Kari Johnson, the Arizona city’s business intelligence manager, explains that key to success was developing a strong data service standard to explore new technologies.
Sometimes, the solution for an essential need turns out to be less about cutting-edge technology and more about listening to citizen input and inventive application of already available technology. In 2023, the city of Scottsdale, Arizona, needed to find a path to providing an impactful public service solution for communicating with both neighbours and rental owners about the licensing status of short-term rentals in the city.
The timing of this initiative coincided with Scottsdale’s participation in the inaugural run of City Data Alliance, a Bloomberg Philanthropies programme aimed at helping cities improve data standards, policies, and procedures that support improved resident outcomes.
Scottsdale has partnered with Public Digital, a UK-based consultancy firm charged with guiding Scottsdale in the development of data service standard policies and procedures. From July 2022 through March 2023, cross-functional project teams worked on concurrent initiatives, one building a data service standard and the other developing requirements for a short-term rental solution.
Realising the potential of data and analytics
Scottsdale’s city leadership has long recognised the immense potential of data and analytics in driving innovation and improving citizen service. Partnering with Public Digital to develop a strong data service standard empowers the city to explore new technologies and develop solutions that enhance the lives of its residents.
Several months of workshopping, learning exercises, and data master classes facilitated by Public Digital fostered a diverse group of staff in creating a data service standard that supports the implementation of transparent, reliable, and informative data services and products. Scottsdale’s data service standard was created as a living document, open to future improvements that will continue to foster a culture of experimentation within a framework of ethical and effective data practices. The guiding principles of this data service standard empower the city to explore new technologies and solutions that enhance the lives of its residents.
Scottsdale’s membership in The Connective, a smart region consortium and a public-private partnership in the Greater Phoenix region, has been instrumental as the city pursues a variety of technological advancements. Through this partnership, Scottsdale gains access to a network of resources, expertise, and collaborative opportunities with like-minded agencies and companies who are innovating in the public sector. This collaboration aligns with Scottsdale’s vision for data-driven solutions and reinforces its commitment to improving residents’ quality of life.
While data policies and processes are often looked upon as technology-driven activities, Scottsdale developed this data service standard with the input of a diverse group of city staff ranging from executives to frontline staff across multiple disciplines. Collaboration facilitated by Public Digital drove a project team of nearly 40 members to develop a set of guidelines that align with city culture and values. Core to the data service standard is reliance on Scottsdale’s data management mission to “better serve citizens and improve the quality of life for the City of Scottsdale residents through the ethical, equitable, and effective use of data”.
Establishing best practices
Scottsdale’s data service standard not only establishes best practices but also creates an environment conducive to experimentation with new technologies and data-driven approaches by providing a framework with transparent and repeatable guidelines that can support agile solution creation and stable ground for pilot projects. A well-written data service standard supports advancing new technologies and illustrates key concepts such as reducing complexity, improving interoperability, and employing modular components.
Reducing complexity is achieved when solutions utilise standardised data formats, schemas, and access methods that minimise complexity associated with integrating new technologies, which allows creators to focus on the core functionalities of the technology itself and accelerate the experimentation process. The standard promotes a plug-and-play approach, where new technologies can be seamlessly integrated with existing systems, supporting improved interoperability. This facilitates experimentation with diverse tools and allows for the creation of comprehensive data-driven solutions. Standardised data services have the capacity to act as reusable building blocks.
Developers can leverage these components to build new applications and integrations more efficiently. This allows for experimentation with various technologies and functionalities without reinventing the wheel each time.
In concert with the development of the data service standard, a subset of the City Data Alliance team worked together in sessions facilitated by Public Digital to master new skills aimed at broadly accelerating prototype creation and ensuring ethical and comprehensive citizen engagement in building impactful data service solutions. Masterclasses on user needs, running a live data service, data governance, and community engagement provided foundational skills that enabled the team to quickly build a prototype, which was shared with a group of citizens to review and provide guidance on the desired user experience.
After citizen feedback was analysed, the team worked on exercising the tenets of the data service standard to complete the development of a tool that best met the requirements gathered from citizens. The short-term rental resources map tool was created using modular technology components available from ESRI ArcGIS Online (AGOL). The STR map tool enables citizens to explore areas of the city down to a single address and understand the surrounding short-term rental landscape as it relates to licence status and code enforcement violations. The tool also provides quick access to report a violation or learn how to register for a licence.
Leveraging data-driven solutions
The Scottsdale data service standard provides a valuable framework for city staff seeking to leverage data-driven solutions while fostering a culture of experimentation. By promoting trust, transparency, collaboration, and ethical data practices, the standard empowers staff to explore new technologies confidently, leading to the creation of innovative services that benefit citizens and transform communities.
Smart, impactful solutions focus on humans as well as technology. Leading solutions also ensure creators consult with experts and affected communities to ensure that data collection and use practices are transparent, ethical, and address any potential concerns from stakeholders. Security and privacy threats should also be identified to proactively determine and mitigate potential security vulnerabilities and privacy risks associated with data collection and sharing. Ensure to engage with diverse stakeholders to foster trust and ensure equitable outcomes.
Finally, Scottdale’s data service standard defines when it should be used and affirms that data services should be reviewed for purpose and fit on a yearly basis, at minimum. The Data Service Standard should be consulted when there are updates to services and products, when new services and products are in the queue for creation or testing, and when older data is being used in an analytic function for the first time. Scottsdale has made the data service standard publicly available and is focused on adhering to the principles mastered during our engagement with Public Digital.
Scottsdale is looking forward to enabling new technologies in the coming year for sound mitigation, data analytics in the cloud, human services process improvements and reporting, and showcasing accomplishments from all aspects of city work in data storytelling. The carefully crafted data service standard will support these and any endeavours to use new technologies in the future.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kari Johnson
Quelle/Source: Smart Cities World, 10.07.2024
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