London’s new advisory board to create first data strategy

A new Data for London Advisory Board aims to improve the use and sharing of data in the capital to tackle key issues in areas such as crime, transport and climate change.

The group is made up of data and technology experts from the public and private sector and civic society who will support London’s Mayor and Chief Digital Officer on matters related to data. It includes representatives from the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI), the UK government, Transport for London and the Open Data Institute, as well as the Metropolitan Police, NHS England, the London Fire Brigade and the Alan Turing Institute. Other members include leaders from the BBC, University College London, Arup and Cloudera Fast Forward Labs.

The board, which held its inaugural meeting last week, will help to create London’s first ever data strategy and guide the development of the capital’s data platform, which is being rebuilt to act as a ‘central library catalogue’ for data held by both the public and private sector.

Areas of focus will include information governance, data ethics, open data and data standards.

Joining up data

Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer for London, said: “Joining up data can help City Hall and other key London organisations gain insights into some of our most pressing challenges and take action to resolve them. This can be through informing better decisions or by supporting innovators to create new products and services. London is the centre of data economy and innovation, and we must continue to evolve and update our data ecosystem to remain at the cutting edge.”

London has a large number of councils, public bodies, businesses, universities and civic groups that all produce and use data. The Mayor’s Office notes that these organisations often require access to data beyond their own, and that there are also a growing number of ways to collect data, such as via sensors, cameras, drones, robotics, mobility services, and augmented and virtual reality.

“The Data for London Advisory Board will improve the responsible and effective use and sharing of data to support every one of the Mayor’s manifesto commitments and to help build a better, smarter, London for everyone,” said Blackwell.

In June, Mayor Sadiq Khan announced an investment of £500,000 (US$590,000) for the new Data for London platform to replace the existing Datastore, which launched in 2010.