In an era where technology is advancing and renewing by the moment, the rapid pace of changes in the field of information technology and the emergence of new technologies have made it challenging for businesses, especially newly established startups in the technology sector, to keep pace with these changes on their own. In this situation, the salvation for businesses lies in networking, creating networks of influential actors, and moving forward together. In recent years, Mashhad has played a significant role in establishing this ecosystem as one of the technology hubs in the country. However, this is not the whole story. Building an architecture is challenging, but maintaining and enhancing its quality is even harder and more complex. Every ecosystem, in every field, needs meritocracy and an independent perspective from politics, as well as the introduction of efficient workforce.

On the other hand, the ecosystem of creativity and innovation can play an important role in improving urban management. This domain can help create smart solutions to solve urban problems such as traffic management, waste management, energy consumption optimization, and more. Additionally, the creativity and innovation ecosystem can contribute to the economic development of cities; creating entrepreneurial spaces, supporting startups and small and medium enterprises, encouraging investment in emerging industries, and establishing connections between industry, academia, and government are among the activities that can enhance economic progress. Companies active in the field of information technology and the technology ecosystem play a key role in this advancement, and emerging startups are full of new ideas and thoughts. However, in this current ecosystem, they are less visible and often dismissed by some managers.

New startups need support and visibility. Unfortunately, one of the fundamental challenges we have faced in recent years, based on experience, has been the short-term perspective of the country’s managers. The placement of non-specialists in key and strategic roles, lack of planning and vision, lack of access to open data, island-like and subjective software infrastructures, insistence on traditional thinking in development, and many other reasons push any system towards instability and destruction. The innovation ecosystem in Mashhad is not exempt from this rule, so we must remain vigilant. As long as the actors in the innovation ecosystem are selected based on political and ideological thinking and any criteria other than meritocracy, we should expect to see our children migrate abroad.

Specifically, in the field of urban management, we need to design and develop robust infrastructures that, first and foremost, have the capability to store data throughout the city, and secondly, ensure access to this data for all startups and even academic researchers is free.