A City Digital Strategy must be a priority

Many progressive cities already have digital strategies because they recognise that digital technologies are critical enablers of economic growth and increased quality of life. These strategies cover all things digital, from a city’s social media strategy and website design to public WiFi networks and open data policies. They help the city to function more efficiently while also connecting it to other cities more easily. However many cities have yet to take action.

Having got hooked on developing city digital strategies when I was Chief Digital Officer of Brisbane, I want to do more. However I won't be jetting from city to city, rolling out a one-size-fits-all model. Instead I expect to encounter deviations, because no two cities have exactly the same digital capability. That's why city digital audits are important, in order to create a snapshot of the digital landscape and measure the digital maturity of the city you are in.

It can take a long time to convince a city that it needs a digital strategy and to then develop and implement it. So the sooner your city starts this process, the better.

I have delivered one very successful city digital strategy, which is my benchmark. I have recently received approaches from two other cities that proactively asked me for advice. I am trying to convince a fourth city, which is in my opinion a viable candidate for a digital strategy. However some of its officials say it doesn't need one, while others think it already has one. This typifies the diversity and challenge of dealing with cities.

The point of this article is not to name and shame cities. It's more to examine the factors that influence cities motivations to develop digital strategies and why these vary. In my experience these variables are:

1. Awareness that something needs to be done.

2. Understanding and validating what needs to be done.

3. Support from the council(s) and the business community.

4. Approving and prioritising the strategy in the city's agenda.

5. Committing and sustaining resources for the duration.

6. Development and implementation of a city digital strategy.

1. Awareness that something needs to be done

Awareness and understanding are closely related. Some councils are aware of the size of the global digital economy and the need to position themselves in it. These cities tend to take action. For others the awareness is there but the level of understanding isn't yet mature enough to know what type of action is needed and how urgently it needs to be taken. The more councils a city or region has, the more difficult it can be for them to reach consensus on what they need.

Some cities think they already have a digital strategy when they don't. Others assume it's about technology, or saving the city money, or improving quality of life for the resident. These are all valid elements of a strategy but without a focus on economic development - more SME's selling online, more digital start-ups and building digital capability - they don't have a complete digital strategy.

2. Understanding and validating what needs to be done

While there are global and national factors which can influence a city's motivation to develop a digital strategy, the ultimate motivation must come from within the city itself. Cities and towns all have different strengths and characteristics but they must add a layer of digital capability to these. When cities think about digital, they should take a landscape view and not a portrait view. This means not treating digital as a vertical sector in its own right but one that impacts everything the city does - industry, commerce, education, tourism and the city administration itself.

The rationale for a city digital strategy should therefore be validated in the context of what it will contribute to the city's development as a whole over the coming years, how it will help the city to prosper and compete in new markets and what the consequences of inaction might be. A city that believes digital is important is a progressive city, one that might decide to create a steering committee, hold a community consultation or create a digital vision statement in order to validate its importance. On the other hand councils that take the view that digital is not on their priority list and that they will deal with it when it becomes an issue are unlikely to fall into the progressive category.

3. Support from the council(s) and the business community

Responsibilities can be shared between the council(s) and the business community. Creating digital strategies for cities is not start-up material in the traditional sense. It would be difficult for an individual to manufacture city digital strategies or walk into a council and sell them one. Developing a city digital strategy will need the support of the council firstly, followed by the major players in the city ecosystem such as the local Chamber of Commerce. They will in turn enlist the support of their members, many of whom will end up being primary beneficiaries of the strategy.

Support in financial terms must also be considered at this stage. Unless we return to the idea of progressive councils, funds are unlikely to be randomly available to fund a digital strategy which was unanticipated in the current year's budget and which may cost several million to implement. Once the validation is done, some funds should be allocated or re-allocated by council as soon as possible. Industry partners should also be encouraged to sponsor the initiative.

4. Approving and prioritising the strategy in the city's agenda

Cities are busy places but councils need to transform themselves in order to move beyond a narrow focus on "roads, rates and rubbish". They need to deliver broader objectives to promote social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of communities. Digital can contribute to most of these and the most effective and comprehensive way to do this is to include these as actions in a digital strategy.

Whether that means using the Internet of Things to help make waste collection more efficient or encouraging businesses to increase their adoption of digital technology, there's a way for a digital strategy to have a productive impact on all these activities, in a customer-focused way.

How councils prioritise their work at the moment might see them commissioning a statue in a local park rather than making free WiFi available in that park. Of course there needs to be both but until digital appears more prominently on the city's agenda, other more traditional activities will continue to consume the budget.

5. Committing and sustaining resources for the duration

Endorsement, budget and sponsorship are the main forms of support and acceptance of a city digital strategy. The council provides the funds to set up a secretariat including a digital strategist to lead the project. This person might be called the Chief Digital Officer and should be an external appointment. Somebody who is already working inside the council is unlikely to be objective enough to deliver a city's digital strategy.

By positioning the digital strategy on the city's agenda, the council is providing the endorsement the strategy needs. Endorsement can also come from industry, through sponsorship from individual organisations and business associations.

Some strategies run out of steam quickly, as too much emphasis is placed on engaging the budget or launching the strategy. Sometimes strategy consultations produce extensive lists of actions which are designed to pacify all stakeholders but are not KPI driven and remain as wish lists with limited implementation. Digital strategies like this tend to lose momentum and budget is reallocated to other priorities. Successful strategies have focused actions, that are linked to specific KPI's, and budget remains committed for an agreed period of time.

6. Development and implementation of a city digital strategy

Digital strategies have the potential to save the city money, deliver improved services to residents and create economic growth. Surprisingly the latter tends to receive the least emphasis despite the potential to increase digital take-up by businesses, grow sales into export markets, support digital start-ups and increase the city's collective digital capability. This in turn forges stronger links with multinationals, creates higher value jobs and attracts more investment into the city.

I know strategies that have been written by Council IT Departments and others that have been written by consultants. Some consist of long random wish lists of actions while others have their actions tightly linked to KPI's. I've read so many city digital strategies at this stage that I can usually guess what their origins are! The best are those that are written objectively, not internally, reflect consensus among the stakeholders and contain achievable actions that can make a difference and whose impact can be accurately measured.

In terms of implementation, the best strategies are those where actors have "designed themselves in" during the consultation phase and return once the strategy has been launched to take ownership of their actions and implement them. It's even better when actors raise sponsorship which supplements the official budget, pays for actions and helps compensate for any fluctuation in budget from year to year. In a high profile strategy which has full city backing and contains exciting actions, some organisations will pay considerable amounts to be associated with their implementation.