Knowhow and awareness: strategic direction

Determining what data is in your city’s best interests to control, being able to prioritise value over quantity, and being able to respond agilely within council to new opportunities as they arise requires a depth of understanding in key business areas across the administration.

Some larger cities have been able to invest in their data and digital resources with strategic leads in place and governance strategies well-evolved. Others are less able to invest and could benefit from a more collaborative approach. Working out what data your city owns, what it wants to control or manage, and what it would prefer others to manage is key to getting optimum value from your data.

Where to look for more tips and guidance:

G20:

There’s no place like the top, and so it is worth mentioning the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance and its newly launched Open Data Model policy. OASC was pleased to be a founding partner of the Alliance which was launched at the G20 in Japan in 2019 ‘around a shared set of principles for the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies’. The G20 GSCA adopted this Open Data Model Policy in 2020. https://globalsmartcitiesalliance.org/?p=463

London

London is a good example of a city that has had the capacity to invest from the top down - with a Chief Digital Officer and team to support a strategic approach as well as a city-wide resource to wrangle data - the London Office of Technology and Innovation - a collaboration between London governments that offers a range of resources available for others to use. https://loti.london https://medium.com/@camdentheo/next-steps-in-digital-leadership-and-city-wide-collaboration-in-london-3655876e6cb1

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions provides a prime example of what smaller cities can do when they collaborate, combining their resources to create a governance structure and infrastructure to support their shared open data goals. The work is in the context of a root and branch approach taken by the Swedish government nationally, and reflects a deep integration of open data principles. https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Digital_Public_Administration_Factsheets_Sweden_vFINAL.pdf https://www.dataportal.se/en

Smart Flanders Checklist

Smart Flanders checklist is an excellent place to start if you are looking to understand what might be missing from your city approach. Both pragmatic and comprehensive, it addresses all the key elements for a city looking to open its data as part of a smart city strategy. If you are looking for something a little more detailed, the Smart Flanders Open Data Charter might fit the bill. Smart Flanders Checklist https://smart.flanders.be/kennis-en-instrumenten/checklist

Eindhoven Smart Society IoT Charter

Eindhoven’s smart society IoT charter provides a clear set of principles to support cities in adhering to values when working with data from external sources and all that cities subsequently do in the data economy. https://data.eindhoven.nl/explore/dataset/eindhoven-smart-society-iot-charter/information/