What does ‘smart’ mean in the context of places and communities?
It conveys the movement to make communications and infrastructure more efficient, ensuring that key services for urban and rural areas can operate more effectively. And it covers the drive to harness the internet of things (IoT) and smart use of real-time data; for people to communicate better with public authorities and between each other, both to access services and to make their own connections with their communities.
At its core, 'smart' use of digital, data and technology is about improving the lives of citizens and making sure that nobody is left behind.
Technology plays a key role, with the internet of things and geospatial systems already well established, and AI now showing its potential to take operations to a new level. These come with the critical element of cyber security to protect systems and minimise risk.
We’ll be exploring these issues over three days next week, with our virtual conference set to take place on three mornings - 11:00-12:30 on 10, 11 and 12 July.
There will be contributions from a range of speakers, including:
Morning One - Wednesday, 10 July (11:00-12:30)
- Liz St Louis, director of smart cities for Sunderland City Council
- Hannah Winstanley, general manager and country lead UK for Brightly
- Nick Pates, highway maintenance and assets team manager for Bristol City Council
- Emma Weston OBE, CEO of Digital Unite
Morning Two - Thursday, 11 July (11:00-12:30)
- Liam O’Brien, head of secure connected places at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- John Duncan, connected places lead for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority
- Steven Eke, business development manager for Colchester Council’s Amphora Trading
- Iqbal Singh Bedi, managing partner of Intelligens Consulting
- David Livingston, commercial manager, Crown Commercial Service
Morning Three - Friday, 12 July (11:00-12:30)
- Becky Tinsley, deputy director, Office for National Statistics
- Jay Saggar, programme manager for data, smart cities and cyber security at the London Office for Technology and Innovation
- Nicholas McCarthy, head of digital services, London Borough of Hounslow
- Ralph Hegarty, commercial manager, network solutions, Crown Commercial Service
Each session will include a forum for discussions and audience members will be able to make their own contributions through questions and comments.
The event provides a great opportunity for a wide range of public sector officials to learn more about the experiences, insights and ideas for future developments in building smart places and communities.
It is free to attend for public and third sector employees. Register here now.
