At DG Cities, much of our work is involved with exploring the practical applications of emerging tech, consumer attitudes and behaviours, and the value that innovations can bring to people and communities. Taking an overview of some of our IoT projects, Innovation and IoT Consultant, Sam Grounds looks at the challenges of trialling monitoring devices, choosing providers, the benefits of working with big data and key lessons we have learned.

In our team, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to use technology to support urban transformation, often in the field of housing. Monitoring is key to producing data that can provide evidence of conditions in social housing, the way this can change over time and the impact of different interventions. We see monitoring as key to identifying best practice and providing the evidence base for business cases and the scaling up of potentially useful solutions. 

Why is monitoring important?

Monitoring is integral to any project involving the use of new tech, as it provides evidence of its impact and allows us to develop a greater understanding of its potential in solving problems. For many of our clients, the ability to monitor impact over time is invaluable and has the potential to allow for the delivery of greater, more tangible benefits. That’s why we try to incorporate monitoring into our evaluation or projects, as much as using data as a driver for decision-making.

We value IoT tech as it enables the collection of a lot of data cheaply and continuously. While previously we relied on visits to check the condition, now we can gather the same information remotely. Even better, that information comes in a non-biased, standardised manner – and is not only providing a snapshot but a full set of datapoints over a period of time. This is the real innovation in IoT for many of the applications we look into. The challenge is often to understand whether this data is trustworthy, relevant and actionable. On the market today, we see an endless array of sensors, but just because we find out about something in detail it doesn’t mean that the knowledge actually allows us to act in a better, more targeted way than without it. 

Key Elements

Baselining

There are a number of different steps we take to understand the potential of such data and whether or not the new tech is actually delivering value for our clients. The first step is baselining – establishing a defined starting point and identifying trends over time to measure and compare the impact of new interventions. This can be done by:

1. procuring new tech to monitor conditions,

2. combining existing historical data sets, or

3. a combination of the two.

While this is key to understanding impacts, we must allow for a period of monitoring in which there are no interventions in order to fully understand their impact. We have found that often this tech is only installed following an intervention and comprises part of an overall programme of works. However, we advocate for monitoring as the first step in a programme of works, as it provides key performance data that helps when comparing performance and designing bespoke interventions.

One such example is a DG Cities’ project with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, which aimed to reduce fly-tipping on housing estates. DG Cities worked closely with the RBG caretaking team to understand where fly-tipping was most prevalent on estates, and identified a smart camera solution to tackle the issue and discourage people from leaving waste. This was an innovative behaviour change + tech approach, which combined insights from data and behavioural science to deliver more holistic, effective and lasting improvements.

To measure the impact of this camera solution, DG Cities worked with the council to access historical fly-tipping data and measure instances before and after intervention to find if rates changed. We found that rates of fly-tipping began to reduce in the first week following the installation of cameras, evidenced in fly-tipping data and anecdotal evidence from caretaking teams on the ground. This type of monitoring is potentially valuable across a wide range of projects, building an evidence base for clients driven by real data – a process that can help fast-track improvements, scale up interventions and develop more impactful projects.

Resident engagement

Another key step is to consider the value of using tech to improve communication and engagement with residents. This is particularly useful in tackling damp and mould, and is a good example of where tech can add value. DG Cities is currently working with a number of London boroughs on the use of tech in the management of damp and mould in social housing.

This is an urgent public health issue, however designing solutions is not without complexity. According to recent government guidance, ‘understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home’, tenants cannot be blamed for damp and mould, meaning local authorities need to find effective, collaborative ways of engaging with residents around these issues. While providing a healthy home is the responsibility of the local authority, the use of data in these conversations is key in developing a trusting partnership with residents, providing them with an evidence base and working to identify solutions together. Environmental monitoring allows a local authority to identify true causes of damp and mould in properties, linked to lack of ventilation, cold bridges or any other physical or environmental conditions. The data can then be used to work with tenants to identify holistic solutions that would work best to mitigate negative impacts. This produces an overall approach to damp and mould reduction that doesn’t apportion blame, is supportive and focused on improvement.

An evidence-based approach

DG Cities has been providing clients with actionable data, combining new and existing data sets to produce recommendations on retrofit and decarbonisation, from capital works all the way to resident behaviour in individual homes. This has been helped by our understanding of the technology landscape. We conduct extensive research into new and emerging tech that can meet client needs, and develop partnerships with solutions providers, sitting at the intersection between tech providers and local authorities. We then manage and deliver projects across the whole lifecycle, from inception and implementation all the way through to delivery and evaluation.

Recently, DG Cities partnered with Sense Inc to procure home energy monitors for housing tenants, providing residents with real time energy usage information for individual appliances in their home. We monitored usage over a period of time, and delivered targeted advice based on their data, helping them find ways of reducing it. We then continued to monitor to determine the impact of different advice. This trial and error is made possible by the ability to monitor outcomes, and provide recommendations to organisations and residents on appropriate and effective interventions. Through these projects, we have come to understand the power of monitoring and its applications across a project’s lifecycle.

These are some of the key lessons we have learnt:

• Identify KPIs early and allow room for them to change

• Consider wider possible applications at the start of the project and revisit regularly

• Don’t underestimate the power of a clear and compelling data set

• Consider client priorities at varying levels of seniority.

How can we help?

DG Cities can work with your organisation to design, trial and evaluate monitoring, building on our relationships with tech providers and our experience in the industry to identify the right tech solutions. Importantly, we are not tech-led but driven by effective solutions – our in-house behavioural science team complement our approach. We work with clients across from inception to delivery and evaluation, ensuring monitoring is always possible and prioritised throughout a project, and we have a proven track record of delivering projects for local authorities across a wide range of services. To discuss a particular issue or solution, get in touch.