Smart City Stakeholder Dialogue

Transcription

1 Smart City Stakehlder Dialgue On 26 February 2016, KPMG Banarra and Hitachi Australia, supprted by Hitachi Data Systems, hsted a stakehlder dialgue that lked at Smart Cities and the technlgy and innvatin that surrunds this. The dialgue gave the pprtunity fr key practitiners frm leading Australian cmpanies and industry assciatins t discuss and share their insights n the tpic f smart cities. The discussin investigated the current state f practice in Australia and encuraged participants t cnsider the future f smart city innvatin in Australia. It als affrded the attendees the pprtunity t explre their rle in driving smart city innvatin. What is a Smart City? One f the first discussin pints tabled was quite esteric as it challenged the grup t define what a Smart City was, as well as prvide ptential examples bth dmestically and abrad. A macr view f this was the idea that a smart city encmpasses several critical factrs that help incubate cmmunity and future ecnmic prsperity. In rder t d this, cmmunities, gvernments, and the private sectr must lk at hw they can apply the latest technlgical innvatins t current cnstructs. 1

2 This fundatin view leant weight t anther idea tabled that a smart city was ne that had the ability t transfrm. Fr a city t be able t transfrm and respnd t the needs f its cmmunity, it must be smart. Having the ability t undertake a transfrmatin is critical in a smarter city discurse. Alng with the ability t transfrm, smart cities must be smart thinking. This idea mved the cnversatin frm being exclusively technlgy driven, t lking at frms f innvatin arund city infrastructure, energy usage as well as liveability. With this, the idea f a smart city culd be cnsidered smewhat subjective, based n the wants and needs f individual cities and cmmunities. Examples: Sme lcal examples f smart cities, and smart city innvatins tabled included: Bendig: These innvatin tabled arund with regards t Bendig are aimed at attracting and retaining cmmunities and building Bendig up as the reginal hub f Victria. Adelaide: Adelaide was tabled due t several prjects. The first with regards t their renewable energy prductin and cnsumptin, the secnd being micr-prjects, with ne example being the smart city innvatin hub n Pirie Street. Parramatta: Parramatta s cuncil prclaims that it is building Australia s next great city. Within the cntext f a smart city, Parramatta was discussed with respect fr its ability t transfrm itself int the metrplitan hub f Sydney. With the missin being t transfrm Parramatta int the capital city f Western Sydney, Parramatta has shwn itself t be an adaptable city which encurages innvatin. Auckland: With a ppulatin that lks set t duble in the 2020s, Auckland was tabled as a city that is embracing innvatin and driving smart city slutins. On tp f sme interesting lcal examples, several attendees nted that Australia has fallen behind the rest f the wrld in smart city innvatin. And depending n hw yu define what a smart city is, affected whether Australia has an example f a smart city at all. Several attendees agreed that Australia s smart city revlutin will mst likely be kick-started by reginal twns wh have a larger appetite fr investment and a smaller, less bureaucratic framewrk t wrk frm. 2

3 What Makes a City Nt Wrk? A discurse that rse rganically frm the discussin was the questin arund what makes an inefficient city. This questin was raised in respnse t the ambiguity that surrunds the smart city cncept. The grup felt that if identifying what makes a city smart was difficult, perhaps identifying bad traits cities have, wuld assist in uncvering the first steps fr innvatin. Fr a city t be smart, it must have bth the capability and impetus t change. Inversely, the grup felt that cities that didn t have the capabilities t innvate were laggards in smart city innvatin. The idea arund enablement was als explred, with bureaucratic and fiscal enablement being nted as challenges. The first aspect that was explred was the suggestin that cities that d nt have the ability t adapt are typically heavily dependent n ne ecnmy. With Detrit being discussed as a prime example f this. Citizen engagement was smething that was discussed with respect t an inefficient city. As it was nted that at times cities have attempted t innvate, hwever given the lack f cmmunity engagements, prjects have had a greater capacity t fail. The idea f citizen engagement was tabled several times, namely because the grup felt that engagement is what underwrites success. Understanding the needs and wants f the citizens using the city s infrastructure is the nly way in which the grup saw a capacity t innvate. In this, there were sme tangible examples shared where cities did nt prvide fr citizens at a suitable level. These were within the cntext f affrdable energy supply, transprtatin and infrastructure, as well as verall ecnmic pprtunity. Drivers fr Smart City Innvatin It was nted that smart city innvatin wuld nly ccur thrugh cllabratin between businesses, gvernments, and citizens. Pending n the innvatin this cllabratin can take shape in a variety f different ways and is dependent n a specific utcme. Develping a cmmn gal is critical t uncvering pints f cllabratin. The grup discussed the drivers behind finding these gals frm a business perspective and felt that there were tw critical pints: crprate scial respnsibility, and revenue generatin. Crprate scial respnsibility is a key driver fr businesses as they lk t invest in sustainability and scial prjects. Hwever it was discussed that fr this t prperly be executed it must prvide a psitive business utcme. A gd example highlighted was given 3

