Belfast to launch ‘Citizen Office of Digital Innovation’

The City of Belfast in Northern Ireland has launched a tender to develop and pilot a Citizen Office of Digital Innovation (CODI) – a capacity-building programme to boost resident engagement around data and technology.

The council says the pilot will support a ‘digital citizenship skillset’, enabling citizens to better understand and shape how technology is used in Belfast. It could also lead to the creation of tools that can be used and adapted by other cities under a creative commons licence.

The tender is seeking creative and interactive methods to explore topics such as co-design, citizen science, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and data science, and privacy. It cites examples of citizen-centric programmes elsewhere including Dublin’s Academy of the Near Future and the DTPR standard for visual icons to explain sensors and cameras that are deployed in public spaces.

Evaluation of the six-month CODI pilot will inform development proposals for a larger, longer-term programme.

Drivers

Deirdre Ferguson, City Innovation Broker at Belfast City Council, told Cities Today: “A number of things have influenced our thinking on the need for a Citizen Office of Digital Innovation. From a global perspective, we’re very aware of the interaction between new technologies and their wider impact on society and the individual. So we believe it’s important for city leaders to actively engage with citizens on both the opportunities and the disruption that these technologies represent.

“By default, all city living is now ‘smart city’ living and there are many interesting and sometimes challenging issues to be explored – whether that’s around personal privacy and individual agency, or technology’s impact on the future of work. We’re not saying that CODI is going to provide all the answers, but it’s a real sign of our political leaders’ commitment that they’re inviting honest discussion about these issues in ways that most places aren’t.”

Smart Belfast

Specifically, the CODI will contribute to the future of the Smart Belfast programme, which launched in 2017. It has attracted co-investment from the private sector, delivered over 40 innovation projects, and helped shape the Belfast Region City Deal. Belfast also plans to establish a Smart District in the city centre as a testbed for digital innovation.

“If we don’t build a smart city programme around the needs and lived experience of the citizen, then that’s going to cause problems,” said Ferguson. “However, working with communities and individuals is obviously very different from working with a university or a small company.

“CODI is a way for city institutions to build the methodologies, skills and toolkits we need for citizen co-design and participation. And more importantly, it’s also a means for the citizen to explore the impact of digital technologies on urban life, and to enable people to actively participate in digital innovation for the benefit of the city.”

Ferguson said the city is interested in strengthening collaboration with Belfast’s community and voluntary sector, and getting CODI participants involved in live Smart Belfast projects.

“We’re keen to make CODI relevant to people’s lives and the challenges we all face in a 21st-century city,” she commented.

The closing date for applications is Friday, 26 August, with plans to deliver the pilot by spring 2023.