18 December 2020
BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, has today published the first code of practice for suppliers of data products and services to smart cities and smart communities.
The launch of the new standard coincides with the growing demand for smarter cities, as the world looks for new ways to prevent and respond to critical challenges. There is a pressing need to address market concerns around ethics and security of smart city products and services.
This internationally applicable standard, called PAS 186:2020, Smart cities – Supplying data products and services for smart communities – Code of practice, is a supplier-focused counterpart to the existing smart city standards[1]. It aims to guide smart community suppliers of smart products and smart services during the implementation of smart city strategy by:
- helping to remove barriers for suppliers of data products and data services by defining a set of clear recommendations that help the design of products and services that meet city requirements;
- addressing market failures experienced by cities by ensuring data products and data services are not developed in isolation from solving real city problems and are based on a clear set of outcomes;
- addressing market concerns around ethics and security of smart city products and services, through embedding best practice in their design; and
- ensuring data products and services are developed in a citizen-centric and inclusive way.
It includes ten recommendations which span products, services, people and processes. Examples include; alignment with community vision, citizen-centric approach to privacy and identity management and collaborative governance.
Tim McGarr, Digital Standards Lead at BSI said: “The strategies that underpin smart cities and communities start with people, not technology. PAS 186 is the first stakeholder consensus standard for suppliers of data products and data services to help ensure that products and services are developed in a citizen-centric and inclusive way.”
This standard has been produced by a steering group2 of consumers and technical experts representing electrotechnical, engineering, smart city organizations and local government.
The standard is freely available here.
1 Smart cities standards
- PAS 180, Smart cities — Vocabulary,defines terms for smart cities, including smart cities concepts, across different infrastructure and systems elements and used across all service delivery channels (this PAS is in the process of being superseded by a new ISO standard based on its content);
- PAS 183, Smart cities — Guide to establishing a decision-making framework for sharing data and information services, gives guidance for decision-makers from the public, private and third sectors on establishing a framework which can support the sharing of city data and the creation of interoperable information services (this PAS is in the process of being superseded by a new ISO standard based on its content);
- PAS 184, Smart cities — Developing project proposals for delivering smart city solutions — Guide, gives guidance on how good practice described in other BSI smart city publications can be applied when developing an individual project proposal within the broader smart city programme;
- PAS 185, Smart cities — Specification for establishing and implementing a security-minded approach,specifies requirements for establishing a framework for the security-minded management of smart cities and their associated infrastructure, as well as of data, information and services used to deliver city services.
2 Steering Group
The steering group is made up of representatives from the following organizations; Atkins Global, BSI Consumer & Public Interest Network, Building Research Establishment, Central South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd., Connected Places Catapult, CS Transform, Electrical Contractors Association, HIKVISION, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei Standardization and Quality Institute, IBM UK Ltd., CCTEB Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd, IOT/1, Internet of Things, KnowNow Information Ltd., Local Government Association, Thoughtworks, Turner & Townsend, University of Cambridge, WSDRI Engineering and Research Incorporation Limited and Wuhan Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute. Co., Ltd.
