2018

CONTEXTAt Future Cities Catapult, we think that cities should be governed as the large,interconnected systems that they are. If we work hard to remove silos and connect datasetsfrom across our cities, we can begin to build a more holistic view of how they interact andfunction. This will allow innovators to develop far more e�ective solutions for addressing theneeds of citizens and accelerate the rate at which we improve how they run.

In 2018, the hype around Artificial Intelligence and new digital technologies is booming. Butbefore we get carried away, we should pause and reflect. Because autonomousdecision-making, integrated services and more personalised customer experiences are allimpossible without good data. There are big opportunities for public sector organisations in UK cities to invest more in data capability, leadership and culture. To begin mobilising thebrightest minds in their region, start adopting the innovation of others and take morerisks, like investing in new skills such as data science.

After 3-years of working closely with UK cities to understand where they’re at with data anddiscovering how many barriers and opportunities to unlocking more value there are, thisbrochure is framed around making improvements throughout the data lifecycle and brings together a selection of ideas around 6-themes. It’s designed as a “quick start guide” for local government leaders hoping to organise their own thoughts and opinions on this topic. If this publication helps just one public sector organisation start having more interesting conversations about data and innovation in their region, then it will have achieved its purpose.

Thanks for reading.

Jon RobertsonTombolo and #CityDataHack LeadFuture Cities Catapult

2000 2006 2009

Local Government Online Programme• Central government

commences 5-year £670m investment to help councils get services online and improve self-service

First major government Open Data portal• Data.gov.uk is launched

The Varney Report is published• It provides more recommendations for

transforming services through digital self-service. More services online; more data.

Open Data movement speeds up

• A funding injection for Local Government and the Open Data Institute is established

Devolution deals gather pace• To date, 11

city-regions have signed devolution deals across the UK

A Digital Strategy for a City-region• GMCA rolls out a new

crowdsourced Digital Strategy for Greater Manchester, highlighting the region’s ambition to utilise existing data capability

Analytics is key to devolution• WMCA is awarded £800k to

create an o�ce of data analytics as part if its devolution agreement with government

DATAMILLNORTH

GMCA

GMCADigitalstrategy

£800k

2012 2014 2016 2017 2018

Open Data portals launched by cities• Leeds Data Mill

goes online

The rise of the Chief Digital O�cer• London announces

the appointment of its first CDO

CDOs expand to other regions.• WMCA announces

it’s on the hunt to recruit its first Chief Digital O�cer

O�ces of Data Analytics touchdown in the UK• GLA announce the launch

of the London O�ce of Data Analytics (LODA)

Key Publication for City Data• Nesta publishes its

Local Government Datavores report

LODA

KEY MOMENTSIN CITY DATA

Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and Belfast. There’s a continuing movement toward making our cities vibrant centres for data and digital innovation. That’s because we’re all betting on increasing the prosperity of our place by making running them as e�ciently as possible, giving citizens great service and more employment opportunities, being more transparent with decision-making and providing businesses with the best environment for success.

There have been numerous policy decisions, investments and recruitments by public service providers aimed at making them data-ready and digitally-equipped over the past 20-years. Here’s a selection of selection of key moments.

Use

Pred

ictive intervention

Planning

Decision making

AnalyseVisualisation

Insights

Models

Additional data

Access

Publish

StoreCollect

DATA LIFECYCLEData is valuable, right? It’s an enabler for self-service

transactions, validation, planning, operational management and decision-making. We’veseen the way it’s increased the pace and e�ciency by which we do things simply by

passing and presenting information through di�erent digital technologies. And it’s a givingthat even more e�ective technologies of the future, such as AI, will be grounded in data.

But there’s so much room for improvement as we move along the data lifecycle. We’re notachieving the full potential that data has to o�er to our organisations.

For example, we’re poor at innovating in services that span between two ormore organisations when we know that data capability and data sharing

are the key barriers, like health and social care.

There are opportunities for unlocking more value from data at each stage of this process. There are also barriers.

