The City of Cape Town deploys a wide range of municipal assets to generate income and deliver services to its 3.7 million citizens. These include traditional infrastructure assets, such as water and transport, and social assets, such as community centers and libraries. A social asset is a person, physical structure, place, business, service or other accessible resource used by local residents for their personal, social, economic or cultural benefit. Historically, the distribution and utilization of social assets in Cape Town has been informed by events rather than been the product of holistic and integrated planning.

During a three-week period in October 2013, a team of six IBM experts worked in Cape Town to deliver recommendations around key issues for Executive Mayor Alderman Patricia de Lille. The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge® team was asked to address the following question: How can the City of Cape Town effectively use and manage its social assets to optimize service delivery?