#DATAFORCITIES is a weekly publication of the WCCD thathighlights a data point from each of the WCCD Cities – and, more importantly, shows how each city is harnessing standardized data to build the sustainable, prosperous, smart, resilient and inclusive cities of tomorrow.
Every week a WCCD City will be profiled with a short, 3-page snapshot and promoted throughout the week with innovative visualizations across Twitter (#dataforcities), Facebook and LinkedIn.
A fully downloadable and shareable PDF of the profile can be found here.
Previous reports can be found in the News and Updates section of the WCCD website
President and CEO of the World Council on City Data (WCCD), Director, Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto
India is undoubtedly on the rise and so are its cities. One-third of India's current population lives in urban areas, and this growing group of urban citizens contributes close to two-thirds of India's GDP. Further, the urban population is expected to double, to approximately 800 million by 2050 -- and India's cities are starting to feel the strain. Challenges of poverty, infrastructure deficits, air quality, education and safety of women are key amongst the rising agenda for action in Indian cities.
The Toronto-based World Council on City Data (WCCD) is now tackling these challenges worldwide, helping cities and countries around the world to develop a culture of data; driving a culture of innovation for a more inclusive and sustainable prosperity -- the essence of smart cities and smart countries. As the WCCD launches a bold new initiative in India, these lessons are also applicable to Canada and globally.
In June 2015, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced that a new initiative would be launched to develop 100 (now 109) smart cities around the country, making them citizen friendly and sustainable. The Smart Cities Mission is geared towards transforming India's urban landscape, while allowing cities to leverage the latest ICT developments. However, there is one overriding concern: a city-level data deficiency across the country. High-caliber data is needed to inform smart investment, and then monitor and benchmark performance on an annual basis, following these investments.
India's prime minister Narendra Modi, Jan. 10, 2017. (Photo: Amit Dave/Reuters)
As in many countries, service delivery, infrastructure and environmental data in India are fragmented and in silos across multiple levels of government. However, uncharacteristic of an increasingly highly educated country with significant economic growth -- much of the data for Indian cities is embedded and difficult to access and impossible to compare on a city-to-city level across states, let alone nationally or internationally. In other words, India seemed primed and ready to test ISO 37120 -- the first international standard on indicators for city services and quality of life.
ISO 37120, published in 2014, was developed beginning in 2008, with input from over 250 cities and 80 countries, incubated by the Global Cities Institute (GCI) at the University of Toronto and operationalized by its sister organization the World Council on City Data (WCCD).
The WCCD visited India in 2015 to assess data capacity and potentials, and challenges aside was convinced that cities in India, with targeted support, could achieve ISO 37120 certification. It is possible to accomplish the transformation of Indian cities into the smart, sustainable, resilient, inclusive and prosperous cities of tomorrow -- but this change needs to be data-driven, and city-level data was a prerequisite. National census data (carried out each decade) becomes outdated quickly with city populations expanding rapidly. ISO 37120 is an annually reported set of 100 indicators that ensures timely monitoring and assessment.
The ISO global seal of approval allows Indian cities to draw comparative benchmarks with other global peer cities.
Having already certified close to 40 cities globally across 25 countries for ISO 37120, the WCCD has come to recognize the challenges of building city-level data. However, with India, a new approach was taken, and the WCCD entered into a partnership with the Tata Trusts to pilot ISO 37120, resulting in the City Data for India Initiative.
Surat, Pune and Jamshedpur were identified as ideal pilot cities, and work began. Data collection -- facilitated by PwC India -- commenced in the second half of 2016. While challenges would certainly arise, it became apparent that high-quality data existed -- it was just embedded and needed to be formulated into indicators, guided by the definitions and methodologies provided in ISO 37120. What needed to be further incubated was a culture of data and data-driven decision making at the city-level.
Following the data collection and verification process, these three cities, in just a few short months, all achieved WCCD ISO 37120 certification. Pune obtained the highest level of WCCD certification -- platinum -- with Surat and Jamshedpur both certified at gold. All three cities have quickly taken their places amongst the WCCD global network of data-driven cities.
Tata Trusts Chairman, Ratan Tata, and Patricia McCarney, President and CEO, World Council on City Data, at the launch in Mumbai on January 20. (Photo: Indian Express)
In just over a year, the GCI/WCCD has proven its thesis. ISO 37120 is both relevant and applicable to Indian cities and has the potential to drive smart, sustainable, resilient, prosperous and inclusive development throughout the country. The ISO global seal of approval allows Indian cities to draw comparative benchmarks with other global peer cities and will inform the data-driven decision-making that is needed to accommodate India's rising population and build prosperous and inclusive cities. The partnership with the Tata Trusts serves as an invaluable model for local engagement and will help to continue to drive city engagement with WCCD ISO 37120 certification in India. Most excitingly, the WCCD is now inviting all Indian cities to come on board, to become WCCD ISO 37120 certified and to join the WCCD's global network of cities that supports city to city learning.
Pune, Surat and Jamshedpur are now empowered with globally comparable, standardized and independently verified city-level data. WCCD's ISO 37120 high-caliber data positions these cities as global leaders for city to city learning. It allows cities in India, Canada and globally to confront global agendas such as climate change, measuring progress on the United Nations SDGs and the 2030 Urban Agenda.
In the Indian context, it allows Indian leaders to address rapid urban growth. The data supports prime minister Modi's Smart Cities Mission and drives evidence-based decision-making to solve the myriad challenges faced by Indian cities. As the WCCD continues to expand worldwide, we remain committed to supporting cities across the globe to develop a culture of data, which drives a culture of innovation for a more inclusive and sustainable prosperity. All of which is the very essence of smart cities and smart countries.