If we care about improving data capability inour cities, we need to focus on the question:

“How do we unlock more value fromdata throughout the data lifecycle - both within and between our organisations?”

This is how we’re addressing barriers at Future Cities Catapult. Read more on our website.

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BARRIERS

DATASCIENCE

FELLOWSHIP

DATASHARINGTOOLKIT

Those who don’t see data and digital capability as an e�ective investment of resources, will fall behind competition. Organisations need to adopt a mindset that embraces data, encourages understanding and values experimentation.

It is crucial to understand that these barriers are not siloed. By addressing one barrier through positive change, you will almost certainly have an impact on another. Many of the ideas in this document should be viewed as broad enablers - despite being presented in compartmentalised fashion!

Barriers to optimisation exist throughout the data lifecycle. They reduce the ability for cities to build valuable tools that can help them solve problems in quicker and more e�ective ways. How do we make our cities “data-ready” so they’re capable of utilising the benefits of AI and other new technologies? If we want to increase capability, we need to examine and find opportunities to reduce barriers within our organisations.

Resources in the public sector are increasingly stretched. This means budget and capability are allocated to more pressing challenges and statutory services. Collaboration and partnering is smart and can make resources go further and bring in new skills.

Skilled data workers are drawn to larger cities by more opportunities. City-regions need to make their places more attractive. They need to help stimulate more demand for skilled data positions within their cities.

Autumn 2018

Technology can help cities achieve more outcomes with less e�ort.Encouraging suppliers to produce a�ordable technology needs to happen.But this might only be viable when city-regions help make technology scalable.

How do organisations embed data into their day-to-day operations? Where does data science best fit? Data science needs to straddle di�erent parts of an organisation in order to provide a transformative service. Some operational tweaks will be required to solve these questions.

An absence of common frameworks, processes and systems to navigate legal processes on topics such as data sharing is causing confusion. It’s slowing down or restricting our cities from collaborating with external partners on city problems. Autumn 2018

Talk to data specialists

Short Medium Long Long Long Long Long Long

Read guides andonline resources

Short Medium

Attend events

Short Medium

Attend training

Short Medium

Talk to your organisation

Short Medium

Engage others

Short Medium

Aha!Got it!Great!

MINDSET

Talking to experts who know this field can give you valuable advice but also reduce the unknowns surrounding the data process, making it easier to filter this knowledge to those more reluctant.

Organisations, such as Nesta and LGA, have published research into data challenges and opportunities. Reading and sharing their learnings can bring organisations up to speed and inspire throughout the organisation.

Rising interest in data, machine learning and AI has increased the number of free and paid events. Attending one is an easy way to hear from experts and to network with those on the supply-side of data resources.

You may want to attend training sessions to improve your understanding of the process and applications of data, or you may want members of your team to attend training to ensure that your organisation is information. Data visualisation and analytics courses provide practical skills.

Talk about the uses and benefits of data application within your organisation. Reference case studies from others - Nesta, Worcester Council, Greater London Authority, Essex Police and LB Barking and Dagenham are all doing interesting things right now.

Remember that you’re not alone. You can collaborate and learn from others. In 2018, we hosted City Data Hack, bringing together 9 partners and 100 participants to solve city challenges in 48-hours. It’s led numerous follow-on collaborations for those who took part. Try one yourself.

Embedding data-enabled solutions throughout our public institutions relies heavily on a mindset that values data, encourages its use and views investment in data and digital as worthwhile. We must equip our experts with investment to grow data capability within our organisations. A shift in the mindset of our leaders is required to appreciate that data is useful and not just an exercise. We must provide public sector leadership a greater understanding of the transformative journey ahead. Here’s some suggestions on where to start.

