UW: In your opinion, what is the power of data in public policy?

JF: There are several types of proximity. When we talk about proximity, we usually refer to physical proximity, but there’s also emotional, social and cognitive proximity. Data is very important for all these types of proximity. 

When we talk about physical proximity, data is generally geo-referenced. We know the location of the data. And this is very important for urban planners, for those managing cities,  or developing urban or rural areas, geo-referenced data is vital. But there are other types of data, more qualitative data, which is equally important, because we know that being physically close does not necessarily mean being close  in terms of interaction with other people or groups. So information and data about those relationships, which are qualitative, are also crucial.

UW: From your perspective, how can smart territories go beyond technology and contribute to genuine social and territorial innovation?

JF: Technology is a means, not an end, and a very important one. In our daily lives, we use many kinds of technology. When we talk about smart cities, we refer to digital technologies, to platforms, to artificial intelligence, and to large volumes of data. All of this information is very important. 

The technologies associated with smart cities are very important. 

But again, I would repeat this idea: we must go beyond data, and it is very important that we, as individuals, as institutions and as a collective, are capable of turning information into knowledge, knowledge into decisions, decisions into actions, and actions into real impacts.

Our goal is to improve our territories, whether they are cities, rural areas, city centres or suburbs.

And so, this movement from data and information to decisions and impacts is crucial for two reasons. First, to help us respond more effectively to problems and needs, and second — in a complementary way — to allow us to look at the futures we want, to identify the pathways that lead to these desired futures, and to find the best way to build and reach them.

UW: If you had the opportunity to advise local decision-makers who are just beginning the digital transformation of their territories, what advice would you give them?

JF: There are instrumental goals and there are substantive goals. Instrumental goals can form a long list and they are very important for local governments, such as waste management, basic sanitation, energy, air quality, pollution, and traffic.

So, we can use all of these tools and technologies to help us monitor and make decisions and develop more efficient systems for delivering services to citizens in all these areas. Let’s say these are instrumental or immediate goals, and they are easier to develop.

Then there are other types of goals. These are more substantive goals, which have a more aspirational nature. Once again,  the things we wish to see happen and that therefore have a longer time frame. But these technologies also help us, even in terms of including participatory processes, to collectively define the futures we desire. These more substantive goals relate to diversity, equity, prosperity, and the Sustainable Development Goals. That is, defining goals and understanding how to reach these desirable goals, making use, among other tools, of all that digital technologies and big data management and knowledge can offer us.