INITIATIVES
Focus area 6
An efficient utilities sector
PUBLIC SECTOR DATA AS A
GROWTH DRIVER
5.1
5.3
OPEN PUBLIC SECTOR DATA
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR
POSITIONING AND NAVIGATION
DATA
In order to promote public sector data, including
the commercial use of this type of data, a common public sector partnership will be set up comprising Open Data DK, Danish Regions, and the
Danish Business Authority. This partnership will
consult with businesses and experts to establish
a better overall picture of existing open data and
promote efforts to ensure access to more open
data. The objective of the partnership is also to
promote the use of open data, including by ensuring clear framework conditions for use, as well
as draw attention to the value of using data, for
example through hackathons and the establishment of a public-private data space.
5.2
SMART CITY PARTNERSHIP
A joint public sector partnership for Smart Cities
will promote the use of smart digital solutions
and data in urban development efforts as well as
support the commercial potential of Smart City
solutions. The Partnership will select three to five
action areas for focussed efforts to promote the
deployment of good Smart City solutions. This
could be in areas such as green and sustainable
development, intelligent traffic management systems or use of sensor data.
40
DIGITISATION MUST PROVIDE GOOD CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH
New, more accurate and reliable GPS data holds
the potential to alter the way authorities and private businesses solve problems, and render their
problem-solving more efficient and effective. An
analysis will be carried out of public sector and
commercial needs for establishing a common
public infrastructure for positioning and navigation data. The analysis will serve as the basis for
deciding on implementation of one or two pilot
projects.
Danish society is dependent on good and efficient utilities. The utilities sector supplies
electricity, gas, district heating, water and
telecommunications services to consumers
and it collects and manages waste and wastewater. In 2014, total costs of production
in the electricity, gas, district heating, waste
and wastewater sectors amounted to billions of DKK, corresponding to 2.5 % of the
overall Danish economy.
Data on the utilities sector is important for
local government decisions about urban and
business development projects or for their
efforts to build future-proof critical infrastructure for society (to prevent flooding,
for example). At the same time, data on the
utilities sector can play a significant role in
strategic work by the public sector to realise
a cost-effective transition of Danish society
to less energy consumption, increased production, and more use of renewable energy.
Therefore, we must be good at planning and
managing the utilities area effectively and
efficiently. This will require better and more
coherent utilities data, which businesses,
authorities and citizens alike can rely on and
exploit.
Need for shared utilities data
Utilities data includes topography and terra-
in data and water data, such as data about
wastewater (sewer lines). Utilities data also
includes data on the production and consumption of electricity, gas and heating, as
well as data about cables, for example television, traffic-light and internet cables, etc.
Many such data sets already exist, but these are often fragmented and difficult to find.
The quality and relevance of the information
is not homogenous, and it is often difficult to
combine the types of data necessary to optimise operations. This also makes it expensive and difficult for public authorities and
public sector companies to maintain the
many different systems and databases in
which the data is stored.
Open and quality-assured data is therefore
vital for efficient production and management in the utilities area. There is a great
untapped potential in the using data as a
driver to improve the efficiency of workflows
and procedures in the sector. This will ensure
higher returns on the Danish utilities infrastructure and, thus, lower prices for consumers and businesses.
At the same, an improved data basis will provide new business opportunities for Danish
businesses. This applies to the primary utility
companies which can optimise their operati-
DIGITISATION MUST PROVIDE GOOD CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH
41