The Mayor of London has announced a top line-up of experts including leading academics, businesses and entrepreneurs to develop a ‘Smart London’ vision that puts technological innovation at the heart of making the capital an even better place to live, work and invest.
The move forms part of Boris Johnson’s ambition for London to be the best big city in the world by helping businesses to harness technology and develop cutting edge ideas and products that will help meet the challenges that all global cities face.
The Mayor wants the ‘Smart London’ board, chaired by Professor David Gann, Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Imperial College Business School, to look at how the capital can best use technology and data to ensure it remains one of the world’s most efficient and liveable cities.
The board was formally launched on the Mayor’s behalf on Friday by Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise, who will be responsible for implementing its work across the Greater London Authority.
Drawn from London's world-leading universities and businesses, the board will also help to harness the capital’s creative energy and technical expertise to address the capital’s core challenges such as population growth, congestion, ageing infrastructure and reduced energy use.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “London has been at the forefront of technological wizardry for generations, but in a rapidly changing world we will need to work harder than ever to stay ahead of the game. We must harness the huge potential that new technology offers us and by drawing on the expertise of some of the brightest minds around we can make our great city an even smarter one too. I’m delighted to welcome on board a fantastic line up of experts to help spur the kind of innovation and entrepreneurship that will secure London’s future as the best big city on earth.”
Professor David Gann said: ‘With the help of the Smart London board we will harness London’s knowledge base - from London’s universities to its innovative entrepreneurs, from open to big data, from libraries to museums - in new ways, using new technology to create jobs and growth for the capital, and an even better London experience.”
Joanna Shields, Chief Executive of the Tech City Investment Organisation and UK Business Ambassador for Digital Industries, said: "Today's announcement and the range and quality of organsiations and individuals represented on the board are a clear sign of the breadth and depth of the thriving digital technology ecosystem that exists in London. Together, we will make further progress in establishing London as Europe's digital capital, and positively shaping the movement of entrepreneurship and innovation that is growing not just in the City, but around the UK."
London has already made great progress so far, with one of the ‘smartest’ transport systems in Europe – from the congestion charge to the Oystercard and the Barclays Bike Hire Scheme. Transport for London (TfL) is also making more and more of its data available - from information about service disruptions to real-time bus arrival times.
In addition, the London Datastore – which allows Londoners to access a plethora of GLA and other data – was one of the first platforms to make public data open and accessible, helping to spur technological innovation.
The members of the panel are as follows:
- Professor David Gann, Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Deputy Principal for Research and Business Engagement, Imperial College London (Chair)
- Professor Ricky Burdett, Director of LSE Cities, Professor of Urban Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Global Distinguished Professor, New York University
- Professor Alan Penn, Professor of Architectural and Urban Computing, and Dean of Faculty, University College London
- Dr Andy Hudson-Smith, Director and Deputy Chair of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at The Bartlett, University College London
- Professor John Polak, Chairman, Centre for Transport Studies; Director of Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London.
- Paul Clarke, Independent Technology Strategist sits on the Transparency sector panel for the Ministry of Justice. He is the former head of strategy for Directgov, the government's online channel for the public
- Joanna Shields, Chief Executive of the Tech City Investment Organisation and UK Business Ambassador for Digital Industries.
- Christophe Williams, Founder and Managing Director, Naked Energy Ltd
- Chris Thorpe, Entrepreneur and Technologist
- Mike Butcher, Editor of TechCrunch Europe, cofounder of Tech-Hub London
- Martin Curley, Vice President of Intel Corporation, Director of Intel Labs Europe
- Paul Maher, CEO, Siemens Infrastructure & Cities LMV & Smart Grid Divisions, North West Europe, Siemens
- Volker Buscher, Director, Arup
- Gavin Starks, CEO, Open Data Institute
- Naveed Sultan, CEO, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi Transaction Services
- Ian Short, Chief Executive, Institute for Sustainability
Notes to editors
The Smart London board will be supported by a delivery arm which will bring together the organisations delivering London’s infrastructure with the entrepreneurs who have the solutions to enable London to stay at the forefront of innovation. The delivery arm will support entrepreneurship and innovation, helping to solve the future challenges of cities while generating jobs and growth. This delivery platform will harness the broad network of organisations and individuals involved in delivering ‘smart city’ projects, both those supported by the Smart London board and instigated by others. It will:
- Help clarify and shape the market opportunities arising from London’s emergence as a smart city.
- Support SMEs and the wider innovation community to seize these market opportunities.
- Shorten the time to market for new innovative products and services.
- Provide a pipeline of targeted solutions to partners investing in London’s infrastructure and services.
- Measure impact, capture learning and support active dissemination.
- Help position London globally as a world leading smart city.
What is a ‘smart city’?
The term ‘smart city’ means different things to different people. Smart London is about how the capital as a whole functions as a result of the complex interplay between its ‘systems’ – from local labour markets to financial markets and the trade networks of local firms, from local government to education, healthcare, transportation and utilities.
Smart London is where the linkages between these different systems are understood, where the value from integrating these different systems is capitalised upon, and where London as a whole works more efficiently as a result.