable solutions for wider city deployment.