RESOURCE CHALLENGE

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

ConstrainedBudget

Limitedcapability

Competingpriorities

Regional Government

Private SectorLocal authorities

Challenge Led Engagement

RESOURCINGOPPORTUNITY

MoreResources

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Shared capability Sharedpriorities

Sharedrisk

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Local authorities are challenged by shrinking budgets, resource constraints and competing priorities. In looking for ways to solve these challenges, there are big opportunities for more collaboration on data initiatives between public sector organisations in close proximity. Regional government has a role to play in helping local organisations shape their strategy and policy around data. It can also help coordinate engagement and strategic procurements with private sector and third sector organisations.

Lone public sector organisations struggle

with limited budgets, capability and priorities

RESOURCES Case Study: West Berkshire and Oxfordshire County Councils

In 2017, West Berkshire and Oxfordshire County Councils signed a Digital Collaboration Agreement, which enables them to meet bi-monthly, share code and other digital developments.

This agreement also allows the two councils to provide support and advice around di�erent specialisms. It has the potential to save the councils timeand money.

1Regional and local government can focus on “what creative resourcing opportunities exist?”

3

Collaboration between local authorities can lead

to shared resources, knowledge and advice -

alongside shared risk when it comes to

investing in the new

2

Universities

Regional Government Local Businesses

We wantyou!

We wantyou too!

Stayand workwith us!

Data canchange ourbusiness!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

We wantyou!

Cities are facing a gap between data expertise and aspiration. At the same time, there is a pool of bright and raw talent graduating from universities within UK cities outside of London. This talent is currently being drawn to more developed and lucrative sectors in larger cities. In order to stem the flow, public bodies and city authorities must start focusing on stimulating demand for data capability across their region, working with private sector businesses and academic institutions to create attractive opportunities for skilled individuals.

SKILLS

Stimulate demand for data capabilities within local organisations and encourage universities to work

more closely with businesses

Explore the application of advanced data and o�er the right conditions

to attract a new supply of skills

Work with local businessesand create programmes and opportunities for students in local positions

Talent is currently being drawn away to work in bigger cities and in more lucrative sectors, such as FinTech

Case Study: Data Science Fellowship Schemes, London

There are a number of organisations o�ering local authorities the ability to try data science by hosting a PhD graduate for short project in London. Trying out new skills before making a larger investment can help your organisation to develop a stronger case. An applied use case can also help begin to change mindsets of leadership.

A more ambitious initiative would be for regions to establish their own feeder schemes with local universities and businesses.

DATACHALLENGE

OPPORTUNITY

Data interoperability,publishing and sharing

Data modellingand replicability

Transparency andreproducibility

Levels of technicalknowledge needed

Data collection,storage and access

?

GeoJSON

TECHNOLOGY

Data standards are developing rapidly, which should be adopted in new technologies because they help with interoperability. Requesting automated data publishing in existing systems can make the process more e�cient. Data sharing might be made more easier by better services.

Organisations are tackling similar problems. New data tools that combine datasets and allow for those methods to be shared can help organisations save time and e�ort. In 2018, we released the Urban Data Explorer and Digital Connector, two tools designed to help cities share geospatial data modelling and visualisation.

Decisions based on data and their associated methodologies are often best made openly. This enables an opportunity for feedback and potentially the improvement of the methodologies used in the decision making process. Data technologies should be designed to be transparent and accessible.

Data technology and communication around data is developing. The tools of the future should be designed to explain complex concepts and insights in more intuitive ways for end users.

There is a huge opportunity to make improvements in the systematic collection and storage of data in our cities. New products and services can be enabled by providing software developers with access to new datasets.

New technology can make working with data easier and more e�ective in organisations. They can enable secure data sharing, reproducibility of data, better data storytelling and more informed decision-making. But it takes time for an organisation to decide which tools to use and how to apply them to their organisation. Market analysis can help make these decisions easier. Here’s some of the common data challenges that we might try and improve through applying new technologies.

Case Study: Witan, Mastodon C

Witan is a hosted, cloud-based service by Mastodon C, which allows users to share data files with one another in a secure and structured way. It’s been developed through collaboration with Greater London Authority.

