London’s Z/Yen group has developed a Smart Centres Index, designed to track the development of commercial and financial centres across the world in their support for and readiness for new technology applications.  Smart centres are cities across the world which encourage a high degree of innovation in business using new technologies.

The index is intended to help investors, governments, and regulators track the attractiveness of centres for new technologies and products by measuring how attuned centres and their regulatory systems are to attracting innovation and growth in Science, Technology, Energy Systems, Machine Learning, Distributed Ledgers, and Fintech.

To support the index, it has launched a survey aimed at professionals working in the development, application and regulation of new technology.  The survey seeks the views of interested professionals on the regulation, depth and quality of new technology in centres across the world.

Professor Michael Mainelli, Executive Chairman of the Z/Yen Group, said:

“The opportunities presented by new technology and science across all areas of commerce and trade are incredibly rich.  We at Z/Yen are deeply engaged with the development, application, and regulation of new technology in the world’s commercial and financial centres. This survey will help form the next edition of the Smart Centres Index.”

Z/Yen says it helps organisations make better choices.

“Our clients consider us a commercial think-tank that spots, solves and acts. Our name combines Zen and Yen – ‘a philosophical desire to succeed’ – in a ratio, recognising that all decisions are trade-offs. One of Z/Yen’s specialisms is the development and publication of factor assessment indices combining factor analysis and perception surveys.”