Meghan Cook Co-Chairs Session on Data at Major Cities of Europe Annual Conference
Data is used in every way imaginable by cities to support operations, provide services, and engage society. Most recently, traditional methods of collection, use and sharing of data have been revolutionized by both advances in analytics and a push for more transparency. Cities at the head of the pack have learned how to leverage their own data as part of their city’s success.
Meghan Cook, CTG program manager (second from right), was co-chair and speaker at session on data at MCE2013. Also pictured (left to right) Markku Raitio IT Director at City of Helsinki; Micheal Dixon, General Manager Smarter Cities; Geoff Connell, CIO London Boroughs of Newham and Havering.
At the 2013 Major Cities of Europe Annual Conference, Meghan Cook was co-track chair with Glyn Evans, Warwick Business School, of a session that featured presentations and a roundtable discussion from cities and public service ICT companies focused on maximizing a goldmine of data to promote new services, participation, economic development, societal changes. As part of the track, Meghan also gave a presentation on Common Challenges in Leveraging Data
The session, DATA: Leveraging a City’s Goldmine, also included:
Big data, the next natural source for innovative smarter cities – Sylvie Spalmacin-Roma, IBM
Proactive Dissemination of Public Sector Information as OpenData – Mateja Prešern, Ministry of the Interior and Public Administration, Slovenia
- Open Data at the city of Florence – Gianluca Vannuccini, City of Florence
- Common Challenges in Leveraging Data – Meghan Cook, CTG
- Big Data in the public sector: from DigNats, swarm intelligence, data collapse and loss of power – Andreas Reichel, Dataport
- Using Analytics to Improve Government Performance in New York City – Jeff Tryens, City of New York
The 2013 Major Cities of Europe Annual Conference focused on "ICT: Fostering Cities' Prosperity.” The annual conference brings together local government managers and CIOs with leading experts in the ICT field to identify innovative solutions for the most pressing challenges cities face today.
The conference sought to answer two questions: 1 ) How can ICT help cities maintain their lead in providing services and in engaging with their citizens? 2) How can the CIO evolve his management approach to be a leader in driving the city forward? Those questions were answered by presenting key implementations and ideas, by enabling the sharing of experiences, and by facilitating debates and informal exchange of views through presentations, roundtables, one to one discussions and workshops.