Agenda item

To consider a report by Graham Hughes, Executive Director (Cambridgeshire County Council).

The Executive Board:

(a)        APPROVED the investment of £300,000 to develop a first stage ‘smart technology city management platform’ for Greater Cambridge.

(b)        REQUESTED a progress report and Business Plan, to include outcomes, for consideration at the meeting of the Board scheduled to be held in July 2016.

Consideration was given to a report which set out the more detailed investment proposal behind the Executive Board’s outline approval in November 2015 to invest up to £280,000 to implement a Smart Technology City Management Platform.

Andrew Limb, Head of Corporate Strategy at Cambridge City Council, presented the report and highlighted the main components of the project as being:

·         a data network, specifically designed to support ‘Internet of Things’ technology;

·         a data hub, consisting of a software platform that would collate, combine and process a range of data sets to provide additional insights, information and visualisation as well as application development for City Deal partners and other third parties;

·         an array of sensors that would enable automated detection and monitoring of a range of measures including air quality, traffic, cycle and pedestrian movements around the city.

Mr Limb made reference to an informal presentation on the Smart Technology City Management Platform which had been given to Executive Board and Assembly Members prior to the meeting of the Joint Assembly on 12 February 2016.  Dan Clarke, Future Digital Programme Manager at the Connecting Cambridgeshire Partnership, provided the Executive Board with an overview of the presentation, setting out the following aspects of the project:

·         the Smart Cities Strategy, financing and resources;

·         Smart City solutions in respect of transport, environmental management, health and care and smart living;

·         the architecture required to implement the Smart Cities Strategy;

·         an assessment of user needs following market research undertaken with experts and business representatives in terms of characteristics amongst the travelling public in the United Kingdom;

·         an overview of the Greater Cambridge Smart City Management Platform and the Data Hub;

·         initial applications that could be introduced to improve mobility experience and encourage modal shift.

Councillor Tim Bick, Chairman of the Joint Assembly, reported that the Assembly had considered this report at its meeting on 12 February 2016 where it was welcomed and supported.

Councillor Francis Burkitt, representing South Cambridgeshire District Council, was very supportive of this project in principle but was disappointed that more of the information provided as part of the presentation had not been included in the agenda pack for this meeting in order to better promote what the Smart Cities project was seeking to achieve.  He also felt that a business plan for the project was missing from the report and asked that this be provided alongside an update report to the July meeting of the Executive Board. 

John Bridge, representing the Local Enterprise Partnership, supported these comments and wanted to see an assessment of what was expected to be achieved as a result of the investment.  He was also keen to understand who owned the various aspects of the hardware or software that was being purchased and how the project was being resourced.  Mr Limb explained that this project was slightly different to the housing and transport workstreams of the City Deal in that it was not being delivered solely by traditional, dedicated Council teams, but was a collaborative endeavour with officers from partner Councils working with input from Cambridge University, Anglia Ruskin University and key business partners with oversight from the City Deal Partnership.  He also highlighted that with innovation came risk, accepting that the project involved cutting edge technology which was constantly changing.  Officers confirmed that a business plan would accompany an update report to the Executive Board at its meeting in July.

Professor Nigel Slater, representing the University of Cambridge, reported that he had met with Ian Lewis, Director of Infrastructure Investment at the University of Cambridge, to discuss the opportunities that this project could provide.  He was convinced that outcomes from this Smart Cities workstream would make a significant difference to the city of Cambridge and therefore gave it his full support.

The Executive Board:

(a)        APPROVED the investment of £300,000 to develop a first stage ‘smart technology city management platform’ for Greater Cambridge.

(b)        REQUESTED a progress report and Business Plan, to include outcomes, for consideration at the meeting of the Board scheduled to be held in July 2016.