4 in relatin t ne f Australia s largest restaurants, wh cnsidered rlling ut a prject that wuld see electric charge statins installed n their sites. This example highlighted the idea f shared-value creatin. Nt nly was it ffering a service that was gd fr the cmmunity, frm a business perspective it kept custmers n their site fr lnger. Frm a gvernment perspective, the grup discussed the need fr State and Federal Agencies t be respnsive t technlgical advantage. Critical t the success f a smart city innvatin prject is the supprt it receives frm the gvernment. With respect t specific drivers, the grup indicated that this current gvernment sees value in technlgy and innvatin, the fact that this value is being cnnected with ecnmic stimulatin is even mre f a psitive thing. Frm a cmmunity perspective, the drivers t encurage smart city innvatin cme frm increasing the quality f life fr the individual. Given the fact that bth gvernments and businesses drive a custmer-centric agenda, citizens have the greatest pwer t innvate. The idea that citizens in sme way, shape, r frm dictate smart city innvatin was a subtle theme that came ut f many f the discussins. Data One f the really psitive aspects f the discussin was hw different elements f smart city innvatin cnverged int ne cnversatin. Nt ne cnversatin was exclusively abut technlgy, infrastructure, gvernment, r business. 4

5 It was nted hwever that data, and data analytics played a critical rle in driving smart city innvatins. Data was labelled as being the real asset as it hlds the value in prviding next steps, as well as real-time efficiencies. It was nted that the smarter the city, the mre data available, and that this data can becme self-serving in driving greater levels f innvatin. The grup felt that technlgy and innvatin such as the Internet f Things (IT) and the "platfrmisatin" f services (Uber, Airbnb, etc.), wuld assist in capturing greater levels f data insights. The applicatin f data was discussed with respect t a variety f smart city innvatin prjects. Several examples arund infrastructure, green energy, and sensr-based mnitring were prvided, with data capturing and analytics being at the heartbeat f the prject. Data was als discussed with reference t digital disruptin. It was widely acknwledged that the individual nw spends a great deal f time within their wn digital ecsystem, as such the data being cllected by this is grwing at an astrnmical rate. These insights are critical t smart city innvatin as the individual is leaving a digital ftprint f infrmatin, with this infrmatin being valuable when cnstructing the city f the future. Practical Takeaways One f the critical takeaways discussed t drive shrt-term gain is that smart city innvatin must be driven by the majr players, and these players must be pen t change. As such, it was nted that increasing dialgue between gvernment, business and the cmmunity was the best way t ensure Australia des nt becme a laggard in the space. A visin was als an imprtant factr that was nted. Australia must have a visin f what it wants fr its cities and reginal areas, and they must wrk twards these methdically, with a generatinal plan in mind. The idea f taking small steps, as part f a wider plan is believed t be the key in kick-starting innvative initiatives. The pint was als made that success breeds success. And with smaller innvatins, cmes the ptential fr larger investment in the future. In ding this it is believed that participants will be able t de-risk investment, and prvide tangible benefits t all stakehlders. Universities were nted as being a small step fr smart city innvatin. As mst f Australia s universities are n the ne campus, they can be cnsidered mini-cities and thus easier t trial new technlgies. Several participants als felt that it was wrth cncentrating n reginal hubs as ppsed t ur big cities. Again fr the same reasn as Universities. 5

6 Peple, Prcesses & Places: One attending delegate nted that smart cities was abut the three Ps, peple, prcesses and places. Smart cities are areas where these three aspects f sciety integrate with ne anther seamlessly and add value t each ther. There is a definite appetite fr Australia t embark n an aggressive smart city innvatin strategy, fr the shrt-term key stakehlders must cllabrate with ne anther and drive rganisatinal and agency buy-in. In the lnger term, Australia must cnsider the smart city revlutin within the cntext f a glbal marketplace, withut investing in making ur cities mre innvative and easier t wrk in, Australia will fall behind their agile neighburs in the APAC regin and histrical cunterparts in Nrth America and Eurpe. 6