"The first step in becoming an Innovative
"Smart City" begins with the collection, acquisition and
analyses of all municipal data into a centralized data platform by a communal
Innovate Team. The huge potential of an Innovative Team is that a municipality can
use the analyzed data to address common problems or challenges faced by the
constituency while inspiring entrepreneurship as well as new innovative
solutions for civic improvements." Yakov Marks Chief Data
Officer *MTDAAT (Ma'a lot-Tarshiha Data Acquisition and Analysis Team
"The data that an Innovative Team can acquire through open and free access from across
all the municipal sources, needs to be analyzed and shared openly with
free access across all city departments. Thereby
unlocking the barriers that once blocked the municipality's potential to solve
problems, instill change, foster enterprise and inspire the constituency.
Byanalyzing existing and incoming data an Innovative Team can provide new
solutions, create ways to implement them and measure the results."
Yakov Marks Chief Data Officer *MTDAAT (Ma'a lot-Tarshiha
Data Acquisition and Analysis Team
- In most cities the varied sources of municipal data are as though they come from
"Tower of Babel" of feudal lands.
- Information
in most municipalities is not shared causing "Data Stagnation".
- The
issue is how to formalize, accumulate, analyze and interpret the
different forms of data-sets from city wide departments and sources
into one finite set.
"Cities are composed of various
departments with software-intensive systems that support the operation of
modern municipal departments. Information systems help manage the various day
by day processes in the departments. However, many departments are not linked to
a central data bank or city-wide hub. The information from one department that
may be essential for the answer to a problem in another department may not be
realized due to the non-communication and sharing that could be realized
through "open-data"."
The true value of data is measured by the positive action taken as a result of
understanding the data. A Joint Municipal Data platform will help
governments identify specific, measurable goals founded on actual data to help
them become more operationally efficient, effectively meet constituent needs,
and create economic growth in their communities.
New administrations are often elected based on specific improvement platforms.
Sharing
Municipal Data openly helps ensure that those promises are being addressed
appropriately and proactively. Since all programs and projects have
milestones or goals that can be measured and tracked an
Open Data Dashboard
could be instigated as an important part to display progress of staying on
track, on budget, and promoting the success of any project. Additionally, by providing
transparency into how goals are progressing, it demonstrates to the
constituency that progress is being made and money is being invested wisely.
What is "Big Data"
Big data is often characterized by 3Vs
- the extreme volume of data,
- the wide variety
of data types and
- the velocityat which the data must be processed .
Although big data doesn't equate to any specific
volume of data, the term is often used to describe terabytes, petabytes and
even exabytes of data captured over time.
“Voluminous data” can come from
myriad different sources, such as business sales records, the collected
results of scientific experiments or real-time sensors used in the internet of things.
Data may be raw or preprocessed using separate
software tools before analytics are applied.
In General:
- Open data has
become a hallmark of good government because of its well documented return
on investment for the public.
- Open Data is a valuable
information resource helping local small businesses compete with large
companies.
- Unlike the
previous Industrial Revolutions, which were topped by how much information
we could transmit and receive, we were limited by how much information we
can process and act upon.
- This
digitalization of everything implies that we are increasingly
reliant on analytics to enhance productivity and recognize the fundamental fact that
at the heart of all smart-infrastructure, is data.
- What used to take months or weeks now occurs in real time.
- Today’s level of decision-making requires information that is current in the hands of every
user when they need it.
"The digital telegraph of the 21st century is analytics built directly into IoT processes."
We are at the cusp of a brand-new fourth Industrial Revolution; which is building upon the third. It is characterized by a
fusion of technologies that blurs the lines between physical, digital, and biological worlds.
Key areas that can be significantly impacted by the opportunities big data offers; include the health, safety, movement or traffic
flow, and revenue systems that sustain inhabitants.
Cities striving to become more responsive must have a "stack" of essential building blocks, said Crawford.
- First municipalities need fiber Internet connections; so that large data files can be shared securely, quickly and seamlessly among city staffers,along with
- data sensors and
- CCTV for live "real -time" monitoring positioned at key locations like city bridges, tunnels, and major roadways to help identify problems and repairs
Then, they should publish collected public data and share it across city government and with the public, and have data scientists study the numbers
to discern trouble spots that will drive government action and perhaps policy.