Further iterations of tools similar to Witan, might help to solve headaches around data sharing in the future and enable mindsets to change over time so the process is viewed as more trusted and less risky.

Regional Government

Management

Operations

Service Delivery Service Delivery

TYPICAL LOCAL COUNCIL

OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS

Local Council

Strategy& Policy

ICTProcurementHumanResources

Adult ServicesHousing &

Regeneration

Health Customer Services

Revenues &Benefits

ChildrenServices

Waste EnvironmentalHealth

Estates &Facilities

BusinessTransformation

DATASCIENCE

Governance Finance

Local Council

Local Council

PoliceNHS

Transport

Fire Station

3

To achieve e�ectiveness in data analytics, organisations should ensure they can scale its application internally and collaborate on common challenges with others. The emergence of cross-government organisations to provide advanced data services on behalf of others across regions should be encouraged. After all, there are multiple public sector providers with similar missions and challenges. Shared o�ces of data analytics should help speed up data innovation.

OPERATIONS Case Study: LB of Barking and Dagenham

Barking and Dagenham have recruited a real data science team within their council. Since 2015, a dedicated team have worked exclusively on data projects. Operating like an internal consultancy, the teams expansion depends on its ability to deliver benefits to the organisation. They work collaboratively with the business, and have so far tacked licensing and community solutions. It’s a good model that can be replicated by other local authorities looking to transform services through data analytics.

Where does data science best fit?

Your new Data Science team will be best placed in a Strategy or Transforma-tion team. They’ll have good relationships with ICT, but be free to use di�erent software, be project focused, agile, and experimental

1

Other public sector organisations are also

investing in this new capability - the trick is, how

to use this as an opportunity to build collaboration

between public sector organisations who are

tackling similar challenges

2

Regional Government can promote the adoption of Data Science. O�ces of Data Analytics, a concept born in the US, are now being trialled in the UK through the London O�ce of Data Analytics. They’re coordinating and delivery-focused organisations, capable of steering investment and o�ering data services to others

Data securityInternational

law

LEGAL CHALLENGEDOWNWARD FORCE OF LEGAL INTRODUCING FRAMEWORKS, PROCESSES AND SOFTWARE

Data security

Internationallaw

GDPR

UK lawmakers

InternalGovernance

UK lawmakers

EU laws

InternalGovernance

GDPR

UK laws

Process

Governance Software

Standards

LEGAL OPPORTUNITY

Connecting siloed data, or connecting skilled people to data, is becoming increasingly important for service delivery innovation. Data sharing is the key enabler. But resolving legal concerns, governance headaches, management confusion and stakeholder worries is a resource intensive process that adds lengthy delays to any engagement. This is hindering experimentation and stopping innovation from getting o� the ground. A mixture of standards, frameworks, governance and software solutions are needed to reduce the legal burden.

LEGAL Case Study: Information Sharing Gateway

The ISG is a great example of public sector innovation rising up to solve a commonly shared challenge. It takes the pain out of information sharing agreements allowing users to create, manage, sign and store them easily, online. It’s enables GDPR compliance and is a step toward standardising the information governance around data sharing. And it’s already been adopted by over 1,700 organisations.

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HOW IS YOUR CITYWHEN IT COMESTO DATA?

There’s plenty of opportunities for cities to get more value from data by strategically addressing challenges across the data lifecycle. It’s time for the innovators to step-up and to start challenging mindsets, lobbying for more investment, and working collaboratively with others to overcome barriers to innovation. Whatever you decide to prioritise in your own strategy is up to you, but hopefully we’ve provided some inspiration through our quick start guide to city data.

Jon RobertsonJRobertson@futurecities.catapult.org,uk@JonSRobertson

Joseph BaileyJBailey@futurecities.catapult.org,uk@iammrbailey

Charlotte HuttonCHutton@futurecities.catapult.org,uk@Charl_Hutton

Graphics & Illustration: Felipe Caro - @FelipeCaroVT

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