Innovation is filled with jargon, buzzwords and technical talk that can sometimes make it painfully hard to get the answers you actually want - What is this new technology, idea or way of working? How does it work? Can it help me deliver better services to my community? How? 

At CBCity, we’ve started our journey to understand how data, technology, and innovation as a process can build a better future for our City. We’ve done so by researching and synthesising the valuable information our staff, and local government officials more broadly, might like to know about. We’ve called these documents Thought Papers. They describe a possible future state, best practices, and relevant tech trends, and cover a range of topics, from the drivers of innovation in local government, to using mobile geospatial data to understand mobility patterns and space usage.

In sharing these papers, we hope to provoke some thought and inspire ideas on how we can work smarter in local government.

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Big Mobile Data Learn more about big mobile geospatial data, where it comes from, what insights it can provide, and how it can be used to better understand mobility and public space usage to support smarter decision making in local government.	Redefining Work 'Work' has been shifting in recent years. We're seeing the rise of blended work, where digital seamlessly melds into our physical spaces. We're re-designing our offices to support different modalities, from collaboration and communication to quiet deep work. And we're continuing to question, what's the real value in the office, and how do we unlock it?	Digital Trace: Web & Customer Analytics How much do we really know about the people we’re serving? Do we know what services matter to them? Or who’s reaching us through our website? In this report we dive into our website and service request data to uncover insights about our community and their needs.
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​Driving Innovation in Cities Innovating 'right' in city governments is a hard task. How do great cities transform an idea to a city-wide solution? We dive into two cities: Boston and Dublin to identify the three drivers of innovation.	​Future Forecast: 2021 & Beyond Do you find it hard to stay on top of the technology that can help you get stuff done faster, cheaper, and smarter? You’re not alone. We've demystified some of the most impactful emerging tech domains - AI, Recognition Tech, Service Digitisation, and Digital Twins that might help city government staff to deliver better services. Read on to learn about what they are and how you can tangibly apply them to your work.	​