Making the collected data open is a critical component of responsiveness. "It's important because open data—well
visualized—allows employees to see other agencies, it allows residents to hold their city hall responsible, but also because it provides data that can lead to breakthroughs and solutions" from inside and outside government
Because cities may have thousands of datasets across multiple servers, databases, and computers, it’s
helpful to narrow down which datasets should be included in the inventory overall and how to plan for inventory updates in the future.
This collection of data from varied sources and departments is made possible by a thoroughly trained
Municipal staff. The Municipal Analytic Team then utilize the acquired data and analytic systems and processes to recommend and facilitate projects for the good of the constituents (residents).
The changing nature of the technologies themselves and our urban environments are turning into landscapes populated by more and more connected “Things”. The "Thing" are equipped with many different sensors for data capture and analytics. This is driving a growing need for inter-operable platforms and standards that give more players wider access to city data.
This digitalization of everything implies that we are increasingly reliant on analyticsto enhance productivity and recognize the fundamental fact that at the heart of all smart-infrastructure, is data.
The first step to treating your city’s data as an asset is to create a comprehensive data inventory with consistent metadata and to establish a clear authority body to oversee the data inventory process is key to success.
Knowing what data your city collects leads to efficiency, and increases accountability. It also eases citywide reporting, decision making, and performance optimization.
Managing a data inventory reduces risk and uncertainty by creating a checklist for security and compliance requirements and improves a city’s ability to designate accountability for the quality of the data collected and created.
A municipality gains the ability to deliver results
by its acceptance and creation of a culture of using its data assets., enhanced
abilities to properly and efficiently access the information collected from
archived municipal files, in various city department and from the public sector
in a centralized data platform.
Because cities may have thousands of
datasets across multiple servers, databases, and computers, it’s helpful to
narrow down which datasets should be included in the inventory overall and how
to plan for inventory updates in the future.
This collection of data from varied sources and
departments is made possible by a thoroughly trained Municipal staff. The Municipal Analytic Team then utilize the
acquired data and analytic systems and processes to recommend and facilitate
projects for the good of the constituents (residents).
Today's
digitalization of everything implies that we are increasingly reliant on analytics
to enhance productivity and recognize the fundamental fact that at the heart of all smart-infrastructure, is
data.
Because cities may have thousands of
datasets across multiple servers, databases, and computers, it’s helpful to
narrow down which datasets should be included in the inventory overall and how
to plan for inventory updates in the future.
The datasets worth inventorying (collecting
and inputing) are those which are considered assets to employees, departments,
executive leadership, and the general public.
Data assets can range from individual
datasets that are connected to forms that people fill out, to integrated
databases that track a city’s operations in any given field (building permits,
public safety responses, etc.)
Just as it
is important for cities to know what data they have, it’s equally important to
know what data a city does not have. With a complete picture, cities can begin
to collect and use city data to better align mission goals, increase
consistency and confidence in decision making, and build performance
intelligence.
Managing a
data inventory is crucial to better information sharing and integration and a
sustainable comprehensive open data program. Providing a public data inventory
will make city employees’ jobs easier when they need information from another
department - they will know what exists and how to find it. The same benefits
apply to the public regarding its search for city information. Having a
complete inventory is also important when determining which datasets to release
publicly.
It’s not
feasible to release all of a city’s public datasets at once, so decisionmakers
need a prioritization strategy. The data inventory can be used to prioritize
the release of data according to strategic priorities, public interest, etc.
Cities striving to become more
responsive must have a "stack" of essential building blocks, said
Crawford.
·
First, they need fiber connections so that
large data files can be shared quickly and seamlessly among city staffers,
·
along with data sensors positioned at key
locations like city bridges, tunnels, and major roadways to help identify problems and repairs.
Then, they should publish collected
public data and share it across city government and with the public, and have
data scientists study the numbers to discern trouble spots that will drive
government action and perhaps policy.
“Understanding the pulse of life through
the use of sensors to improve quality of life in cities.”
