Page 77 - U4SSC Simple ways to be smart

Funding: The budget required, long-term financial sustainability, funding mechanisms, processes
to monitor costs and contingency plans need to be put in place for any smart intervention.
Sustainability of the project will depend on sustained funding until and after the project
becomes fully operational.
Leadership: Smart interventions are more likely to succeed with the support of local leadership, such
as city mayors.
Evidence: Cities that use data as evidence to support their decisions, and monitor progress
using data will make better decisions and will develop information skills. Making good
decisions is particularly important in resource-constrained situations.
Shared Cities find it easier to implement smart initiatives if they identify and draw on the resources
resources: and capabilities of all the city stakeholders, including residents, cultural organisations,
businesses and the public sector.
Communication: Proactive communication between internal and external stakeholders and knowledge
sharing across different cities and structures ensures that people remain positive about
the intervention and increases the chances of success.
Monitoring: Monitoring the effect of a smart intervention could be as simple as a public poll to
measure user satisfaction, or data from an app or website about user adoption rates,
a usage indicator such as electricity consumption, a financial indicator for payments or
savings, or an environmental indicator such as the level of greenhouse gases. Indicators
can be adapted from international standards such as the U4SSC Key Performance
Indicators. Indicators need to be decided at the inception of the smart intervention, as
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well as how and how frequently they will be measured. The data collected can then be
used to improve and align the initiative with the objectives.
Training: When making changes to city procedures and work practices, a strong training and
support phase (Case 1) and training of key staff members during and after the project
(Case 7) can be essential for success.

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