What is it?

Establishing an IoT network across five borough boundaries is a unique opportunity to develop new ways of addressing common issues at scale across the South London Partnership (Sutton, Kingston, Croydon, Richmond and Merton)

The Internet of Things is the idea of connecting a network of devices (small electronic sensors) which obtain and share data wirelessly for a specific outcome.

What does it mean?

This is about bringing technology and places together to create a space for us to address challenges in our communities and deliver sustainable economic growth.

It is about how we reconstruct communities; use public spaces more effectively and enable people to live better, healthier lives; living at home for longer.

In order to succeed, we need the right data to provide the insight which will then enable us to be more responsive to the needs of our residents and businesses.

  • Examples of this include:

    • being able to discover where people travel to and from, the routes they take, and what time they make their journeys
    • support planning to build the right type of safer and happier communities and enable regeneration in the area
    • insight into where and when people visit certain locations
    • combining air quality and location data to see how many people’s health is affected in certain areas. This can help local authorities make plans to reduce pollutants and create cleaner, healthier places
    • ultimately, we also need to change the way we live our lives – people must better engage with their environment to make it more sustainable for future generations
    • if we had more insight into the consequences of some of our actions maybe this would make a difference (e.g. waste and air pollution)

What will it do?

Using the Internet of Things will open up opportunities for obtaining new data through the use of sensors combined with internet connectivity with minimal human intervention.  This will transform how we release our corporate objectives and transform the way we work, live and play.

  • many local authorities have started to implement IoT systems for a number of reasons. Our approach is to understand what we are trying to achieve and understand what challenges boroughs wish to address
  • authorities need to take a long-term view and invest now to save later. Many IoT solutions are relatively low cost, particularly in comparison to the alternative, and can deliver savings elsewhere in an organisation’s budget. For example, high-value fixed-term contracts for manual monitoring solutions can be deployed using IoT at a fraction of the cost
  • this project will provide a unique opportunity to engage and support local businesses in this area.  It will present an ideal opportunity to work with our residents and businesses to turn challenges into opportunities for improvement