Page 118 - Connecting cities and communities with the Sustainable Development Goals

United for Smart Sustainable Cities
Connecting cities and communities with the Sustainable Development Goals

clear roles and responsibilities for data providers and for the Dubai Data Establishment. The Dubai
Data policies and standards further define internal governance arrangements for managing the
publication and exchange of data within data providing entities. With clear accountabilities, data
teams, and data providers at large, are highly likely to succeed in implementing the Dubai Data
Initiative.
ƒ Clear policies:

Detailed policies on protecting privacy, intellectual property rights, use and reuse of data, data
classification and technical standards were devised by the Dubai Data Establishment to assist data
providers in opening and sharing data. Previously, the absence of a clear framework that governs
how data should be handled has hampered data publishing and sharing between data providers.
With the clear definitions of rights, roles and responsibilities, those barriers to publishing and
sharing data are eradicated and this added clarity should result in the robust opening and sharing
of data in the future.
ƒ Adoption of common standards
Having common standards and processes enable well-defined interactions with the SDP and also
ensure that Dubai Data is accessible, trusted, consumable and interoperable and that all data sets
have appropriate access controls with proper authorizations. With common definitions and
processes, data providers and platform operators can apply the same principles and reach an
agreement regarding what data sets to publish as open data and what data sets to exchange
between themselves and how to operate the citywide platform. Absence of common standards was
a major challenge in the past.
ƒ Amplifying data value by opening up and sharing

Even though some opening and sharing practices currently exist in the Emirate of Dubai, the
environment prior to the SDP and Dubai Data initiatives was generally characterized by
monopolization and bartering of data and locking data within entities in closed platforms. By
bringing the city data on one platform and engaging users and data scientists in mining this data,
Smart Dubai expands the benefits of data to all stakeholders from students and researchers, to city
planners, government officials, business owners and individuals.
ƒ Partnership building and smart financing
SDP has been implemented and financed through a PPP based approach. Building a PPP based
partnership is a relatively novel capability compared to traditional public procurement. It requires
sophisticated planning, contract negotiation and accounting and budgeting for contingent liabilities.
It also requires a sound understanding and modelling of risks and rewards with clear accountability
mechanisms.
Public and private sector organizations’ missions and raison d’etre tend to differ. Unifying a common
mission and purpose for partners involved in a PPP which leads to a common vision for the
partnership is quite critical. Leadership in partners play a crucial role during this visioning and
alignment phase and sets the scene for a successful implementation.
A unique well-defined framework and accounting standard does not exist for PPPs since they tend
to vary in terms of arrangements based on project (e.g. short-to-medium term management
contracts, outsourcing arrangements, Build-Operate-Transfer arrangements, joint ventures, etc.).
The degree of ownership of assets and expenditures by partners also varies significantly depending
on the type of PPP. Hence, it is important to agree on a viable PPP model early on by partners and
to address issues around it.
Consensus by partners on a business case and business model (cost benefit analysis, etc.), risk
allocation, transparency on fiscal issues, and ensuring alignment on a public sector partner’s delivery
of its mission are essential for sustainable success. Technology and customer (demand) uncertainty
are inherent in sophisticated citywide technology projects such as the SDP and need to be flexibly
incorporated and addressed as part of the PPP agreement.

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