Sophie van der Ploeg

In the big tech-dominated era, data has been commercially exploited for so long that it is now hard to imagine that data sharing might also benefit the community. Yet that is what a collective of businesses, governments, social institutions and residents in Amsterdam aim to do. Sharing more data to better care for the city. On behalf of the Data Commons Collective, Lia Hsu (Strategic Advisor at Amsterdam Economic Board) asked the Amsterdam Smart City network for input and feedback on their Data Commons initiative on the last Demoday of 2023.

What is a (data) common?

Commons are natural resources that are accessible to everyone within a community. Water. Fertile soil. Clean air. Actually everything the earth has given us. We as humanity have increasingly begun to exploit these commons in our pursuit of power and profit maximisation. As a result, we risk exhausting them.

Data is a new, digital resource: a valuable commodity that can be used to improve products and services. Data can thus also be used for the common good. However there are two important differences between a common and a data common: data in commons never runs out, and data in commons is not tied to any geographical location or sociocultural groups.

Four principles for Data Commons

The Data Commons collective is currently working on different applied use cases to understand how data commons can help with concrete solutions to pressing societal problems in the areas of energy, green urban development, mobility, health and culture. Each data commons serves a different purpose and requires a different implementation, but there are four principles that are always the same:

1. The data common is used to serve a public or community purpose
2. The data common requires cooperation between different parties, such as individuals, companies or public institutions
3. The data common is managed according to principles that are acceptable to users and that define who may access the data commons under what conditions, in what ways they may be used, for what purpose, what is meant by data misuse
4. The data common is embedded to manage data quality, but also to monitor compliance with the principles and ensure that data misuse is also noticed and that an appropriate response (such as a reprimand, penalty or fine) follows.

The Data Commons Collective is now in the process of developing a framework, which provides a self-assessment tool to guide the formation of Data Commons initiatives by triggering consideration of relevant aspects for creating a data commons. It is a means of reflection, rather than prescription, to encourage sustainable and responsible data initiatives.

Energy Data Commons case and Value Workshop by Waag

After the introduction to the Data Commons Collective and Framework by Simone van der Burg (Waag) and Roos de Jong (Deloitte), the participants engaged in a value workshop led by Simone. The case we worked with: we’re dealing with a shortage of affordable and clean energy. Congestion issues are only expected to get worse, due to increased energy use by households en businesses. An energy Data Commons in neighbourhoods can have certain benefits. Such as preventing congestion issues, using clean energy sources more effectively, becoming self-sufficient as a neighbourhood and reducing costs. But under what circumstances would we want to share our energy data with our neighbours? What are the values that we find important when it comes to sharing our energy data?

Results: Which values are important when sharing our energy data?

In smaller groups, the participants discussed which values they found important for an energy data common using a value card deck from Waag. Some values that were mentioned were:

• Trustworthiness: It is important to trust one another when sharing our energy data. It helps when we assume that everyone that is part of the common has the right intentions.
• Fun: The energy Data Commons should be fun and positive! The participants discussed gamification and rewards as part of the common.
• Knowledge: One of the goals of sharing data with each other is to gain more knowledge about energy consumption and saving.
• Justice and solidarity: If everyone in the common feels safe and acknowledged, it will benefit the outcome. Everyone in the common should be treated equally.
• Inclusion and Community-feeling: It is important that people feel involved in the project. The Data Commons should improve our lives, make it more sustainable but also progress our social relations.

During this Demoday, we got to know the Data Commons collective and experienced which values we find important when sharing our data with others. Amsterdam Economic Board will remain involved in the Data Commons Collective in a coordinating role and work on use cases to understand how data commons can work for society.

Would you like to know more about the Data Commons Collective or do you have any input for them? Please feel free to reach out to me via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com or leave a comment below.

We live in a time characterized by significant challenges. We see a world around us facing a climate crisis with global issues such as global warming and loss of biodiversity. A world marked by social inequality and increasing individualization. Change is urgently needed, but it doesn't happen automatically. How can we change the world around us with a holistic view?

To kick-off our final Demoday of 2023, our brand-new partner Hieroo led an inspiring knowledge session about the change method they use for social innovation in the city: Theory U. Dorien Schneider and Maartje Krijnen taught us more about this methodology and how it can help us solve complex problems by shifting from ego to eco-thinking.

What is Theory U?