Making the
collected data open is a critical component of responsiveness. "It's
important because open data—well visualized—allows employees to see other
agencies, it allows residents to hold their city hall responsible, but also
because it provides data that can lead to breakthroughs and solutions"
from inside and outside government.
Advantages of a Data Platform:
A Municipal Data platform enables City
Managers and Mayors to extract maximum value from their available budgets.
A
Data platform
provides real-time access for operational staff to the repository data, thereby
providing department heads the ability to intervene or modify plans on the fly
if circumstances require.
Through the use of a Municipal platform the City Constituent Care Service and Response
center has real-time access to constituent residential and service data to
allow incoming queries to be handled on-the-spot, thereby minimizing call-out
costs and improving customer service levels.
Furthermore, the Municipal Data Platform can
rapidly assimilate, assess and act on data thereby showing the constituents
that the Municipality is listening and is responsive.
A Municipal Data platform is a framework that
allows for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of
computers using simple programming models. It is designed to scale up from
single servers to thousands of machines, each offering local computation and
storage. Rather than rely on hardware to deliver high-availability, the library
itself is designed to detect and handle failures at the application layer, so
delivering a highly-available service on top of a cluster of computers, each of
which may be prone to failures.
Predictive Analytics SaaS (Software
as a service) solutions are based on proprietary Machine Learning
Big-Data algorithms, guaranteeing real time accurate and reliable
predictions, in a fully automated, plug-and-play manner. The data and
predictions are presented with advanced visual tools, enabling end users to
self-explore, gain insights and comprehend the data, without requiring any
statistical background.
The Big Data engine provides
real-time accurate load forecasts at the highest level of granularity - the
meter / appliance and sub-hour levels. Due to the engine's self-learning
capabilities, it models and monitors each meter separately, learns its patterns
and behavior, automatically fits its appropriate model and senses its early
warnings for irregularities, guaranteeing real-time accurate energy forecasts
and actionable insights.
The data and predictions are
presented with advanced visual tools, enabling the end user to self-explore,
gain insights and comprehend the data, run simulations and impact analysis,
view correlations, create 'what if' scenarios and more, without requiring any technical
or statistical background.
While most Predictive Analytics
solutions require extensive services of data mining experts for the designing,
implementation and support, Grid4C provides a fully automated solution that is
easy to implement, and does not require on-going support of analysts. The
Grid4C distinctive self-learning engine enables to implement the products in a
plug-and-play manner.
By freely collecting and
combining data from municipal departments Open Data can provide valuable
insights into how any city works and how departments may better serve the
constituency as well as those that live and work in the city.
Over the past decade, the scope and
content of data related to government activities has changed dramatically. The
sheer quantity of data available for public consumption, the way in which it is
structured and how datasets are used has the potential to impact program
planning, analysis and evaluation at the local government level
"That is why our research focus
is the intersection of government and data, ranging from open data and
predictive analytics to civic engagement technology. We seek to promote the
combination of integrated, cross-agency data with community data to better
discover and preemptively address civic problems."
The steps to
becoming a "Smart City" begins with "Big Data".
First steps:
|
·
Data Collection and
Acquisition
·
Establish the sharing of
data and laying the groundwork for inter-departmental cooperation
·
Creating a trained
internal work force.
|
Second Step:
|
Data Analyses and processing by a coordinated data analytic team
|
Third Step:
|
Recommendations for solutions based on established data by a Chief Analytic Officer.
|
Final Step:
|
A Smart City
|
How to Create Your Data Catalog (Inventory)
The first major task for the Data Coordinators
is to create a data catalog (or inventory) of your department’s data.
Follow the 3 major steps below
to conduct your data inventory:
1.
Identify data sources
2.
Brainstorm and identify datasets
in each data source
3.
Complete dataset inventory
template (for each dataset)
Step 1: Identify data sources
Your data may be housed in a variety
of places - from inside information systems or databases to shared drives and
folders. This can also include 3rd party vendors and data hosted on vendor
systems. Step 1 is about identifying the major data sources in your department.
·
Questions to help identify
and discover data sources:
·
What information systems
does your department use?
