Gemeente Groningen

Data strategy for the municipality of Groningen: a down-to-earth approach to a mature data organization

Under the influence of digitization and social developments, the role of data in our society is changing rapidly and significantly. Consider, for example, the rapid rise of generative AI such as ChatGPT, which can only exist on the basis of an enormous amount of collected data. In the past, your address was listed in a telephone directory, but nowadays sharing that same address information can quickly lead to a data breach. As the social challenges facing municipalities are increasing, Groningen has to take a stance on this: both the opportunities and risks of such technologies must be taken seriously. As many of these challenges, such as climate adaptation, poverty reduction, and housing shortages, increasingly require municipalities to work quickly, smartly, and holistically. The demands and expectations of citizens are increasing: residents expect fast and professional service. Data and data-driven working play an important role in tackling these challenges.

Furthermore, data has become increasingly valuable and has a growing impact on our lives: good (municipal) data is worth its weight in gold, and something that criminals are increasingly targeting. Incorrect data in government systems can have enormous consequences for citizens. Social concerns about responsible data use have also increased significantly. Therefore Groningen, like other municipalities, has started to work according to the principles of Common Ground, for modern and flexible information provision. There is a growing awareness that we need to manage our data differently, as evidenced by the emergence of, for example, the Municipal Data Model. There is a lot happening in the field of European legislation on data and digitization, often summarized as the Digital Decade. Finally, we have to deal with all kinds of geopolitical developments. All of the above developments require us to develop a new vision and strategy for dealing with data.

I have been asked to translate the data strategy of the municipality of Groningen into a one-pager. Project in collaboration with Cem Vorenkamp (design of data strategy reader).

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Onepager