Theory U is a change management method coined by Otto Scharmer from the Presencing Institute. Scharmer describes Theory U as a “way of being, a framework, a common language and a methodology”. Theory U can help us solve a problem, in a different way than we normally do. In our day-to-day lives, we make limited observations and quickly draw our conclusions – a phenomenon Scharmer terms “Downloading”. We then rush to solutions, because our brains don’t like uncertainty and want to be in control. Theory U is a way to fundamentally change when more of the same doesn’t work. The journey through the “U” consists of 7 stages:

1. Downloading past patterns
2. Seeing with fresh eyes
3. Co-sensing into the field
4. Presencing: connecting to the source
5. Crystallizing: vision & intention
6. Prototyping: linking head, heart and hand
7. Performing: by operating from the whole

Why Theory U?

Otto Scharmer describes three divides that require a drastic shift from an “ego-system” to an eco-system that emphasises collective well-being. These divides can be illustrated with three numbers that represent the divides.

• The ecological divide: we’re experiencing an unprecedented loss of nature. The number 1.6 represents this divide: our world economy consumes the resources of 1.5 planets. The ecological divide exists because of a disconnect between self and nature.
• The social divide: we’re experiencing immense polarisation, individualisation and inequity. The number 8 represents this divide: eight billionaires own as much as half of mankind combined. The social divide exists because of a disconnect between self and others.
• The spiritual divide: we’re experiencing an absence of deeper meaning, purpose and value in our lives. The number 2010 represents this divide: in this year, more people died from suicide then from accidents, wars and natural disasters together. The spiritual divide exists because of a disconnect between self and Self – that is, between a current “self” and the emerging future “Self” that represents one’s greatest potential.

In essence, we’re collectively creating results that nobody wants: a loss of nature, a loss of society and a loss of self. Theory U can help overcome these divides by shifting to a mindset where we care about the wellbeing of others instead of just looking out for ourselves.

Theory U in practice

So how does Theory U work in practice? Maartje and Dorien explained how Theory U is applied in projects at Hieroo. One example is the BROODerhood (pun on the word "brood” which means bread in Dutch) project in Bospolder-Tussendijken. This neighbourhood was struggling to control a rat plague. Hieroo used Theory U to come to a solution, together with the residents of the neighbourhood. An important observation (“downloading”) was that there was a lot of bread on the streets in the area. An easy quick fix would be to street signs that would warn against feeding ducks bread, for example. In the “sensing” stage, local residents were interviewed about the issue. It turned out that most people did not want to waste the bread and therefore left it for others, based on their cultural values. The project BROODerhood, aims to celebrate the value of bread through the process of breadmaking. The bread that residents would normally be left on the streets is now used for making the base for sourdough. In this way, Theory U helped the neighbourhood to find the underlying issues, and connect more with each other and with their surroundings.

We ended the Knowledge Session with a typical Theory U approach: an “accompanied writing assignment” with the aim of reflection. In this assignment, Dorien and Maartje asked the participants a set of questions about our work and impact. Think of: “What in your current work gives you most energy?” and “What can we create as a collective in the next 3-5 years? “. This inspiring knowledge session by Hieroo taught us more about how to not immediately jump to conclusions and using a quick fix. We learned how to really take a step back and get to the root of the problem with specific tools to achieve that.

Do you want to learn more about Theory U or get in contact with Hieroo? Leave a comment below and I will bring you in contact with Maartje and Dorien!

When using digital government services, we often leave more data behind than is actually necessary. The municipality of Amsterdam recently completed a pilot with Yivi (formerly IRMA), a safer and more reliable way of logging in that doesn't request or store unnecessary information. During the Transition Day in June, we identified barriers related to the implementation of new electronic identification methods (read the report here). A lack of awareness and knowledge about digital identity and privacy risks were identified as one of the major barriers. In this follow-up session, we continued with the theme of awareness and asked the Amsterdam Smart City network to come up with a “change story” and (start of) a campaign about digital identity.

Setting the scene: urgency for a digital identity in EU/NL

To seize the opportunities of digitisation, it is important that everyone in the Netherlands maintains control over their digital life while ensuring the protection of public values such as privacy, accessibility and security. The Digital Government Act (Wet Digitale Overheid) aims to improve digital government services while ensuring citizens' privacy. An important part of this law is safe and secure logging in to the government using new electronic identification methods (eIDs) such as Yivi. At European level, there are also ambitions to introduce personal EU identification wallets, that enables users to choose and keep track of their identity and data which they share with third parties.