·
What databases does your
department use?
·
What applications capture
information or are used in your business processes?
·
Are some data resources
kept in spreadsheets (on shared or individual drives)?
·
What information are we
already publishing and where did that information come from?
For each of the data sources:
·
Provide a name and brief
description of the data sources
·
Capture any technical
details and point of contacts.
Regarding
Smartphone Applications and Sympathetic Constituent Call Service Centers:
Tom Saunders, a researcher at England-based research
and innovation foundation Nesta stated that residents can also be tapped as
walking repositories of useful data.
"Cities are covered in a network of people who
all have smartphones, it’s a fruitful way to make the cities smarter."
To run the smartest cities, residents need to not
only be informed but to also be ready to lead the charge. "It has to start
from the people up," said David Gershon, founder of the Empowerment
Institute.
Advanced big data technologies
can provide municipal governments unprecedented opportunities to proactively
change the lives of their citizenry, all through the use of data.
A "responsive" city is one that
uses the information generated by its interactions with residents to better
understand and predict the needs of neighborhoods, to measure the effectiveness
of city agencies and workers, to identify waste and fraud, to increase
transparency, and, most importantly, to solve problems
"Cities
are organized vertically, and people live horizontally. Data-Smart City Solutions focuses
on local government efforts to improve citizen-city engagement through
technology.”
“By
using its own data and social media, a city "should learn what its
citizens are saying about their needs and the issues in their communities; it
should learn across agencies about the solutions to problems; it should learn
from the data about good actors and bad actors,"
“Data drives decision-making and
it drives a lot of the services we all consume… Publishing the data allows
everyone inside the city and outside to go in and add intelligence and services
on top of it.” Peter
Marx, Chief Technology Officer for the City of Los Angeles
Regarding Internet access:
"Without citizen access to reliable, high speed broadband
and/or WIFI, the participation rates in studies to determine what gaps smart
cities technologies can fill may not be accurately identified. Smart city
technology should not happen in ivory towers, but must foster better citizen
engagement. “Jim Kurose, assistant director of the National Science
Foundation’s (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Directorate.
"Broadband is “a critical utility” like power or water and
citizens need it to advance." Hugh Miller Chief Technology
Officer, San Antonio, Texas
Local
governments strive to represent and serve their constituents well. Data-driven
metrics ensure that everyone is speaking the same language as they
continue to solve problems efficiently. By publishing and tracking key
metrics on an Open Data Dashboard, residents can respond accordingly by making
their voices heard through direct feedback and voting at the polls.
- Create goals based on the latest data uploaded to
the system and reflected on the Open Data Dashboard across as many
departmental or functional areas as needed
- Use data applications to easily reflect fresh
uploaded data with minimal human intervention.
- Organize your goals from a single Open Data
Dashboard that shows the status of all goals from a single view
- Through the use of the Open Data Dashboard you can
scale your performance program up or down as needed, expanding to
additional areas, or by focusing on the top priorities for your
government.
The roles and general responsibilities in support of open data.
Role
|
General Responsibilities
|
Data Coordinators
|
Data Coordinators are designated for each
department as the main point of contact and accountability for open data in
their department. General responsibilities include:
·
Inventorying
department data sets
·
Establishing a
plan and timeline for publishing them
·
Serving as a key
point of accountability for timelines and questions about data sets
·
Implementing
privacy, data licensing, metadata and other standards and practices
·
Providing
quarterly reports on progress in implementing the open data plan
|
Chief Data Officer
|
The Chief Data Officer is designated by the
Mayor and is accountable for the city’s overall implementation of the open
data policy. General responsibilities include:
·
Creating
processes, rules and standards to implement the open data policy, including
but not limited to:
o
Prioritizing
data sets for publication
o
Determining what
datasets are appropriate for public disclosure
o
Creating data
licensing and metadata standards and guidelines
o
Providing
guidance and assistance to City departments in releasing open data
o
Providing guidance
and assistance to City departments in assessing and, where appropriate,
improving the accuracy, completeness, interoperability and other quality
dimensions of data
o
Facilitating
creation of department implementation plans and reporting
·
Maintaining the
open data website
·
Presenting an
annual citywide implementation plan for open data
·
Assisting
departments with analysis of city datasets.
