Barometer of the digital transformation of territories: how mature are local authorities?
Impacted as they are by the digital transformation of society as a whole, local authorities are demonstrating a wide range of initiatives to support these changes and improve their operations and the quality of life of their citizens. In order to identify the digital challenges facing territories, IDC has carried out a survey on behalf of Syntec Numérique a survey of 107 local authorities1. For the 2nd year running, this survey analyzes the maturity of digital city initiatives, the main objectives driving local authorities to invest in digital transformation, the projects actually studied or deployed, the benefits already seen, and the challenges to be met in order to transform.
Key figures from the Syntec Numérique / IDC study
- 92% of municipalities surveyed have already launched a smart city initiative
- Top 3 objectives sought by organizations through these projects:
- Strengthening ties with citizens: 71%.
- cost reduction: 56
- development of new services: 51
- 60% spend less than 10% of their IT budget on these initiatives
On the road to the connected city
There’s no denying it: at every scale, cities are transforming and becoming progressively connected. Among local authorities, digital-based projects are multiplying: more than 9 out of 10 municipalities have already carried out smart city initiatives, a stable adoption indicator compared to the 2017 survey. A third of them have been at it for more than 3 years now, and a large majority (61%) consider themselves to be average when compared to others.
These initiatives focus on optimizing infrastructure management to make it more communicative, adaptable, sustainable, efficient and automated, with the aim of improving citizens’ quality of life.
Using technology to connect with citizens
These projects, which involve using information and communication technologies to improve the quality of urban services or reduce costs, have a number of different objectives. Over the last twelve months, the triggers driving local authorities to invest in the digital field have evolved.
Still at the top of the list, strengthening ties with citizens – cited in 2017 by three-quarters of the municipalities surveyed) – has nevertheless fallen back slightly, giving way to the objectives of cost control (56% vs. 38% in 2018), development of new services (51% vs. 45% in 2017), attractiveness of the territory (43% vs. 28% in 2017) and efficiency of processes (39% vs. 12% in 2017).
It should be noted that, depending on their size, local authorities diversify their goals to a greater or lesser extent: medium-sized authorities focus on cost control (60%) and the development of new services for citizens (59%), while organizations with over 20,000 inhabitants can strengthen their initiatives on subjects such as improving urban infrastructure (23%) or improving waste management (13%).
Financing and change management, parallel challenges to digital transformation
This year, funding issues remain the main obstacle identified by the structures surveyed – this was already the case last year – but other subjects are taking on new importance: the challenges of change management (31% in 2018 versus 20% in 2017), the complexity of the subject (18% in 2018 versus 4% in 2017) and the ability to adapt to the sustained pace of innovation. The will of local authorities is there, but the challenges are still numerous.
What’s more, the 2018 barometer shows that local authorities are structuring themselves to accelerate these digital initiatives. While 22% of mid-sized local authorities had set up an organization in 2017 to centralize and provide governance for digital city initiatives, they now number 30%
In the same vein, the largest local authorities have strengthened their governance model by appointing a dedicated “Digital City” manager or team (34% in 2018 versus 32% in 2017). Beyond governance, other topics are now the focus of attention: the alignment of the information system with the requirements and challenges of the digital city (only 35% of local authorities feel that their IS is adapted), the training of elected representatives and territorial agents in digital issues, or the support that ECPIs, départements or regions can provide to initiatives.
1Methodology
107 local authorities surveyed (municipalities with over 5,000 inhabitants, urban communities and conurbation communities)
Field date: July to September 2018
Gilles Prunier, Chairman of Syntec Numérique’s Cities and Territories Committee, is delighted: “Cultural change, a prerequisite for innovation and digital projects, is already a reality in many local authorities. And we are seeing more and more willingness, even voluntarism, on the part of elected representatives and local staff. Now is not the time to prove the positive impact of digital technology on city users; we need to join the movement, not reinvent existing solutions, but promote and disseminate them. That’s how, tomorrow, all local authorities will have embraced digital technology!.
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