Change story for Digital Identity

From a change management perspective, successful change requires both the technical and people sides. In the case of Digital Identity, the developments on a national and European level provide the Reason for Change. The Technical Side is already (mostly) there: Yivi. However, the People Side of the change is lacking behind. There is a growing group of citizens who feel discomfort with data collection by third parties, but many are not aware of the importance of protecting your own digital identity. Therefore, we started working on the change story around digital identity, with the People Side in mind:

Once upon a time….
We had SO MANY accounts and passwords for different public and private services. For governments services, we used DigiD, which often asks for more data than necessary. Once upon a time, our data was everywhere. We were not in control of our data anymore, with the risk of data misuse.

But then….
The risk of not changing is digital fraud. New European and national legislation is designed to protect citizens. This legislation will lead to less data misuse and freedom of choice. It gives citizens more control over their data.

That’s why…
Yivi gives citizens control over their own data. Based on the principles of simplicity, trust and convenience.

To a happy ending…
In our dream scenario, citizens are in control of their own data through one supported solution (by national government and Europe). We cooperate at an (inter)national level to put citizens’ privacy and convenience first.

And that starts today!
This session had a good mix of participants from both public and private organisations. Business parties, such as Deloitte and Eurofiber, highlighted the importance of continuing the conversation with the private sector and think of a business model. This is necessary to get large cooperations that handle a lot of data, such as bol.com, on board too.

On this Demo day, we made a start with the change story. To really start creating more awareness about digital identity, we need to create the story for the user instead of focusing on the technical aspects. What makes digital identity wallets so different than DigiD?

The participants ended the session with formulating a change slogan: your data is and remains yours now!

This question was introduced in the Amsterdam Smart City network by Mike Alders and Frank Willemsen from gemeente Amsterdam. Both sessions were prepared with and moderated by Coen Smit from Royal HaskoningDHV. Nick Rovroy and David Koop from Flatland supported this session with their drawings. Do you have any questions or input for us? Contact me via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com or leave a comment below.

Whether you’re a visitor exploring Amsterdam, or a local opting for a staycation this summer, boredom is not on the agenda. There are some great things to do and see if you’re interested in innovation and sustainability. Delve into my curated list of smart city summer tips with exhibitions, activities and experiences from our partners and community. Zigzag across the city and discover the city from a different perspective!

1. Discover the city as a living place at the Landscape festival: ‘Met andere ogen’ (with other eyes)
Nature is a source of beauty and comfort, of relaxation and well-being, but it is now also in crisis. Diversity is declining and habitats are disappearing. In the ecological recovery lying ahead, the city plays a remarkable role: not only as a hotspot for biodiversity, but also as a meeting place where we can forge links between human and other life. Waag Futurelab invites you to set your sights on the Amsterdam Science Park and discover the city as a living place, together with artists, local residents and scientists. Take a walk along the walking route across the Amsterdam Science Park past all the installations and interventions.

From June until September 2023. Pick up a map at Café-Restaurant Polder (address: Science Park 201). Costs: free.

2. Take an architectural summer walk through new city areas
Arcam, the centre for architecture in Amsterdam, organises a series of architectural walks through neighbourhoods in development: Houthaven, Sloterdijk, Zuidas, Centrumeiland and Elzenhagen-Zuid. On Sundays from June to September, you can join a summer walk, led by an enthusiastic city expert, to visit and learn more about newly (to be) transformed areas of Amsterdam.

Every Sunday (from June to September) from different pick-up points. Costs: € 15,00 per person.

3. Fix your broken stuff at Repair Café Oud Noord
Give your broken belongings a second chance at the Repair Café in De Ceuvel (Metabolic Lab). Whether it's electronics, textiles, furniture, or bikes, the dedicated team at the Repair Café is there to assist with even the most challenging repairs. Join this community-driven initiative on the first Wednesday of each month! While the repairs are free, donations for used materials are warmly appreciated.

Every first Wednesday of the month (next up August 2, from 18:00-20:00) at De Ceuvel, Metabolic Lab. Costs: Free.

4. Green up your city with the NK Tegelwippen (‘National Tile Removal Championship’)
In the Netherlands, it's common to see apartment buildings, offices, and homes surrounded by tiles. This might be low-maintenance, but they're not particularly beautiful and do absolutely nothing to help the environment. We’re increasingly facing problems such as heat stress and flooding, and all those stone tiles in urbanised areas do not cool down on a hot day or let water through when it rains. Join the National Tile Removal Championship this summer! Remove tiles (for example in your garden) and replace them with plants and flowers for a greener city.

From March 21st till October 31st, more information via the website of NK Tegelwippen.