|
Data Stewards
|
Data Stewards
are individuals in charge of individual databases, datasets, or information
systems. In general, a data steward has business knowledge of the data and
can answer questions about the data itself. General responsibilities likely
include:
·
Managing the
dataset or source and authorizing changes to it
·
Managing access
to and use of the data, including documentation
·
Managing
accuracy, quality and completeness of the data.
|
Data Custodian
|
Data Custodians
are individuals that assist with the technical implementation of individual
databases, datasets, or information systems. Not all systems or data sources
will have a data custodian. General responsibilities likely include:
·
Implementing technical changes requested by the data steward
·
Administration
and maintenance for the database or system.
|
Notable Quotes:
"Residents can also be
tapped as walking repositories of useful data since cities are covered in a
network of people who all have smartphones. It’s a fruitful way to make the
cities smarter." Tom Saunders, a researcher at
England-based research and innovation foundation Nesta.
Businesses want to locate in smart communities. Why? Because being a part of a progressive city says good things about their brand. Plus, smart cities attract technical professionals and members of the creative class, a boon for recruiting qualified candidates.
“We know that using data and technology has the ability toimprove the quality of lives of our residents,”“I am proud of the work we have done, and we will continue our focus onbettering city services through new and innovative approaches. ” Mayor of Boston Massachusetts, Martin J. Walsh
A municipality gains the ability to deliver results by its acceptance and
creation of a culture of using its data assets., enhanced abilities to properly
and efficiently access the information collected from archived municipal files,
in various city department and from the public sector in a centralized data
platform.
The importance of sharing "Big Data" (Government data) is an asset whose value otherwise is capped at the operational value it
produces internally.
Opening "Big Data" to the public redeploys this asset to encourage entrepreneurialism and innovation outside the
four corners of city hall.
Advanced big data technologies can provide municipal governments unprecedented
opportunities to proactively change the lives of their citizenry, all through
the use of data.
A "responsive" city is one that
uses the information generated by its interactions with residents to better
understand and predict the needs of neighborhoods, to measure the effectiveness
of city agencies and workers, to identify waste and fraud, to increase
transparency, and, most importantly, to solve problems.
"Cities
are organized vertically, and people live horizontally. Data-Smart City Solutions focuses
on local government efforts to improve citizen-city engagement through technology.”
“By
using its own data and social media, a city "should learn what its
citizens are saying about their needs and the issues in their communities; it
should learn across agencies about the solutions to problems; it should learn
from the data about good actors and bad actors,"
There is a high importance in the need for
the sharing of collected data, whether locally produced or
nationally produced. “Sharing” of collected data should be carried out to
encourage not only savings in expenditures on the; municipal, state and
National level but to encourage entrepreneurialism and innovation as well.
Unshared data is an asset whose beneficial
value and potential monetary or budgetary gains to the local and national
government, as well as public, is “unrealized” if it is "capped or
restricted" at the source. By restricting access to this pool of data. its
actual or true value will never be realized.
By opening the acquired "Big
Data" to the managers of government departments and offices, they can gain
unknown knowledge that was previously overlooked which could be beneficial to
them on several levels.
"Yes,
open data should be a big part of smart cities policies but there's also need
to create the demand for it, the smarter cities are the ones that are able to
transparently dish this data out well in advance before discussing future
infrastructure projects." Tom Saunders, a researcher at England-based
research and innovation foundation Nesta.
Cities are sitting on masses of
data. Exposing open data for citizens, developers and businesses can
unleash innovation and city efficiency and new monetization opportunities.
Eventually, data could even be
shared across cities to support wider innovations, a smart region and a smart
nation
The Dead Sea -Med Canal Project is a proposed project to dig a canal starting at the Israeli town of Ashdod from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea, to take advantage of the more than 400-metre difference in water level between the two seas. Water from the Mediterranean Sea will be fed through a tunnel and to a “green” hydroelectric power project which than can produce hundreds if not thousands of megawatts of clean and renewable electric energy. 
