[Dan Clarke]

Thanks @Tom Hughes and everyone who took part an interesting discussion, any further questions do please get in touch.

[Dan Clarke]

Hi Sam,

Its still very early days and we are in discussions with developers planners etc.  How we deploy and fund the DT, the governance for that development etc is still being discussed. L

earning from the project will inform future projects and a DT could be mandated through planning policy at some point.

[Dan Clarke]

On the governance model 

Resources – we have worked looked at some of the work the ODI have done on data trusts and worked with a company that was developing a data governance model. The overall governance model (oversight of members) we used existing structures (Greater Cambridge Partnership boards). I can look out a slide and share post chat.

[Dan Clarke]

Kasper,

The city council have had some poor experiences with ‘smart bins’ giving false readings and have struggled with the business case. Smart Grid technology is maturing as are the business cases and are now being successfully deployed. The use of data for better travel information and to optimise operations is well proven as is the use of data to better manage the road network. We still have many areas we haven’t begun to operate in and are looking to develop an infrastructure (data architecture and networks) that will allow us to begin to easily deploy more sensors to deliver better services.

 

[Dan Clarke]

Hi Holgerkessler,

Yes we would like to map the sub surface but haven’t progressed it yet. Having seen talks about work in this area i understand that governance can be an issue and welcome a conversation.

Yes – Cybersecurity is critical and needs to be embeded from the start. The challenge for LA’s is around skills and understanding when it comes to things like cybersecurity.

 

[Dan Clarke]

Hi Steven,

The real time data from buses is collected locally and we work with a local company ITO world to clean and structure it and then we feed it into Google Transit, Apple Maps and Motion Map. At the current time there is no national real time data feed suitable for journey planners, this may change as the government has mandated data sharing by bus companies and data will be published through a DfT website. Real time will be added t this site next year but is likely to still need some work to be suitable for apps. 

Time table data is now being published nationally but wasn’t when we set up the app so we need to take a feed from the local bus companies. 

Rail companies publish their real time data nationally on a feed called Darwin.

 

[Dan Clarke]

The key to a successful smart cities programme is to really understand how technology and data can help  create better places for your residents. We spent quite a lot of time working to articulate and think about that the role that technology should play and how best to begin to pilot and trial emerging technologies with the aim that at some point they should be mainstreamed into operational services. 

The key challenges we faced have been:

Governance – Giving local members from both the city authority and county authority oversight and representing their communities. Getting the governance right also helped to unlock funding from the Greater Cambridge Partnership

Data – as an organisation we are data rich but most is trapped in legacy systems or of poor quality and we have faced quite a challenge to begin to sort ou the internal data plumbing

Siloed systems and polices – One of the key benefits of a ‘smart’ approach is to begin to work across siloes and take a more ‘system of systems’ approach – there are a number of organisational barriers that we have come up against that make this difficult

Business cases – the business cases for the deployment of ‘smart’ technology are not well developed and we tend to be competing for funding against infrastructure projects that have a well worked through assessment process that gives a BCR 

What has been important is collaboration with academia, business other public sector bodies and most importantly communities. If your starting a programme today build your network, work with local partners and know what problem your solving.

[Dan Clarke]

Hi Kasper,

Yes -there is the potential for conflict with local communities as we capture more granular data. We have been using camera based systems to capture movement (vehicles, cycles and pedestrians), these process data at the edge and are all fully compliant with data regulations. However we need to bring transparency to the way these systems operate to build confidence in communities that data is being collected for a purpose that brings benefit to their communities and that we are not using technologies such as facial recognition.  At the moment this is achieved by including a sign under the camera with some basic information and publishing information on a website. This doesn’t go far enough and we have been looking at various data governance models that would give elected officials and communities control over the way data is controlled and used. 

Dan