5. Learn more about our energy addition at the Energy Junkies exhibition
Our dependence on fossil fuels and the effects of our energy consumption on climate change are the focus of NEMO’s new exhibition for adults: Energy Junkies. NEMO invites you to explore the decisions that will determine our future. How would you transform our energy addiction into a healthy habit? Create your own carbon diet, choose the right medicines from the climate pharmacy and dream about a world where we are cured of our energy addiction. Visit Energy Junkies at NEMO’s Studio, the off-site location for adults on the Marineterrein in Amsterdam.
 
Energy Junkies is open from Wednesday – Sunday, from 12:00 – 17:30 until October 29.  Costs: € 7,50

6. Visit the Maker Market
Meet passionate and innovative makers from all over the world at The Maker Market! Here you will find handmade products produced with love and craftsmanship. The event focuses on sustainable production processes and Fair Trade. Engage with the makers, hear their stories, and witness their creative processes. This way, you can discover products with a good story.

On Saturday July 28 (11:00-17:00), Sunday July 28 (12:00-17:00), Saturday August 26 (11:00-17:00) and Sunday August 27 (12:00-17:00) at the Passage. Costs: Free.

7. Book a tour at Mediametic
Get a glimpse behind the scenes at Mediametic! During their weekly tour on Friday, you’ll get the chance to peek inside their labs, in which they explore the possibilities of bio-materials for design, science and art. You’ll also visit the Clean lab, where Mediametic is currently focusing on the use of waste materials, as a source for new material. You get an introduction in the Aroma lab, their open perfume workshop and scent library where scent is explored as an artistic medium. And you will get to see the Plant lab, where herbs and edible flowers are grown for the restaurant in a sustainable way.

On Friday’s at 16:00, Mediametic. Costs: € 4,50 incl. a drink.

8. Keep your head cool! At Waag Open
It's getting hot in here! Since 1923, the KNMI (The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) measured 28 heat waves and almost half them occurred in the past 20 years. If this trend continues, the number of 'tropical' days (days above 30 degrees) will have doubled by 2050. But what are the consequences of these heat waves in people's homes? In countless Dutch (rental) homes, bedrooms heat up considerably in summer. And that can lead to physical and mental complaints: heat stress. During Waag Open: Keep your head cool, Lisanne Corpel (researcher at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam) shares her knowledge on measuring heat and the phenomenon of heat stress.

Thursday August 3 from 19:30-21:30 at Waag, Nieuwmarkt 4. Costs: € 7,50 incl. a drink.
 
As you explore these smart city summer tips in Amsterdam, let the innovative initiatives inspire you to make positive changes in your own life. Be sure to check out our platform for more exciting events and experiences. Do you have any other tips for inspiring smart city activities not to be missed this summer? Share them with the community in the comments!

Are language processing tools powered by AI, such as ChatGPT, revolutionising the way we work and live together? How should governments, such as the province of North Holland, deal with this? What is the impact as the technology behind ChatGPT evolves and is used more and more prominently, outside and within their own organisations? Is it an efficient way to communicate with citizens, write policy documents, or answer state questions? Or should we avoid or discourage the use of ChatGPT for governments? During Demo Day #20, we explored the possibilities and potential impact of ChatGPT on the work of governments. We will discuss not only the technology itself, but especially the ethical aspects involved. How can officials be included in the responsible use of this technology?

Case & Set-up of the Session

After an introduction of the question by the Jeroen Silvis and Martijn Veerman from the province of North-Holland, the participants first identified opportunities and threats when using ChatGPT for a concrete case study: writing a housing vision for the region using ChatGPT. The opportunities and threats were identified from perspectives: political administrators, civil servants working for the province and municipality, citizens and housing developers and associations. After this round of identifying opportunities & threats, the participants discussed some important factors the province of North Holland should keep in mind when developing a framework for the use of ChatGPT.

Insights

Opportunities for political administrators, civil servants working for the province and municipality, citizens and housing developers:

• Make civil service more efficient and effective; compose and read policy documents;

• Civil servants working for the province can save a lot of time as ChatGPT makes it easier to write large policy document; it can also serve as a source for creativity and inspiration;

• ChatGPT could be beneficial for civil servants working for municipalities, as ChatGPT might help simplify complicated documents;

• Citizens benefit as complicated plans become more readable and accessible through the use of ChatGPT;

• ChatGPT could help broaden visions for area development and housing (in this specific case) which is beneficial to housing developers.