Tata Trusts Chairman, Ratan Tata, and Patricia McCarney, President and CEO, World Council on City Data, at the launch in Mumbai on January 20th. Credit: Indian Express
The City Data for India Initiative, a major joint initiative from the new partnership between the World Council on City Data (WCCD) and the Tata Trusts was announced in Mumbai on January 20th, in a bid to build high caliber data in Indian cities. At a national roundtable held in Mumbai, and opened by WCCD President & CEO Dr. Patricia McCarney and Chairman of Tata Trusts Mr. Ratan Tata, the assembled delegates also celebrated the WCCD ISO 37120 certification of the first, three cities in India - Pune, Surat and Jamshedpur.
WCCD President & CEO Dr. Patricia McCarney shared her impressions of the exciting new partnership and the WCCD ISO 37120 certification of the first three cities in India:
“The WCCD is committed to supporting cities across the globe to develop a culture of data, which drives a culture of innovation for a more inclusive and sustainable prosperity, which is the essence of smart cities and smart countries. Our first, three WCCD ISO 37120 certified cities in India have quickly become outstanding exemplars of the lessons learned throughout the WCCD network. With the assistance of our partners at The Tata Trusts – supported by PwC – this initiative has unequivocally proven that cities have the potential to drive a culture of data that will inform decisions, investments and transparent governance. Further, this data has the power to serve as a catalyst to create truly smart, sustainable, resilient, inclusive and prosperous cities of tomorrow dedicated to the principles that unite the cities throughout the WCCD network."
Speaking at the event Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, congratulated Dr. McCarney, referring to the City Data for India initiative as a new movement:
"Through the City Data for India Initiative, we are showcasing the true strength and importance of data for cities. Through our partnership, we are going beyond the age of looking at colored data, selected data to non-discretionary collection and capture of data, setting goals, evaluating ourselves against global peers. It gives me great pleasure to know that we are making a start with Surat, Jamshedpur, and Pune as cities who are willing to share their city data. It will enable people in both public and private sector to set civic goals, to evaluate outreach and impact of policy and initiatives. This is an exceedingly important move in the long term. Tata Trusts is proud to participate in this and congratulate the three cities for being willing to be a partner in what could be a tremendously important movement towards a truly Digital India.”
As reported to The Economic Times, Mr. Tata also shared additional views on the importance of the City Data for India Initiative. "It has become clear that we are now giving the cities true strength by working on data and recognizing the importance of data...The impact of this profound usage is huge. It will enable both the government and private sectors to set civic codes, evaluate outreach and finally assess the impact of policy and initiatives."
The goal of the City Data for IndiaInitiative is to contribute to improved infrastructure services and smart decision making in Indian cities as well as driving inclusive prosperity and quality of life for millions of Indian urban citizens. It will empower city leaders, decision-makers and citizens from cities across India to make data-informed decisions to improve city planning, infrastructure investment and operational performance management using ISO standardized, comparable city data.
The value of high-quality city data is particularly important in India, where the urban population is projected to grow from 410 million in 2014 to 800 million by 2050, placing enormous demands on city leaders, planners, and decision-makers in all tiers of government.
Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar, Cabinet Minister of Finance, Planning, and Forest Departments, Government of Maharashtra gave a keynote address on the challenges and opportunities of India’s urban transformation and the value of data. Additionally, the three Municipal Commissioners of the City Data for India Initiative pilot cities – Pune, Surat & Jamshedpur – delivered presentations showcasing their existing city data related programs and to highlight the opportunities to enhance planning, decision-making, and infrastructure investment through internationally-comparable certified city data.
"The WCCD is now welcoming all Indian cities to become ISO 37120 certified and to join us for the 2017 Global Cities Summit in Dubai to exchange lessons with cities globally,” stated WCCD President and CEO Dr. Patricia McCarney. “We congratulate Pune, Surat, and Jamshedpur on receiving their WCCD ISO 27120 certification and celebrating their excellence within India while showcasing their achievements in relation to other peer cities across the globe. They have now joined the WCCD global network of cities where comparable ISO standardized data is driving innovation and city to city exchange.”
The roundtable also saw the unveiling of key data highlights for Pune, Surat, and Jamshedpur, based on fundamental indicators and guidelines such as economic development, water and sanitation, environment and energy, public safety, governance, and, education and health in comparison to other WCCD certified cities globally.
#DATAFORCITIES is a weekly publication of the WCCD thathighlights a data point from each of the WCCD Cities – and, more importantly, shows how each city is harnessing standardized data to build the sustainable, prosperous, smart, resilient and inclusive cities of tomorrow.
Every week – and starting with the WCCD Foundation Cities for the next twenty weeks - a WCCD City will be profiled with a short, 3 page snapshot and promoted throughout the week with innovative visualisations across Twitter (#dataforcities), Facebook and LinkedIn.
A fully downloadable and shareable PDF of the profile can be found here.
Previous reports can be found in the News and Updates section of the WCCD website
#DATAFORCITIES is a weekly publication of the WCCD thathighlights a data point from each of the WCCD Cities – and, more importantly, shows how each city is harnessing standardized data to build the sustainable, prosperous, smart, resilient and inclusive cities of tomorrow.
Every week – and starting with the WCCD Foundation Cities for the next twenty weeks - a WCCD City will be profiled with a short, 3 page snapshot and promoted throughout the week with innovative visualisations across Twitter (#dataforcities), Facebook and LinkedIn.
A fully downloadable and shareable PDF of the profile can be found here.
Previous reports can be found in the News and Updates section of the WCCD website
