With close to 60 years of local government experience at DG Cities, we are aware firsthand of the challenges facing forward thinking local authorities. And we know that one of the biggest challenges is the pace of change. We all know that we’re in a period of rapid technological change, and the possibilities and opportunities arising from that technological change are enormous. So far, so exciting! But this can also be challenging if you’re a buyer or a seller; and Standing Orders and the Public Contract Regulations mean that long lead times are unavoidable. And what’s the implications of this? Well, we’ve heard of high value LED lighting contracts that took so long to be procured that by the time the authority was ready to sign the contract, the solution was out of date and the procurement process was cancelled.
Image Credit: Michał Parzuchowski
Another common challenge for local authorities is how to understand the impact of technology deployment. We’ve all seen the sales material from manufacturers, full of persuasive terms such as ‘transformative’ and ‘revolutionary '. But local authorities who are either facilitating or investing in technology need more than just buzzwords - they need to know what the impact of the technology on their local areas will be - from an environmental, social and economic perspective.
And these challenges don’t just apply to buying equipment, but also policy and planning work. Arguably the challenges here are even greater as the timescales are much longer. Take for instance the world of transport. In the mainstream media we hear much about self-driving vehicles and the benefits that they will bring, with the news regularly sharing Uber, Waymo or Tesla’s activities across the pond or what closer-to-home UK companies such as Streetdrone, Five AI and Oxbotica are up to. But what does it all mean? When will these vehicles actually appear on the UK’s roads and how should local authorities plan for that? All of these questions are highly relevant but depending on where you look there’s a wide range of answers.
We also need to bear in mind that lifestyles are changing. People are buying online and working more flexibly than ever before. The assumption of the daily commute to the office is no longer a given, and developers and planners are starting to take these lifestyle changes into account when planning for the future. Local authorities too therefore need to think about how they can best deliver their services and adapt to the changing habits and lifestyles of their citizens.
So: rapid pace of technological change meets rigid public sector procurement, evolving lifestyles and an uncertainty about how to understand the impact of deploying new tech. How, as a local authority, do you set about tackling all of that?
Well, DG Cities was created with all of these challenges in mind. We specialise in understanding how smart city approaches and technologies can benefit cities and their residents. We get involved in some of the UK’s most exciting and cutting edge urban innovation projects and we use that front line experience - coupled with our personal experience and understanding of local authorities - to advise our customers what technology to deploy, where and why.
We have developed transition roadmaps for self-driving vehicles which help planning and transport authorities understand what’s required to facilitate new types of transport services. And more importantly, ensure these new services support - rather than hinder - the broader transport vision.
We have also developed a mobility performance index that can measure the social, environmental and economic impact of any transport service. We’ll be piloting our mobility performance index on the Endeavour project that will deploy four different autonomous rideshare services in the borough next year.
On the energy side, we have worked with our partners at Imperial College and developed a digital model that acts as a tool for design, analysis and evaluation of energy interventions at housing estates. We are in the process of applying this tool to our Fleet depot to help us to understand how to best achieve a zero carbon fleet.
We also understand how cities are changing due to both lifestyle changes and technology innovation and we work with local authorities to support them in developing planning policies that are future proofed for innovation.
If you are a local authority looking to take the first step into the world of smart cities, or if you’re struggling with some of the challenges we’ve talked about here, why not drop us a line at [email protected]. We’d love to chat about how DG Cities can help you fulfill your objectives.