Threats for political administrators, civil servants working for the province and municipality, citizens and housing developers:

• Through using ChatGPT, internal and privacy-sensitive information will be in hands of big tech multinationals, which is a big risk for political administrators; dependence on AI might lead to a loss of autonomy;

• Using ChatGPT for writing policies might lead to tunnel vision for civil servants working for the province; Does the policy fully reflect the vision of the civil servant when using ChatGPT?;

• ChatGPT makes use of existing content, which may lead to less innovation. This is a risk for civil servants working for the municipality as they have to execute the policy;

• Citizens might worry about their privacy, as ChatGPT is owned by a big tech multinational;

• ChatGPT might simplify housing visions whilst the realisation of housing is a complex issue, this is a threat for housing developers.

After identifying the opportunities & threats, the participants discussed what the province of North Holland should keep in mind for the development of a ChatGPT framework for internal use. Some remarks from the group:

• Always remain critical and check everything, make sure to identify your sources;

• Pay attention to public values and explore open-source language model alternatives that are more responsible and open source. Be aware of the influence of big tech;

• Provide clear frameworks and instructions for the use of ChatGPT or a similar tool;

• Make clear rules about who is responsible;

• Knowledge and experience is also within people, not everything is public or published and thus accessible for ChatGPT;

• Learn to ask the right questions: what is the input for ChatGPT? Educate your colleagues about the use, the do’s and don’ts;

• Hire ChatGPT expert(s) and organise internal strategy sessions;

• Be transparent about the use of ChatGPT within the government;

• Choose for one tool, preferably open-source, that can be used organisation-wide.

Conclusion and Next Steps?

It is clear that the technology around AI powered language models is developing very quickly. As colleagues of the province of North Holland are already using ChatGPT, it is important to develop a framework for internal use. Jeroen and Martijn from the province of North Holland will use the concrete input from this session and work on plan/framework the coming months. It is unclear whether this question will have next step within the Amsterdam Smart City network, but a valuable connection has been made between the University of Applied Sciences of Amsterdam and the province of North Holland. Do you have any input for Jeroen and Martijn about this topic? Please contact me via sophie@amsterdamsmartcity.com, or leave a comment below.

When working together on transitions, it is important to be aware of and sensitive to the impact of power and systemic oppression in participatory processes. Within the Amsterdam Smart City network, the question of inclusion and civic participation, is often brought up in worksessions and discussions. However, we often lack the tools to find the bottlenecks and really include all important beneficiaries.

Therefore, we asked our valued partners Kennisland and DRIFT to lead a workshop about Power in Transitions at Demoday #20 on May 16. Dave van Loon and Faduma Mukhtar (Kennisland) together with Aron Teunissen (DRIFT) taught the participants more about power in transitions, based on the Power Literacy Framework and Field Guide from Kennisland. This guide describes five different forms of power and offers a set of tools for professionals to become more aware of power dynamics in their work.

The five forms of power

According to the Power Literacy Guide by Kennisland, there are five forms of power in design process. If you want to learn more about this, you can download the Power Literacy guide here. The five forms of power are:

Privilege: The type of power you get from a social relation whereby you benefit due to the social group you belong to, at the expense of another social group. It is an unearned advantage and often invisible to those who have it.

Access power: The ability to influence who is included in and excluded from the design project and process.

Goal power: The ability to initiate the design project to begin with, as well as the ability to influence decisions related to framing the problem, goals, and structure of the design process.

Role power: The ability to influence the roles that different stakeholders take on. This includes the ability to assign any roles or titles in the design process, as well as influencing the role each stakeholder plays in making decisions.

Rule power: The ability to influence the way that those in the design process will work together. It includes the ability to influence what is considered normal, what is allowed and what isn’t, how actors will communicate with each other, what language is used, and beliefs about what types of knowledge are valid.

Power check

After a theoretical introduction of the five forms of power, we split into smaller groups to perform a so-called power check for different Amsterdam Smart City projects, such as the Mobility Challenge and “Wat mensen beweegt”. Using this power check, the participants looked at access power and goal power. We identified all actors affected by the project and indicated which actors were not involved. The different actors were then assigned a role in different stages of the process: listener, co-creator, advisor, partner or director.

Most important take-aways

The goal of this exercise was to create more awareness about involving target groups in different stages of the project. The main take-aways were:

• The role for the for the ‘benefit group’, the people that are impacted by the project, is often too small. If beneficiaries are involved, this often happens in the last stages of the project. In this phase in the project, it is often more difficult or not possible at all to influence decision-making;

• To create equal power, some parties have to ‘give away’ (some of) their power;

• Truly inclusive work takes time, effort and money. It is not something takes place overnight;

• Awareness is half of the battle: make the topic of systemic oppression in participatory process a structural part of your (work)process).

Want to learn more about power in transitions? Read more.